Confusion about shirts -- what to bring??

[cutman11]

I have received my christmas gifts, and am now officially confused about what is what with regard to thermal capabilities of the shirts i've got. I know, cry me a river, i've got the following : silkweight short sleeve pategonia capilene, silkweight long sleeve capilene, pategonia R-1 longsleeve zip T, pategonia r-2 jacket. I got a new MID weight longsleeve smartwool zip T for christmas. I used to wear the shortsleeve hiking, use the silkweight longsleeve for warm nights, add the R1 for colder nights, and only bring the r2 when its really going to be cold out. I use a 30 deg WM bag and have a silk liner as my sleep system. I have a single wall sub 2lb tent. I have been hiking mostly in the south, but in april will head to NJ and further north from there, most likely returning in the late aug/sept timeframe to do Maine(i'm a sectioner). Should I substitute the midweight for my silkweight longsleeve? or for the R1? or just add it outright? It weighs about the same as the R1, and maybe an ounce or two more than the silkweight, but does anyone know how to compare the warmth comparing synthetics with wool?

[Vi+]

Cutman11,

I’m familiar with only a few of the shirts you own so I may not be of much help.

I wear a short sleeve Patagonia silkweight shirt in winter to lift perspiration from my skin and promote its evaporation. In summer, the silkweight seems to fill with sweat and my pack slides around too much. I switch to a lightweight version for hot weather use.

It has seemed to me for some time that people must have different physiological responses to physical exertion. My suspicion comes from noticing different people prefer much different clothing, tops especially.

I don’t like fleece tops. They don’t breathe well enough for me which, I consider, is what produces their “illusion” of warming ability, because of the Vapor Barrier Effect. If I’m not too cold hiking downhill or level while wearing a fleece top I will feel warm hiking uphill. Soon after I feel warm, I will perspire more than can evaporate. Not long after this I will become much colder than I was when I decided to put on the fleece top in the first place.

Wool, as opposed to fleece, is inherently warm. Wool ventilates much better than fleece. An open-weave pullover wool sweater or tightly-woven button-front wool shirt, for me, is/are best for the ventilation of cold weather perspiration from the outer surface of a silkweight top.

I toy with adding a midweight long sleeve polypropylene top, but it’s heavy. So I usually just stay with a silkweight short sleeve top.

If removing, or the evaporation of, perspiration is not an issue for you, my advice is meaningless. Try out your different tops; take them hiking with you under different conditions and substitute them from time to time until you’re satisfied that you’ve found the right one(s).

[Vi+]

I included your Patagonia R-1 Zip T and Patagonia R-2 Jacket within the class “fleece tops" (Post #2). You may disagree.

[Sly]

Fleece doesn't breathe? You can blow right through them, and they have no vapor barrier that I'm aware of unless it's 'wind blocker"

Cutman, I'd take the silkweight T, the mid-weight long sleeve and the R1.

[Almost There]

Fleece breathes just fine, but sweat does collect on the outside, however a good fleece will keep you warm no matter what.

Regardless, I echo what Sly said. You should have all your bases covered with that set up.

[highway]

Flece brearhes so well that a micro version of it-microfleece- is the inner layer of the highly brreathable (wicking action) garments from Marmont, Buffalo, Paramo. In fact its the gaments strong point

[hopefulhiker]

I carried the silkweight in colder temps and used the Pat short sleeve in warmer weather. Also carried the dri clime windshirt..

[Vi+]

My post has stimulated some flak.

Sly advised (Post #4), “Fleece doesn't breathe? You can blow right through them ...”

Almost There advised (Post #5), “Fleece breathes just fine ... a good fleece will keep you warm no matter what.”

Highway advised (Post #6), “Flece brearhes so well that a micro version of it-microfleece- is the inner layer of the highly brreathable (wicking action) garments from Marmont, Buffalo, Paramo. In fact its the gaments strong point”

I had advised (Post #2), “... people must have different physiological responses to physical exertion ... different people prefer much different clothing ... I don’t like fleece tops. They don’t breathe well enough FOR ME (emphasis added) ... ”

I own and have worn while hiking during all seasons Paramo shirts, microfleece tops and bottoms, silkweight, lightweight, and midweight capilene tops and bottoms, along with a lot of other stuff.

I stand by all I said, including, “If removing, or the evaporation of, perspiration is not an issue for you, my advice is meaningless. Try out your different tops; take them hiking with you under different conditions and substitute them from time to time until you’re satisfied that you’ve found the right one(s).”

[Vi+]

When I left to walk the dog this evening, the weather appeared mild. I wore a cotton shirt covered with a blaze orange hooded fleece jacket. The walk is a mile long through fields and woods, and across streams. It’s hunting season. Camouflaged poachers here are shoot-and-run specialists. It was not very cold yet windy, and humid as usual. The wind blew through the jacket with little interruption chilling me.

You guys make an accurate point, fleece breathes well.

I apologize for my incomplete post (#2), and for not recognizing my negligence (Post #8).

I realized I had overlooked some important things constructing Post #2. At the time I was wearing a fleece top backpacking, I often wore a Gore-Tex rain shell over it.

A problem with fleece is, wind blows through it and removes the layer of warm air covering the skin. When I put a rain shell over the fleece to retard the heat loss, the fleece also lost much of its ventilating property. I think humid air leaving the surface of my skin condenses within the fleece forming droplets of water. Fleece causes me to overheat, initially, and then become very cold.

I stopped wearing fleece while backpacking. I also stopped wearing a Gore-Tex shell.

I wear a silkweight shirt over my skin, a cashmere or wool sweater over the silkweight, and either a poncho or windbreaker on top. Humid air wicks through the silkweight, passes through the fiber of the sweater, and either continues to pass on, or condenses on the underside of the windbreaker. I occasionally run a hand over the underside of the windbreaker and, at worst, remove the windbreaker to shake off the condensed water.

A problem with questions such as the one posed in Post #1, and the responses to it, is they are often incomplete. When walking the dog I also wore shorts, a hat, socks and shoes; I didn’t mention them. When I described what I wear - silkweight shirt, sweater, and poncho or windbreaker - it is limited to times when it is cold. I read posts which say something like, “I wear moleskin on my soles, a loin cloth, a large leaf on my head and carry the sierra cup my sainted wife gave me years ago.” This may be all well and good but surely this is during summer, and not in the Whites. The point is, what else you wear and the prevailing conditions when you choose to wear them can be quite significant.

It would be interesting, now that I use a poncho which ventilates far better than a Gore-Tex shell, if I can tolerate fleece. I shall experiment.