Microweight or Lightweight underwear while hiking?

[vaporjourney]

I'm nearing the end of all of the necessary gear purchases for my AT/IAT thruhike next year, but still have a few tiny items like underwear to purchase. I'm decided on smartwool while hiking to hide the funk, and then the newer version of capilene for around camp. I know that the capline will be either Capilene 3 or 4, to make sure that I can stay warm while sitting still. I'm unsure about the tickness to wear while hiking. I know that some people just hike in shorts and shortsleeves, so the answers may vary wildly. I tend to get pretty cold while sitting still, but not sure about while moving since I"ve never hiked in thermal layers before other than heavy and hot thermal cotton tops and bottoms. My worry about Microweight is that it would be great while moving, but when you stand still, you'd get too cold while eating, etc. The lightweight would probably be great for standing still to help fight off the chill, but while moving may cause you to generate too much heat after hiking for 30 minutes.

[Alligator]

Plan clothes that will keep you warm enough moving and keep a jacket and other items such as /hat/gloves/neck gaiter handy for breaks.

[RockyTrail]

Why don't you try out your gear on a practice hike? There are plenty of good places to go within driving distance of Asheville. I could not imagine attempting a thru-hike without at least a few shakedown hikes (although I'm sure there are some that do). You will quickly discover what works and doesn't work, everybody usually has a different experience of sorts so it's hard to get this experience secondhand. As far as cotton, the stuff usually gets wet hiking and refuses to dry out, so some sort of synthetic is usually best. Some people do wear cotton t-shirts, especialy for camp wear but they eventually get soggy as well. Happy Hiking

[vaporjourney]

oh, i'll definitely have numerous shakedown hikes before I start the thru. However...I don't want to spend over $40 for a shirt, only to find out that it is too heavy, or too light to keep me comfortable. It'd be nice to have a little peace of mind, before taking something out of packaging and sweating on it, making it impossible to return, and then I've got some clothing that I won't use for months on end.

[soulrebel]

preferred micro--

[Moose2001]

I have to agree with Alligator. I wouldn't recommend carrying extra thermals just for hiking, too much weight. You'll probably find that you can stay warm enough without them. If you're cold, put on your rain jacket. If you're really cold, rain pants. I've hiked in 20 degree weather wearing shorts, shirt, rain jacket, and fleece hat and did fine. You do get cold if you stop. If it's a long break, put on some warm layers.

[rswanson]

In spring and fall I'm using shorts and lightweight tights and a Smartwool L/S top. This combination seems to do a good job of keeping me warm down to 30 degrees or so. For rest stops I use a 3 ounce windshirt to supplement. Can get a bit gamey after 3-4 days but I'm betting you won't care about that after some time on the trail. The tights are easy to wash and dry fast. I'm using Mountain Hardwear Hyperdry tights right now. I'd classify them as microweight. They seem to hold up really well.

I sleep in the tights as well. I'm not carrying a lot of other clothing weight outside of my insulating and rain gear. I usually only have an extra pair of socks and a spare s/s tee for sleeping.

If you've got a windshirt and and rain pants you should be ok with the lightest-weight thermals you can get. After it warms up you can always bounce 'em ahead or keep them for sleeping and shoot the thicker Capeline stuff up the road for cooler weather.