Women's Original Airbase 120 mesh shirt

“Our Airbases are what we wear most. Absolutely brilliant, summer and winter. It does make us laugh a bit that we pull on our mesh almost every day, whatever the season. We never go anywhere without it.”

Aino Hynnä and Anna Virolainen-Hynnä, members of the Finnish national fly fishing team

Airbase – the shirt you forget you're wearing

The women's Original Airbase 120 mesh shirt is a next-to-skin mesh layer that solves one of the toughest challenges of dressing for the outdoors: how to stay dry and comfortable when your body keeps warming up and cooling down. The loops of the 3D mesh knit breathe and trap air, which cools you when it's hot and holds in your body heat when it's colder. The shirt feels light on your skin, almost as if it weren't there, yet it still regulates your temperature. The long sleeves give extra protection to your shoulders, forearms and elbows.

Airbase doesn't absorb moisture. Instead, it wicks it away to the layers on top, so you stay dry for the whole trip. 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 after wearing it, you're not greeted by that familiar sportswear smell. The shirt feels as fresh as when you put it on. 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 women's Original Airbase 120 mesh 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 women's mesh shirt for year-round wear

This close-fitting but stretchy women's mesh shirt moves with you without feeling tight. Raise your arms, reach or lean forward, and the shirt follows your movements instead of stretching or pulling. The shoulder seams have been moved to the back panel, so there's nothing on your shoulders to rub under a backpack strap, for example.

The feminine cut gives a good fit and comfort for a fuller bust too. The rib knit on the front panel gives coverage across the chest, so you can also wear the shirt on its own. The mesh panel below the round neck adds breathability and lightness, and stretches as you put the shirt on.

The rib cuffs are a key feature of the shirt: they hold the sleeves firmly at your wrists, so you don't have to pull them back down when you put on another layer. The sleeves also stay put when you raise your arm or pull something up. 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. All seams are flatlock seams that lie flat and won't chafe your skin, even with repeated wear.

Wear the Airbase mesh 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, such as the Svala Merino Extreme shirt, for extra warmth when you stop for a break. Pair the Airbase mesh shirt with Airbase bottoms to keep your whole body warm and dry.

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

Thoughts from the designer

“With a long-sleeved first layer, the sleeves are both an opportunity and a challenge. I wanted to design a women's shirt with rib cuffs that hold the sleeves firmly in place: no riding up, no twisting, no slipping down under your layers. You usually wear a long-sleeved first layer all day, so the fit, the stretch of the neckline and the length of the hem get the same attention as the material itself.”

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 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 shirt is made at the Svala factory in Kärsämäki, Finland, with skills refined over decades.

Mesh base layer developed in Finland for Finnish weather

Cycling in the fresh air of a national park? Taking your child to nursery by bike? Packing your rucksack for a two-day hike? 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 shirt is at its best:

• First layer under workwear
• Hiking and trekking
• Running
• Cycling
• Skiing
• Paddling
• Fishing
• Gym
• 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.