We have to be honest here and say that out of the box, with a fabric that feels relatively bulky and not as smooth as some, the Transfer was not our favourite top. But we should know better – Pearl Izumi has a heritage in high performance fabrics and once we started wearing this it climbed high on our list of those we would choose to wear on a more regular basis.
Despite its textured exterior the fabric is silky smooth on the inside – it is exceptionally comfortable to wear. It wicks fast and transfers moisture through to the outside where all that texture gives a greater surface area for it to disperse so that you dry quick too. All the seams are flatlocked and the rear hem has an exaggerated drop giving the best coverage at the back of any we tried.
It also gives it a slouchy appearance when worn alone that somehow reduces the shock of all that white and elevates this base layer beyond a piece of underwear. It’s a very workable combination of top notch fabric, straightforward construction and well observed fit detail.
