Originally Posted by
Hypno Toad
The things I think about on a solo century when it's 90+F and over 60% humidity: Does a wicking base layer help with a high quality jersey? Or does a quality jersey do enough wicking to make the base layer superfluous?
For reference, I ride
Podiumwear Gold kit, they promote this as a wicking material ... and
Craft base layer
Take a read at this article:
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/1...-in-the-summer
Whether or not the jersey by itself will help with sweat wicking depends on the manufacturer. Some manufacturers optimize their jerseys for aero, print adhesion, or other factors before they consider sweat wicking. Then, those same companies will make a base layer to supplement their jerseys' sweat wicking & evaporation capabilities. In those cases, they get to sell you two pieces of kit instead of just one; interpret that however you want.
Other manufacturers put sweat wicking & evaporation as a higher priority, and their jerseys will be perfectly fine to wear without a base layer. IME, I have not seen any reliable way to determine if a given jersey will work better with a base layer, as most companies seem to offer a base layer regardless of the claims they make about their jerseys. I prefer a base layer because I'm more comfortable wearing one than not. YMMV.