# Burton [ak] Power Grid®/Expedition Base Layer Review



## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

*❄ Burton [ak] Power Grid®/Expedition Base Layer Review (**Part 1).

❄ Brand:* Burton
*❄ Model:* [ak] Power Grid® / Expedition,
*❄ YOM*: 2017/18/19/20,
*❄ Waterproofing:* N/A / Dryride,
*❄ Insulation Rating:* 200 midweight (Powergrid), 300 Heavyweight (Expedition)
*❄ Size:* Mens XL (Waist 37-40"/ Chest 43-46"),
*❄ Fit:* Next-To-Skin Fit,
*❄ Venting:* N/A,
*❄ Colour:* _"True black", "Hombre Camo", "Black Heather",_
*❄ RRP:* $Au109.99 -$139.99, ('18 to '20), ($US89.95-99.95),
*❄ Rider:* 192cm (6'4") 93kg (205lbs),
*❄** Rider Outerwear*: Giro Range MIPS® helmet, Anon M4 goggles, Burton [ak] Helitack Jacket, [ak] Cyclic pants, [ak] Powergrid base layer, [ak] Guide gloves, [ak] Endurance socks, Burton SLX boots, Quiksilver TR Platinum 24L riders backpack, OT Chips 2.0,
*❄ Board*: Bataleon Surfer 159 / Burton Genesis X Re-Flex™ (Large), 
*❄ Camera:* GoPro Hero 7 Black/Smatree S2C carbon pole/Samsung S8,
*❄ Location: *Hokkaido, Japan.











Now one of the most critically significant pieces of snowboarding outerwear is one a lot of us never really see....., what we're talking about here is the base layer. So a base layer is designed to wear below your jacket/mid-layer and lock in the warmth that your body generates without trapping in perspiration. A 100% cotton T shirt feels pretty damn comfortable on but doesn't give the wearer the ability to dissipate body produced moisture from within the layers. This is referred to in the Industry as the fabrics moisture wicking property.










Over the years I've had a variety of different base layers ranging from light to mid weight fabrics that have all worked really good in their appropriate elements. Around 4 years ago I decided to go a little up market and gabbed some Burton [ak] Power Grid®/Power Stretch® pants and crew for the wife and I from overseas as they were very hard to find in Australia to give them a workout.

The [ak] Power Grid® are not what we'd call an inexpensive choice as a base layer but for the money they have a lot of tech' incorporated into the fabric. For the pants they run at $Au109.99 RRP, $Au89.99 for S/S crew, $AU119.99 for the L/S crew and a whopping $Au139.99 for the [ak] Power Grid® hoodie.










_*Burton [ak] Power Grid® pants.*_










_*Burton [ak] Power Grid® short sleeve Crew.*_










_*Burton [ak] Power Grid® Long sleeve Crew.*_










_*Burton [ak] Power Grid® Hoodie.*_

Design wise, Burton have built into the [ak] Power Grid® an extra-long body to prevent it being pulled out and untucked throughout the days active usage. Stretch thumb hole cuffs have been built in to keep wrists covered inside your gloves or mitts on frosty conditions.











I really love this feature as a lot of Burton jackets do not have wrist gators so this gives that little bit of extra warmth into the back of your wrists then locked inside your gloves/mitts on really frigid days.










I recently grabbed a pair of [ak] Hover 3L GORE-TEX Pro pants which have been truly superb. The [ak] Hover with its 3L fabric doesn't have a secondary fabric layer present like found with 2L GORE-TEX gear and as a result you can feel the elements a little bit more.










_*Burton Expedition pants.*_

I was a bit worried about this for Japan so recently I was able to find a pair of Burton Expedition pants/top on sale. Now these pants/top are really brilliant. The 300 heavy weight fabric in the Expedition are a lot thicker than the [ak] Power Grid®. The fabric feels absolutely superb on and a lot nicer on than the more synthetic sensation felt from the [ak] Power Grid®.










_*Burton Expedition Long sleeve Crew.*_

You can also feel the warmth level is a far more superior in the Burton Expedition 300 than the midweight 200 [ak] Power Grid®. The Expedition series base layer are also built with Dryride water resistant fabric.



*❄ Continue to part 2.*


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

*❄ Burton [ak] Power Grid®/Expedition Base Layer Review (Part 2).


❄** Rider Outerwear*: Giro Range MIPS*®* helmet, Anon M4 goggles, Burton [ak] Swash Jacket, [ak] Hover pants, [ak] Powergrid (200) base layer, [ak] Guide gloves, [ak] Endurance socks, Burton SLX boots, Quiksilver TR Platinum 24L riders backpack, OT Chips 2.0,
*❄ Board*: Burton Show Stopper 162 / Burton Genesis EST™ (Large) / Burton Straight Chuter 162 / Burton X Base EST™ (Large),
*❄ Location:* Perisher, NSW, Australia, 
*❄ Camera:* GoPro Hero 7 Black/Smatree S2C carbon pole/Samsung Galaxy S8. 












The Burton Expedition 300 top also comes with a frontal 1/4 zip for comfort adjustment.

So how does the [ak] Power Grid® feel on. They are 100% polyester so you do feel this difference on the body over cotton. It does feel snug on, sort of a bit like a second skin. The stitching is all flat locked so there is no worries of rubbing or chaffing against the riders body.











The inside of the Polartec® Power Grid® fabric has a cell like matrix structure that is designed to create a mattress feel to trap heat inside but still allow breathabilty and drying at a fast rate. The Polartec® fabric also has Polygiene® Stink-Proof finish which allows you to ride for days without having to worry about perspiration and the need to wash the base layer.










The [ak] Power Grid® has been designed to have an extra long body length which you can see runs pretty low well past my waist on my taller 192cm (6'4") frame.










This allows you to be able to tuck in the crew/hoodie into the pants trapping in the heat leaving you with no worries of separation throughout the hard charging day of riding.










I grabbed a short sleeve [ak] Power Grid® crew a few years ago mainly because it was really cheap on sale and thought it would be sweet for a double up layer in the colder conditions. 










I however found it more so absolutely superb for being just a single base layer on our warmer Australian spring days just under a shell jacket. You can vent the jacket and have instant cool down without have heat trapped by longer sleeves. It's probably my favorite from all the [ak] Power Grid® base layers I have now.










The [ak] Power Grid® hoodie is okay to wear under a helmet but it runs a little bit sloppy around the sides of your face. 










I'd rather wear a more snug balaclava or micro fleece skull cap with MFI face mask. I'd suggest it's really not worth splashing out for the hoodie above the crew.













Both the [ak] Power Grid® 200/Expedition 300 base layers are a brilliant piece of kit which are absolutely essential when you're smashing it through those cold Alpine conditions.










The Polartec® fabric creates a superb insulative layer of warmth without locking in perspiration due to its excellent breathability as well as being amazingly comfortable to wear under outwear all day long.


*A Powerful "Expedition" of brilliance ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐*


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## Craig64 (Jul 16, 2015)

Had an 18km trek up to Mount Kosciuszko a few days ago with both the misses and me giving our Burton Expedition 300 base layers a little run through their paces.

So firstly I've just got to say, this base layer feels so amazingly comfortable on. I probably don't think I want to go back to the lighter weight [ak] Powergrid 200 any more. They both truly worked a treat in the slightly sub 0C conditions.










The wife ditched her jacket into my backpack after about a km in and was just running on the Expedition top till we reached the peak for lunch.











Reaching the last section of the trek with Mount Kosciuszko in background to the right.











Have to wait now for a few months to click by until our Aussie winter truly kicks in to put these baselayers back into action again.


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