Paka Everyday Baselayer

The Paka Everyday Baselayer is a soft and elastic long sleeve top that is a blend of Tencel (made from recycled tree pulp) and alpaca wool. Soft to the touch, this shirt is ideal for sport and casual use when the quickest dry time is not a concern. This top falls into a function-over-fashion category, as it is not a particularly flattering layer.

The Everyday Baselayer in Men’s Medium has a relaxed fit for a 5'10" 160lb. tester. The product feels extremely stretchy and soft to the touch. Having tested naturally based apparel for Trailspace extensively, this shirt seems much more elastic than merino wool, possibly the most popular source material for outdoor apparel. Although this product feels softer than other base layers, it comes with a minor gripe—it can easily shift around. Regular attention must be made to keep the shirt sleeves from riding up.

Although this top is labeled as a base layer, other thin base layers are easily managed underneath. The same falls true when layering over the shirt, and using the natural wicking abilities of the alpaca/Tencel. The knit/weave construction neither feels loose nor tight, achieving good breathability and wicking/moisture transport. 

This base layer is very good for so many conditions, it may be better to describe the conditions for when it is not ideal. This shirt is not fast drying- high output pursuits in cool/cold weather may not be the best for this all-around top. That being said, the shirt is great in the swampy conditions of the mid-Atlantic summer months. In cold weather, the Paka Everyday Baselayer performs very well in lower output activities, providing good heat retention/warmth. 

Paka Apparel’s Everyday Baselayer is constructed from a mixture of 85% Tencel, 15% royal alpaca. The shirt has seen little rough use (bushwhacking, etc.) during testing. Approximately one year of regular use has shown little to no wear—if this shirt ever does wear out, both the tree-pulp based Tencel and alpaca are fully biodegradable.

More can be read about Tencel here https://www.tencel.com/about. Another independent link can be read about the product here https://www.treehugger.com/what-is-tencel-5198098. 

Though the care instructions are not explicit (wash in cold water, air dry), it is important to follow the instructions to avoid shrinking. Some people like to avoid clothing that require particular needs, so this should be noted. 

Objectivity can often feel downright impossible when searching for outdoor gear reviews. I want to thank the folks at Paka Apparel as well as the crew at Trailspace for providing products in the Trailspace Gear Review Corps. Here we all strive to create unbiased resource material for outdoor enthusiasts, or folks that simply want to know ‘how good’ a product is.

More can be read about Trailspace and the Gear Review Corps here https://www.trailspace.com/about/review-corps.html.

Conditions:

The Everyday Baselayer has been tested since August 2023 in a variety of conditions, town and country. Temperature range of use from the 20°F up to 90°F+. Relative humidity has fluctuated from mid-Atlantic winter lows, up to typical boggy 90%+. The shirt has seen use on warm SUP (standup paddle) boarding trips, several backpacking trips, and over a hundred uses in a casual/everyday setting. 

Background

This is the first Paka Apparel product I have tested. I have been routinely wearing natural based clothing whenever possible, both personally and for the Trailspace Gear Review Corps for quite some time (almost ten years as a product tester).