Men's Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt

“I have to admit I was really sceptical about these Airbase mesh sets. How could fabric full of holes keep warmth next to your skin? Boy, was I wrong!”

Jaska Halttunen, cycle tourer and creator of Fillaripäiväkirja

Original Airbase – the T-shirt you forget as soon as you put it on

The men's Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt is a next-to-skin mesh layer whose knit solves one of the toughest clothing challenges: how to stay dry and comfortable when your body keeps warming up and cooling down. The loops of the 120 g/m² 3D mesh knit breathe and trap air, which cools you when it's warm and insulates you when it's colder. The fabric feels light on your skin, almost as if you weren't wearing a shirt at all, yet it still regulates your temperature.

Airbase doesn't absorb moisture. Instead, it wicks it away to the layers on top, so you stay dry from start to finish. No wet, chilled back, no damp fabric under your arms. Just a dry, light feel that lets you focus on what you're doing.

The 100% polypropylene yarn in Airbase is treated to resist odour. So when you take the shirt off at the end of the day, you're not greeted by that familiar sportswear smell. The T-shirt still feels fresh. The treatment sits in the core of the fibre, so the odour-resistant effect lasts for the whole life of the shirt and doesn't wash out.

The Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt comes with a 100-day satisfaction guarantee. We want to give you time to try it properly: wear it as you normally would for 100 days. If you're not happy with it for any reason, you'll get your money back.

Pro-tested Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt for any situation

This close-fitting but stretchy T-shirt moves with you without feeling tight. Raise your arms, reach or lean forward, and the shirt follows your movements instead of stretching out of shape or holding you back. Raglan sleeves give you more freedom of movement and a good fit, whether your shoulders are narrow or broad.

The round neck, finished with a soft rib collar, sits comfortably around your neck without leaving skin exposed. The longer back hem keeps your back covered when you bend or reach, so you don't have to keep pulling the shirt back into place or worry about your back getting cold. All seams are flatlock seams that lie flat and won't chafe your skin, even with repeated wear.

Wear the Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt on its own in warm weather, or as your first layer under everything else. In the Svala AIR System™, this shirt is the Zero Layer: the moisture-wicking layer next to your skin, under all your other layers. In freezing weather, add a Base Layer on top for extra warmth, such as a shirt from the Svala Merino Extreme range. Pair the mesh T-shirt with the Original Airbase 120 mesh bottoms or the Original Airbase 120 mesh Bermuda shorts to keep your whole body warm and dry.

If you carry a backpack or trekking rucksack, we recommend our Airbase Pro 120 shirt. Its rib knit gives your shoulders extra protection and helps prevent chafing from the load.

Thoughts from the designer

“With a short-sleeved shirt, even the smallest details make a difference. I wanted to design a T-shirt whose raglan sleeves and seamless shoulders keep it comfortable even on long trips. A good first layer isn't the one you notice. It's the one you forget.”

Ninni Pohto, designer at Svala

Polypropylene mesh: a material refined over decades

Polypropylene is a lightweight fibre that doesn't absorb moisture. In practice, this means your skin doesn't stay damp after you've been sweating, the shirt doesn't cling to your back, and a cold wind doesn't chill you to the bone when you stop for a break. You stay dry even when you're pushing hard and, more importantly, afterwards too.

A silver-ion treatment in the core of the fibre prevents bacteria from multiplying, so your shirt stays odour-free and fresh for a long time. That means you can pack one shirt for a trip instead of five. The treatment is applied during manufacturing and lasts for the whole life of the shirt, so it doesn't lose its effect in the wash.

The 3D mesh knit in Airbase is very stretchy and follows the shape of your body. Its structure creates air pockets against your skin, and the trapped air cools you when it's hot and warms you when it's cold. It works like a small regulating system on your skin, running in the background however active you are. During strenuous exercise, Airbase works in temperatures as low as −15 °C. In colder weather, we recommend adding a shirt from the Svala Merino Extreme range on top as a second layer for extra warmth.

The Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt is made from 100% polypropylene, which can be fully recycled into new raw material at the end of its life. Before that, you'll get years of wear out of it. The T-shirt is made at the Svala factory in Kärsämäki, Finland, with skills refined over decades.

Mesh base layer developed in Finland for Finnish weather

Running in the forest? Taking in the views from a motorbike? Spending your weekends at the playground? Airbase is made for moments like these.

Airbase products suit almost any hobby on land, on water and in the air, as well as leisure time outside. Your gear no longer decides how much you enjoy being outdoors.

The Original Airbase 120 mesh T-shirt is at its best:

• Under workwear
• Hiking and trekking
• Running
• Cycling
• Motorcycling
• Paddling
• Fishing
• Hunting, mushroom and berry picking
• Everyday activity

Svala's 3D mesh knit was developed in Finland and has been tested in professional use for decades. In other words, it has proven itself on people who show their clothes no mercy: on long shifts, on week-long wilderness trips, and in wet, cold conditions where your gear decides how comfortable your day is. If the shirt has stood up to them, it'll stand up to you too.