Gear of the Week | Devold Breeze ski underwear

The Breeze half zip neck top is a long-sleeved undershirt with a zipper at the collar. The Breeze long johns are long ski underpants. I am reporting here on the women's version in bright Barbie pink. Devold calls the color "Watermelon". Both shirt and pants are alternatively available in blue, a.k.a. "Allure", or black, a.k.a. "Black". If I had to decide something like that, I would rename "Black" to "Death Metal". Unfortunately, no one asks me.

The Breeze line is, as the poetic name suggests, as light as a summer breeze and has a wool thickness of 150g. For merino ski underwear, this is at the thinner end of the scale. In addition to the well-known properties of merino (climate and odour regulating), the Breeze line particularly emphasizes the breathability achieved by the low wool thickness. In addition to the long baselayer, the Breeze range also includes proper underwear, short-sleeved shirts of various types and various types of headwear. Breeze is the thinnest, lightest merino series from Devold.

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Devold ensures that their wool suppliers are treated well and are not subjected to problematic mulesing. We can follow the daily life of a typical Devold sheep online using the example of Lamby. Lamby is looked after by well-meaning farmers and barking but also well-meaning dogs, walks through green hills and is happy when he/she is shorn because the wool is then no longer so heavy when walking through the hills.

My new ski underwear is therefore of high quality and I don't have to worry about Lamby being treated badly. The workmanship of the shirt and pants looks good. I can't comment on the durability yet, but I've been told that other Devold items that I've known for a while are relatively durable for merino.

I've worn the Breeze set on a handful of days at the ski resort and also on a few tours and I'm impressed by the advertised temperature-regulating effect: warm on cold days, but still breathable on warmer days and on the ascent. I always find thicker merino a little uncomfortable on tours with sweaty ascents when it sticks to the skin when wet.

In terms of feel, function and general comfort, I am very satisfied with the Breeze ski underwear. The set is also comfortable when sitting around in huts or drinking tea on the couch. When I do a bit of yoga to stretch after skiing, I always think to myself: "Back when Fridtjof Nansen relaxed in bright pink underwear while doing yoga, I'm sure he felt the same way I do now."

As far as looks go: if ski underwear can be a statement piece, Breeeze in the color "Watermelon" definitely makes it into this category.

I wear a tighter shirt under the Breeze because it is a bit big. — I wear a tighter shirt under the Breeze because it runs a little large.

Lorenzo Rieg

Lea Hartl, Devold Breeze

Fit

I am relatively tall and often have the problem that the sleeves and trouser legs of ski underwear are too short for me. When ordering the Breeze set, I tried to use the Devold size chart as a guide. Size XXL is recommended for a body height of 175-180 cm. Larger women are not included in the table. I am about 183 cm, so an alien. XXL seemed a bit big to me, so I opted for XL. The length of the sleeves and trouser legs is great and the shirt is cut nice and long. The trousers come up quite high at the waist, which I find much better than sexy lowrise ski underwear, which I have also come across before. The waistband and the seat area are a bit wide for me, but the cut and the elasticated waistband make it work and it doesn't slip.

I think it's a bit of a shame that the shirt is rather wide and baggy. I find this suboptimal for a baselayer and have switched to wearing a tighter ski undershirt under the Breeze, as the latter is not particularly warm due to the bagginess alone. I suspect the shirt is cut slightly better in other sizes.

All in all, I'm still happy with the fit of the Devold items. Ski underpants in particular often don't fit me at all, because everything gets wider but not longer as the size increases. With the Breeze pants, I think this is relatively well solved. There are small deductions for the wide shirt.

Conclusion

Comfortable, lightweight and relatively thin, yet relatively warm ski underwear. Devold is less well-known in this country as a merino manufacturer than some other brands, but is definitely an interesting alternative if you are still looking for woolen Christmas gifts (socks!) for your loved ones or yourself,

for example.