This season, multiple brands introduced midlayers meant specifically for running, and I applaud the trend. They’re more like thin sweatshirts than technical running shirts, and who doesn’t love pulling on a cozy sweatshirt?
These versatile pieces can be worn as marketed—a midlayer between a close-fitting baselayer and a jacket—but I’ve found that setup too warm for running unless conditions are extremely cold or wet. They can also be worn alone when it is merely cool. My favorite way to wear them, however, is as a second, outer shirt.
I’ve long been a fan of wearing two running shirts: One close-fitting short-sleeved or long-sleeved, topped with a looser layer. The outer shirt adds warmth and breathes a heck of a lot better than any running jacket I’ve ever tested—and I’ve tested a lot of jackets. It also ties easily and securely around the waist when shed, and is more comfortable against bare arms when I’m wearing a short-sleeve shirt or tank top underneath.
These new mid-layers do all the things I love about second shirts, but better. They’re soft, cozy, and, with high-performing fabrics and smart cuts, impressively lightweight for how much warmth and protection they offer.
Jackets still win in biting wind, snow, or rain, so I reserve my two-shirt method for calm and dry conditions. With these new midlayers, however, I can run in lower temps through a Colorado winter more comfortably than I would in just a second shirt, yet still have my body heat and sweat escape through the porous materials. And I can wear them across various activities, even casually. They’re high-tech sweatshirts, after all.
I’ve tested about a dozen running midlayers this season; these are the ones I reach for the most.
The post Running Midlayers are Having a Moment, and I’m Loving It appeared first on Outside Online.
