Trail RunningFellT-shirt

Fell Clothing The Original Tee review: the most comfortable running tee we've tested

Made from wood pulp instead of polyester, naturally odour-resistant, and smart enough for the pub afterwards. After 100 miles across a British winter, spring and summer, is this the running tee to beat? We think it might be.

✓  Top PickFell The Original TeeMaterialLyocell / CottonMade inPortugalRRP£40The good✓  Naturally antimicrobial — wear it for days
✓  One of the comfiest tees we've worn
✓  Lightweight, breathable, quick-drying
✓  Doesn't look like running kit
✓  Washes brilliantly, gets better with age
✓  Natural fabric that performs like a synthetic
The not-so-good✗  A touch baggy under the arms
Check out The Original Tee at Fell →

At a glance

Check out The Original Tee at Fell →

Overview

Fell is an independent British running brand with a simple, slightly contrarian idea at its heart: that you shouldn't have to dress head-to-toe in plastic to go for a run. Born on the hills as a reaction to the running industry's reliance on synthetics, the brand was founded by people who'd rather finish a run at the pub than chase a VO2 max number — and who couldn't square being out in the wild while shedding microplastics with every mile. Their answer was kit made from 100% natural materials, built to perform at a genuinely technical standard, and made at a specialist mill and factory in Portugal. Their motto sums the whole thing up nicely: a good day for it.

The Original Tee is the brand's flagship and its first ever product, launched back in 2025. It's a deceptively simple white running tee made from a 67% lyocell, 33% cotton blend — 100% natural, with not a thread of polyester in sight. That matters more than it sounds. Where a typical synthetic running top clings to your skin and broadcasts to everyone that you've been exercising, the Original Tee sits like a normal t-shirt. It breathes and wicks like technical kit on the move, then quietly passes for an everyday tee the moment you stop. We ran, hiked, fastpacked and even cycled in ours, and the same shirt came to the café afterwards without a second thought.

At £40 it sits in interesting company. That's roughly on par with a synthetic performance tee from the likes of The North Face or Rab, and you can of course pick up a basic running tee from Decathlon for a fraction of the price. But the more honest comparison is with natural rivals: a merino tee from Icebreaker or Isobaa will set you back £45–£70 and brings its own warmth and odour resistance, albeit with wool's fragility and slower drying. Seen that way — a natural, non-plastic running tee with considered design and performance to match pricier names — £40 looks genuinely fair.

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What is lyocell, anyway?

If polyester is the running world's default, lyocell is the quiet alternative that's starting to make it look dated. It's a fabric spun from sustainably sourced wood pulp — usually eucalyptus, beech or spruce — produced in a closed-loop process where the chemicals used to dissolve the pulp are captured and reused rather than dumped. The upshot is a material that feels soft and natural against the skin, wicks and breathes well, and carries a far lighter environmental footprint than the synthetics that dominate the rails. Blend it with a third cotton, as Fell has here, and you get something that's hard-wearing and familiar to wear, without the plastic.

How we tested

We were sent the Original Tee at the start of 2026, which gave us the better part of four months to put it through a proper British seasonal beating. We wore it through sub-zero January mornings, shoulder-season March outings, and an early-summer heatwave in May with temperatures nudging past 30°C. It came on a string of trail runs across the Chiltern Hills and a multi-day fastpack along the Thames Path, then doubled as a camp and hiking shirt on a couple of wild camps on Dartmoor and an all-day yomp across the Brecon Beacons in Wales.

All in, we put somewhere around a hundred miles into this one shirt before sitting down to write. That's enough to know how it behaves cold and hot, soaked and bone-dry, fresh on and three days deep — and, crucially, how it holds up in the wash over a full season of abuse.

Comfort and fit

The first thing you notice is how soft it is. Pull it on expecting another scratchy, slippery performance tee and you get the opposite — something gentle and natural against the skin that Fell reckons is the comfiest running tee you'll own. After a season in it, we're not inclined to argue.

The fit is the other half of the appeal. Where a skin-tight technical top is great mid-run but awkward the moment you're propping up a bar, the Original Tee fits like a normal t-shirt and performs like a technical layer. It's an everyday cut, which is rather the point. Two honest caveats: it's a little baggy under the arms, and if you wear it under a hydration pack on a windy day, it can flap about. Unless you're shredded enough to want every contour on show, though, we'd take this relaxed fit for all-day use every time — trail, office or pub.

Breathability, sweat and odour

On the move it breathes and wicks every bit as well as a strong polyester top, shifting sweat and drying fast after a hard effort — but without the clammy cling. Where it really pulls ahead of synthetics is smell. Lyocell is naturally antimicrobial, and it shows: we wore this two or three times — sometimes days on the trot — between washes without it ever turning. For multi-day trips, where one good tee beats three stinking ones, that's a genuine advantage.

"It fits like your favourite old t-shirt but performs like technical kit — and it never, ever stinks."

Durability, care and the natural angle

Performance fabrics are often a faff to look after. Not this one. It washes on pretty much any cycle and comes out looking better for it — Fell claims it actually improves with every wash, and ours has shown no signs of arguing. The only rule is to keep it out of the tumble dryer; that said, one of our testers chucked it in by accident and reported no obvious harm. Don't make a habit of it, but it's reassuring to know it's not delicate.

Then there's the bit that's easy to overlook: because it's 100% natural, there's nothing nasty going on against your skin, and nothing leaching aggressive microplastics into the water every time you wash it. For a piece of kit you'll wear next to the skin for years, that's worth something — and it's exactly the gap Fell set out to fill.

Check out The Original Tee at Fell →

Our verdictNot just a running tee — proof that natural kit can keep up with the plastic.The Original Tee is a great buy for anyone who likes to look good on the trail and doesn't fancy changing before the pub. It performs genuinely well, and because it's a natural product you know it's not doing anything unpleasant to your skin or the water it's washed in. The fit is considered, the design understated but eye-catching, the branding spot-on, and the performance is right up there with names charging a lot more. The fact it's made from lyocell feels like a small evolution in running kit — enough to make us rethink merino as the only real alternative to polyester. A good day for it, indeed.Check out The Original Tee at Fell →

FAQs

How breathable is The Original Tee?Very. We wore it everywhere from sub-zero January runs to a 30°C May heatwave, and it breathes and wicks like a strong polyester top — minus the clammy cling. The lyocell-cotton blend moves air well and never felt sweaty against the skin.

Does The Original Tee smell after a few wears?Barely. Lyocell is naturally antimicrobial, so it resists odour far better than synthetic kit — we wore ours two or three times, sometimes over consecutive days, without a wash and without it turning. Ideal for multi-day trips.

How does The Original Tee fit?Like a normal t-shirt, not a race-fit base layer. It performs like technical kit but sits looser, so it works as well in the office or pub as on the trail. The only caveats: a touch baggy under the arms, and it can flap if worn under a hydration pack in strong wind.

Is The Original Tee easy to wash and care for?Easy. It washes on pretty much any cycle and seems to improve with age. Keep it out of the tumble dryer to be safe — though one of our testers dried it by accident with no obvious harm.

Is The Original Tee from Fell Clothing worth the money?At £40 it sits alongside synthetic tees from The North Face and Rab, and below natural merino rivals. For a 100% natural, non-plastic running tee with this much considered design — and performance to match pricier brands — we think it's a fair price, and an easy one to recommend.