Since howies returned to their roots at the turn of the year, they’ve been turning out some really rather nice products. There was the excellent Brenin jacket recently, and this week they’ve just added some lovely new merino tops to their range.

Merino wool really is remarkable stuff. Even despite some impressive advances in man-made fabrics, merino is still hard to beat. It’s ace at regulating your body temperature in the hot or cold. It’s soft next to the skin. It doesn’t stink after exercise, no matter how hard you ride.

And Cardigan Bay-based clothing company howies have announced a nice new range of merino wool based tops. There’s the NBL Light base layer, in short or long sleeve, making them ideal for year-round use – a short sleeve merino base layer is just the ticket for the current weather.

The base layers come in several colours, and feature nice contrast panels on the arms and down the torso. They’re slim fitting with flatlocked stitching and shaped arm holes for extra comfort.

There’s also the Vail Merino t-shirt, that don’t look like base layers but still pack all the benefits of merino, so you can stay snug and warm off the bike, in the office or in the coffee shop. A range of smart colours is available, and there’s a howies logo-ed Classic Vail t-shirt on the way too.

Nice simple stylish merino base layers and t-shirts. What is there not to like.

Prices start from £39 available from www.howies.co.uk