Falke Fremont Top and Montana Top : The Best of German Engineering

Falke's Ergonomic Sport System tops have become staples in my wardrobe, and for good reason. They are perhaps the ultimate athletic tech shirts - lightweight, breathable, form-fitting, and truly high performance. They make me feel like a machine whenever I'm wearing them.

I've been testing both a Falke long (the Fremont) sleeve and a short (the Montana) sleeve tech tee; both are made out of a polyester infused with carbonated bamboo that works to absorb odors. It's pretty cool because these tops just don't smell after use, unlike many synthetic athletic tops I own. I haven't washed them in an embarrassingly long time (hey, I'm on a road trip) and honestly, they're not gross.

It's pretty fantastic how well these shirts fit. Not only do they look good--they hug my muscles in all the right places--they offer a great amount of body compression, similar to how cycling shorts support the muscles of the upper legs and rear end. When I realized I felt like I was climbing stronger wearing these shirts, I Googled around and discovered that compression clothing really does boost performance. There's actually a fairly large body of literature supporting the idea! So kudos to Falke for helping me perform optimally.

I also really like how the shirts work for general hiking while wearing a pack. First, the tops have raglan sleeves, so I get a great fit in the shoulder and no shoulder seams to worry about. Throughout the top, the seams are completely flat, so I don't get any chafing. Second, the shirts have lots of mesh panels, so they breathe great and don't stay wet with sweat. One cool thing I noticed is that they seem to wick sweat sideways, so that when I wear a pack, the sweat that would otherwise build up underneath it is actually transported to the side of my body and evaporates there. Major engineering points. I think it has to do with the location and fabric choice of the paneling in the shirts.

Finally, I like that my Falke shirts have reflective strips in the right spots. Cars can see me while I'm running at dusk, but I don't feel like a big dork covered in mylar during the day. Subtle, stylish, and effective. All in all, the Falke tops get two thumbs up.

Falke is a German company, so there aren't a lot of places to find their gear in the states. See below for U.S. online retailers.

The Montana top will be in stores in January, and online at the Falke shop (if you want to shop in German and in euros) now.

Women's Montana shirt available in capri-kiwi and syringa-peach; men's Montana available in grey-white. Fremont top available in five different colors for men (including black and graphite--cool!) and four colors for women (including black and capri).

Bottom Line: Exceptionally well fitting, flattering, odorless technical sport tops for men and women. --N.W. (May '10)

BUY ONLINE : $90 (Fremont), $70 (Montana). Shop at sportperfect, sbr

Manufacturer's Site: www.falke.com

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