A good set of baselayers should act as a second skin, keep you warm and dry without you even knowing they're there. Therefore, for baselayers to perform as well as you need them to for all day on the mountain, they need to be the peak of both fit and performance. Well, the Vaude seamless set delivers on both counts.
The fact that they're seamless allows for an excellent range of movement and eradicates the discomfort of seams irritating and sticking into uncomfortable places. The fabric is a mix of 56% merino wool, and 44% synthetic material.
The natural merino does a great job of ensuring warmth and dryness, while the synthetic portion is intended to make the garments comfortable on sensitive skin. There are different fabric types in specific zones of the garment, to help with climate control and ventilation. The material wicked away any moisture, so we were kept warm and dry all day on the mountain. And fresh as a daisy!
We liked the cut of the garments and found that they were comfortably figure hugging without being constricting. They are categorised as 'slim fit', so maybe go for something else if breathing room is one of your priorities. The elastic was strong enough to keep both pieces in place with no slippage.
We tested the long sleeve shirt and full-length tights, but they are also available in a t-shirt and ¾ length tights as well. Even though the tights were full-length, we found that they were well fitting and tight enough not to get in the way inside ski boots.
One thing this set is not, is interesting. They are quality pieces and do the job well, but that's all they are. Plain black, no gimmicks, we appreciated the no-nonsense approach, but they are not quite up to Burnt Custard standards of wow factor. Then again, do baselayers really need to be?
