Brynje Super Thermo Review

The nice team at Brynje have been kind enough to provide me with a set of Super Thermo baselayers to try for the 2024 winter season in Scotland. After a month of suffering some very cold and otherwise terrible weather, I feel I have put them through enough for an honest review.

I was skeptical about their ability to keep me comfortable, and having previously (through much trial and error) found clothing which works for me in Scotland, I was dubious about changing to an unknown layering system but they have proved to be warm and comfy in a range of different conditions.

As you may (or may not) know, the Super Thermo is essentially a string vest designed to be worn next the skin. This traps lots of insulating air next to the skin and stops you getting cold from damp fabric.

Aesthetics aside, the first thing I noticed wearing the Super Thermo was that they instantly feel incredibly warm. I layered mine with various thin synthetic base layers and a high-loft fleece. Even on -10c days it was plenty warm enough. In fact, my only real complaint is that it's almost too warm for really active use hillwalking or mountaineering in Scotland if the temperature is fluctuating around 0c. Layering the Super Thermo top with a thin baselayer and a thin softshell was enough for any long west coast walk in. The long johns under thin soft shells were comfortable, but under my usual Vapourise Guide trousers they were too hot.

Normally I change baselayer when gearing up before a climb but didn't need to using this system. The string mesh doesn't hold enough moisture to make it necessary. This was excellent on miserable, soaking wet days where a baselayer change is impractical.

Fit wise, I'm take small in most American brands, but medium in Rab and Mountain Equipment. Brynje sent me smalls and these are fine, if on the tighter side. If you're across sizes and wondering which size I would err on buying the larger.

Durability is hard to assess, but after around 30 days use it doesn't look any different from out the box. It's easy to wash and dries almost instantly. The shoulders and groins are reinforced and should stand up to plenty of rucksack carrying walk ins and the stitching seems solid.

Final verdict?

8.5/10 as a Scottish winter base layer. Very warm and easy to accidentally over-layer on the not so cold Scottish days. Good when a base layer change is impractical, when layered lightly for constant output walking or mountaineering or when It's really cold and you're doing a lot of stop-start climbing.

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