I have to say, I imagined that a Yak Wool baselayer would be a rather coarser affair than Merino, a Merino is a type of sheep that can live high up in mountainous regions up to 3000m where temperatures can plummet to minus 20 degrees  - but it’s a sheep! A yak is about the toughest type of Bovine animal to be found anywhere and it is found at high altitudesin areas consisting of treeless uplands between 3,000 and 5,500 m (9,800 and 18,000 ft), dominated by mountains and plateaus in Tibet and the Himalayas. You might be forgiven for expecting then, that a Yak Wool product would be made from denser fibres – but I must say, I didn’t get this impression from the feel of the Kora ShoLa top I had on test at all.

Reports say that Yak Wool is claimed to be 40% warmer than and have a 66% greater air permeability that 260g merino wool equivalents. It is also said that Yak Wool has the ability to wick & transport more water vapour through it than merino. As I have an Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 tech top long sleeved crewe Merino baselayer, I was able to compare the two during the periods I was working in Scotland over the 2013/14 Winter season.

Each top was worn for a five day duration. The Icebreaker during a week in January and the Kora during a week in February.

Results

Working in Scotland demands long strenuous days with often long walk ins to get to the foot of climbing routes. The mixed and generally mild & wild conditions experienced this Winter meant that one was often wearing a hardshell in order to stay dry & warm with a mid layer underneath. In my case this generally tends to be a fleece type top of the Polartec 200 grade. I tend to run fairly hot anyway so – I do sweat quite a bit!

In terms of vapour transmission both baselayers worked well in terms of wicking sweat away from the body but I definitely felt slightly less clammy in the Kora ShoLa than I did in the Icebreaker 260 top overall. So I would say that the claims made above do hold true. After 5 days of continuous use neither top was starting to smell unduly. The Kora did itch every so slightly from the first few days of being used but then this stopped. In all honesty, I found it every bit as comfortable as the Icebreaker top to wear although I definitely got the feel that the Kora product was slightly softer to the touch than the Merino equivalent.

Both tops fitted me well with plenty of trunk & arm length, however, the Kora ShoLa top definitely bettered the Icebreaker top with it’s long front zip which meant that on the occasions when I found myself getting pretty hot, but not actually wanting to remove any layers due to the conditions, I could regulate my body temperature better by unzipping this top the required degree. This was not possible with the Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 tech top long sleeved crewe baselayer.

So overall, I was impressed with the Kora ShoLa Yak Wool Baselayer and would I buy one? Well, you can find the Icebreaker Bodyfit 260 Tech Long Sleeved Top with a half zip now for around £85.00 so for an extra £20 to upgrade to the Yak Wool variant I might pause for a moment. However, these products do tend to last for a long time – you pays your money and takes your choice.

Now if the Kora top was the same price as the merino equivalent, there’d be no question!