Icebreaker Oasis Long Sleeve Crewe

Wonderfully smooth to the touch, no itch, and good looking base layer shirt. Ideal for everyday wear, hiking, outdoor sports, hunting/shooting, etc as it has great freedom of movement across the shoulders and no binding.

I have 1 of these in blue with contrasting white stitching and its a very nice base layer shirt that comes at an outrageous price. Despite being sold by a discount outlet, and further reduced on their close-out page, this is a glorified undershirt that costs $50. Not sure what the full MSRP price is for this shirt but it's hard to cough up $50 on an undershirt, even if it is nice enough to pull double duty as a casual shirt.

At the same time that I got this ICEBREAKER shirt, I also got a REDRAM merino wool shirt. Both are made by ICEBREAKER as REDRAM is a division of ICEBREAKER. The REDRAM shirt cost $10 less from the same source and was also being closed out/deeply discounted.

The fabric of the ICEBREAKER Oasis is very smooth to the touch and not at all itchy against the body. The fabric of the REDRAM "Everyday Undershirt" is slightly rough to the touch and very slightly itchy, but not uncomfortable.

The fabric weight of the ICEBREAKER Oasis is 200, which makes it a light-midweight baselayer shirt. The fabric weight of the REDRAM is not listed but 'feel' to be the same thickness. Can't prove it.

The cut of both shirts is the same, with the same type of sleeves, flat seams, but they are NOT identical.

I've not worn either for more than 2 days without laundering, but both claim to be "stink free" and both seem to be able to make that claim given my limited multi-day experiences.

I personally like the color and contrasting stitching of the ICEBREAKER Oasis, its attractive and can be worn as an undershirt or, as a casual wear shirt by itself. The "tags" are printed onto the fabric so there is no annoying tag sewn into the shirt. The sleeves/shoulders are 'raglan' cut so there is no top seam across the shoulder that a backpack can press down upon and cause irritation on the trail.

This is a BODYFIT cut shirt so it fits snug against the skin, but it is not tight or binding.

The smooth finish of the fabric works well when layers as it doesn't seem to snag against other layers and cause binding of the layers.

I would say the arm lengths on both brands are slightly long, the sleeves easily cover my wrists and don't pull back. There are NO thumb holes in the sleeves. The shirt tails are not extended the way some other shirts are but the shirt is plenty long so it maintains coverage when bending over.

I've owned both of these shirts for less than a year so I cannot speak to the durability.

I own three of these, and they are the most useful pieces of outdoor clothing I've ever owned. Since I travel a lot and only take a carry-on, I find the Icebreaker Oasis Crewe comes off the mountain and dresses up fairly nicely for supper in the city. They never smell. They dry quickly and wash beautifully.

I own three Crewe shirts in black, black, and fuchsia. Although the black ones are more versatile, I love the bright pink colour. If you like your shirts loose, take a size larger. They do occasionally shrink a tad.

The shirts function very well on a hike. They are incredibly warm, and I've more than once used them as a top layer (in reality, more often as a top layer than as a base layer) over an Icebreaker tank top. Because of their simple design, they can be worn with everything: shorts, skirts and pants.

The fabric has held up well. I've had no issues with wear on the elbows or anywhere else. Incredibly well made, versatile and wonderful fit.