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Reviews > Clothing > Base Layers and Undies > adidas Outdoors Agravic LS Base Layer > Test Report by Brian HartmanADIDAS AGRAVIC LS BASELAYER TESTER INFORMATION
I have been backpacking for over 20 years throughout Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky and most recently in Western USA. In addition to backpacking I enjoy family camping with my wife and kids and being outdoors in general. I would describe myself as a mid weight backpacker. I use fairly light weight equipment and gear but still like to bring more than the bare essentials with me while on the trail. INITIAL REPORT April 6, 2019
PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS Manufacturer: Adidas Specifications for the Adidas Agravic baselayer Material: 91% Polyester; 9% Spandex MSRP: US $129.00 Listed Weight: N/A Measured Weight: 8.5 oz (241 g) Color: Carbon Size Tested: Large Features: Long Sleeve shirt with quarter zip opening Polartec Power Dry baselayer fabric Polartec Alpha insulation The Agravic LS baselayer (hereafter called Agravic, quarter zip, or shirt) is a long sleeve quarter zip shirt made of 91% Polyester and 9% Spandex. It is designed to be worn next to the skin as a baselayer, and it is a new addition to Adidas' Terrex brand of performance outdoor wear. In fact, this shirt is so new that it's not on Adidas' website, so the information I'm providing here regarding the shirt's construction comes from the label and hand tags on this item. When looking on Adidas' website, mid layer and outwear products are available today, but there are no listings for baselayers, so it appears that this will be the first baselayer in the Terrex collection.
The Agravic has a small collar and quarter zip opening with a zipper that measures 11.5 in (29 cm). The chest is 20 in (51 cm) from armpit to armpit and the shoulders are approximately 16 in (41 cm) from side to side. The overall shirt length is 28 in (71 cm) from the top of the shoulders to the bottom of the waist. Finally, the arms measure 23 in (58 cm) from the arm pits to the end of the sleeves. The shoulder seams are offset from the top of the shoulder and stitched with the seams facing outward so that they're hidden between the fabric layers. The offset shoulder seams and outside stitching are great design ideas that should help prevent rubbing and pressure spots against my skin when I'm wearing a backpack. INITIAL IMPRESSIONS The Agravic arrived at my doorstep well packaged and in excellent shape, with no snags, holes or loose stitching. The color listed on the tag is Carbon, which I think does a great job of describing how this baselayer looks from a distance. Up close it's easier to see that the front and shoulder fabric is black with tiny white dots throughout, and it feels like lightweight shell material. This shell fabric is layered on top of the base fabric, whereas the back and arms of the Agravic consist of only the base fabric, which is dark gray/carbon in color and feels like thin merino wool. The inside of the shirt has small bumps throughout that give it a checkered look. My guess is that the bumps help with moisture wicking. Adidas'
logo and the Terrex brand name are printed on the upper chest of the
shirt, as seen in the photo to the right. The lettering is black
and hardly visible when looked at, but the flash on my camera made it
stand out as if it were white in color. I really like the
subdued look of this quarter zip. It is a styling piece and I
will have no reservations wearing it around town as an outer
layer. READING THE INSTRUCTIONS The Agravic came with two hang tags and a label that I found sewn inside the garment. The hang tags discuss the two Polartec technologies used in the design of this shirt. The first, Polartec Power Dry, is described as a permanent mechanical wicking base fabric construction, designed to wick moisture and be fast drying, lightweight, and easy to care for. The second, Polartec Alpha, is described as a breathable insulating fabric that's warm yet breathable, packable, fast drying, and easy to care for. Care instructions were located on the label and read as follows: machine wash cold, delicate cycle. Do not bleach, do not tumble dry, do not iron and do not dry clean. Do not use fabric softener. Use mild detergent and only wash with like colored clothes. Line dry.
TRYING IT OUT The Agravic fit well in the chest, arms, and armpits. The shirt's overall length was longer than I'd like, but it's meant to be tucked in when worn underneath other garments, so I wasn't too concerned. Likewise, the sleeves were 3.5 in (8.9 cm) too long, but it was easy enough to roll them up. Beyond that, the top was lightweight and felt smooth against my skin and I experienced no itching or scratchiness while wearing it. I wore it around the block in 53 F (7.8 C) weather this morning, underneath a mid weight jacket, and felt great. I look forward to the next few months of testing to see how well this quarter zip performs. SUMMARY The
Adidas Agravic is lightweight and appears to be well made. I'm
curious to see how well the Polartec Power Dry fabric wicks moisture
and how much warmth/insulation the Polartec Alpha fabric provides.
I will also be watching closely to see how durable this item is
during Field Testing. June 16, 2019
FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS I wore the Adidas Agravic for 25 days during Field Testing. This included two overnight backpacking trips and multiple trail runs, bicycle rides, and daylong hiking trips. I wanted to do more overnight camping but incessant rainstorms plagued the Midwest this spring, and so most of my free time, when the weather was nice, was spent mowing my two acre lawn. Trip 1: three days, two nights Trip 2: two days, one night In addition to the trips above, I wore the Agravic on several day hikes, averaging 6 to 8 mi (10 to 13 km) in moderate temperatures ranging from 58 to 70 F (14 to 21 C).
PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD The Adidas Agravic performed well during the past two months of Field Testing. I wore it against my skin as a baselayer, and it kept me plenty warm and dried quickly. On most days I wore it under a raincoat but on the few occasions when it wasn't raining, I either wore it alone or under a pullover or button-up shirt.
Durability: The Agravic has held up well so far, with no durability issues. It has no rips or tears and it hasn't pilled or snagged on any tree branches while backpacking. Granted, I haven't done any off-trail hiking yet and thus far the shirt has spent most of the time underneath my rain jacket, but that's not taking anything away from it, as I suspect it will do quite well in the backcountry. In addition to wearing it, I've used the baselayer as a pillow and rolled it up in a ball and stuffed it in my backpack with no problems. I haven't washed it yet, but that's mainly because I wanted to see how long I could wear it before it started smelling. My wife still comes around me, so I think it still smells ok. I'll probably wash it next week and provide details on how that goes in my Long Term Report. Until then, I'm really happy with it so far.
SUMMARY The
Adidas Agravic performed well during Field Testing, keeping
me warm and dry this spring in some pretty wet weather. As
an added bonus, the shirt fits really well, and the fabric is soft
and smooth to the touch, and doesn't seem to hold odors. I look
forward to further testing during the next few months of summer. LONG TERM REPORT August 11, 2019 LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS I took the Adidas Agravic on three backpacking trips during Long Term Testing, but only wore it a few times, late at night and early morning, when temperatures were cooler. Otherwise, it was simply too warm to wear. For reference, daytime temperatures during the past two months were consistently in the mid 80s F (29.4 C) or hotter, with only a few days of respite. The few nights when temperatures dropped into the 60s F (19.4 C), the Agravic worked like a champ. Besides backpacking, I wore the Agravic to a AAA ballgame last Friday night and I was hot when the game started, but I felt better around the 6th inning when the temperature cooled down and the wind picked up. I also wore it on an early morning bike ride a few weeks ago, which wasn't a wise move. Around 7:30am things started to get hot, and I spent the last hour of my ride sweating. PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD Due to typical summer weather, the times I needed the Agravic this test period were few and far between. When I did need it, though, it performed admirably. It was easy to slip on and fit well, so I had no issues sleeping in it or putting it on for a few minutes while I waited for early morning temperatures to warm up. The Agravic impressed me a lot during my bike ride as it did a great job of removing moisture from my skin and evaporating it, so although I was sweating, I wasn't uncomfortable, and the Agravic did an excellent job of pulling most of it away from my skin. Looking back, although wearing the long sleeve pullover on my summer bike ride was probably not a good idea, it was a good test of the wicking properties of the shirt, and it passed with flying colors. After my sweaty bike ride, I decided the Agravic (and my wife) had suffered enough, and so I tossed the shirt in the laundry for a much-needed wash. I must say that even after the bike ride it didn't smell all that bad. Kudos to Agravic for a well made, and well performing baselayer.
SUMMARY The Adidas Agravic performed well during the past four months of testing. Overall it is a great baselayer: it's lightweight, warm, wicking, and besides that it looks good. I can definitively say this is a high-quality shirt and it has proven itself as a valuable article of clothing for me while backpacking. This concludes my Long Term Report of the Adidas Agravic baselayer. Thanks to Adidas for providing this shirt for testing and to BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to participate in this test. Read more reviews of Adidas gear Read more gear reviews by Brian Hartman Reviews > Clothing > Base Layers and Undies > adidas Outdoors Agravic LS Base Layer > Test Report by Brian Hartman | ||||||||||||||||||
