Summit Outdoor Extreme Line Underwear Test

Characteristics of the product tested

Test conditions

Ecological footprint

I tested the Summit Outdoor Extreme Line long-sleeved technical underwear during a Nordic ski touring tour in complete autonomy for 9 days in the Haut-Jura.

First impressions

As soon as it is taken out of its packaging, the Summit Outdoor Extreme Line underwear surprises with its cut and design:

In addition, Summit Outdoor has built this base layer with the objective of limiting odors during intense and long activities. It is therefore a perfect product on the label, with a "supposed quality" / very interesting price ratio.

In short, we are quickly seduced by the technical specificities of the product…

Summit Outdoor Extreme Line underwear test in the Jura

That's it, it's the start of the 9 days of Nordic ski touring. It's -1°C, the weather is cloudy, I'm equipped with Summit Outdoor Extreme Line underwear, my Forclaz Trek 100 down jacket and off we go. It goes up, quickly, I open the down jacket: it's hot. After a few hundred more meters, I open the collar of the underwear. My body temperature is starting to regulate itself and I appreciate these few centimeters of zippers which prevent me from overheating.

After a few hours of skiing, it is 5:30 p.m. and it is time to set up the bivouac. I get busy: packing the snow for the tent, chopping wood for the fire, pitching the tent and installing the groundsheet and sleeping bag. All you have to do is cook and sit by the fire.

I hadn't noticed right away but during the setting up of the bivouac I didn't have my lower back exposed at all thanks to the long cut of the Summit Outdoor Extreme Line underwear. I thus avoid an unwanted, brutal and sometimes damaging cooling. Great first impressions!

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The cold comes quickly with the evening and I put on a bigger down jacket. Because even if the Climatherm technology seems effective up to a certain point and during short breaks, the evening cold and inactivity make the combination of underwear and light down jacket too tight to face -5°C. I go to bed and I quickly smell the smells on the underwear: RAS. The first day is satisfying!

During the second day, we are going to experience a real big snowstorm. The down jacket, a waterproof jacket and the underwear will be more than enough to face this weather. In the evening, still no smell.

The following days, I suffered a significant thermal amplitude (-18 ° to +11 ° C) which allowed me to evaluate the Summit Outdoor Extreme Line underwear on different technical points:

Smell level, I started to smell sweating after the fourth day. The performance is not the same as for a Merino garment but remains quite correct for a synthetic garment.

From a breathability point of view, the performance of the product is up to my expectations. Even when it was very hot, I was not bothered by feelings of non-evacuated perspiration. Perspiration dries quickly which is very pleasant during breaks.

Regarding the thermal contribution of the garment, I was very pleasantly surprised. In fact, with no wind and during exercise in freezing temperatures (around -1°C), I was fine with no other layer than the first Summit Outdoor Extreme Line skin. On the other hand, when the temperatures are in the positives and I only wore the underwear, I was hot, very hot. What's more, with the black color, very appreciable in low temperatures, the underwear gave me a burning sensation on the skin...It's a garment made for the cold and to be worn under a jacket!

My opinion

The Summit Outdoor Extreme Line base layer is a first layer tailored for winter. It provides significant heat gain and is very well designed (breathability, fit). Regarding odor management, it remains below merino underwear but for a synthetic, it does not come out too badly.

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