When we think of 110%, their innovative integration of ice packs into compression gear is usually what comes to mind, especially their Overdrive Compression Kit. There’s good reason why this gear makes it into our yearly holiday buying guide—it works really well. And recently 110% sent us their new Katalyst short sleeve shirt, which reminded us that their non-ice gear can be just as impressive

At its most basic description, the Katalyst is a form-fitting shirt (not quite compression, but still skin tight). Available in both long and short sleeves, it’s designed to be easily customizable. Prefer sleeveless? Simply grab a pair of scissors and go for it. The shirt was designed so that it can be easily cut and modified into whatever works best for you.

The fabric itself is simply amazing. It’s easily one of the most comfortable materials we’ve worn. 110% calls this Warp-Knit technology and says that it took 5,000 needles and over 6 million individual knots to make. The end result is a seamless shirt that is perfectly smooth against your body. We wore this on some of the hottest days here in sunny South Florida (90°+ with humidity) and never had the slightest hint of chafing. For those who live and train in extreme temperatures, you know that is a big win. The moisture wicking claims are more than just marketing speak – the shirt kept us feeling dry and comfortable.

We continued to wear the Katalyst in the widest range of temperatures that we could find (roughly 55° to 95°) to find how it would stand up. On the coolest days, the Katalyst left us feeling comfortable with just enough chill getting through to help us push the pace. In fact this became one of our favorite shirts to wear on long runs when the temperature dipped. On hotter runs we found that we maxed the Katalyst’s thermos regulation abilities once the mercury went above 90°. However, after that, we started to warm up quickly. Though to be honest, we typically only run in sleeveless shirts in the heat of the summer. And since we wanted to keep our one Katalyst intact for testing, we weren’t able to test it in sleeveless form.

The one drawback of the Katalyst is the price – $75 for the short sleeve and $85 for the long. This makes it much closer in price to your race kit than a workout shirt. While it’s definitely not cheap, you are getting one of the most comfortable and versatile workout options out there. It’s also something you will wear regularly this season.

Although 100%’s ice gear continues to be our first love, if they keep making products like the Katalyst, there’s a chance we may be swayed.