Montane Sabre T-shirt review: do you feel the need, the need for speed?

Superlight and moisture-wicking, the Montane Sabre T-shirt is a base-layer for speedy runners

Montane Sabre T-shirt
(Image: © Montane)

Advnture Verdict

A comfortable and functional, but still fairly stylish running T with a tight, performance-oriented fit and some decent features, the Sabre is sensibly priced and will keep doing its job for many, many miles of running.

Pros

  • +

    Lightweight

  • +

    Trim fit

Cons

  • -

    No recycled content

  • -

    No mesh

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Montane Sabre T-shirt: first impressions 

With the Montane Sabre T-shirt weighing in at a mere105g / 3.8oz, you barely know you’re wearing this trim T-shirt when you’ve got it on. That may make it immediately attractive for speed demons, but how does it measure up against the best running tops in terms of what else it has to offer?

Specifications

• RRP: $45 (US) / £35 (UK)
• Style: Short-sleeved T-shirt
• Weight: 105g / 3.8oz
• Sizes: XS–XL
• Materials: Polyester (100%)
• Colors: Flag Red / Narwhal Blue / Kelp Green
• Compatibility: Trail and road running

Equally functional for on-road or off-road running adventures, the Montane Sabre T-shirt comes in three pleasing colors and boasts reflective flourishes on the side and back, so car lights should pick you out for running safely at night (although, as with many designs, they are not very big).

The rounded low-profile merrow-stitched seams don’t rub or irritate during wear, and the material wicks moisture away when you sweat (and barely takes on any extra weight when it’s wet – see also: What is moisture wicking material and why is it important?). The Apex PK fabric features polygiene permanent odor control. Sadly, there doesn’t appear to be any recycled fabric in the material mix, which is a bit of a let down.

Montane Sabre T-shirt: on the trail 

Montane Sabre T-shirt

The Montane Sabre T-shirt has a body-hugging fit but never feels restrictive (Image credit: Montane)

Designed to offer a dynamic race fit, the Sabre hugs your torso and upper arms tight, so there’s no excess material to flap around in the wind or get caught on brambles and bushes when you’re out on the trails. It doesn’t feel restrictive, however, as the material has a reasonable amount of stretch (more than I expected for a 100% polyester garment).

I have been wearing the Sabre T on road and trail runs in various climatic conditions, and the synthetic material performs well whether it’s wet or dry – staying lightweight and maintaining some warmth-giving properties. 

It is consistently comfortable, with no rubbing issues, deals with sweat well, and thus far the polygiene permanent odor control is doing an admirable job in keeping post-wash whiffs away.

Pat Kinsella

Writer, editor and enthusiast of anything involving boots, bikes, boats, beers and bruises, Pat has spent 20 years pursuing adventure stories. En route he’s canoed Canada’s Yukon River, climbed Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro, skied and mountain biked through the Norwegian Alps, run an ultra across the roof of Mauritius, and set short-lived records for trail-running Australia’s highest peaks and New Zealand’s Great Walks. He’s authored walking guides to Devon (opens in new tab) and Dorset (opens in new tab), and once wrote a whole book about Toilets (opens in new tab) for Lonely Planet. Follow Pat’s escapades here (opens in new tab).