Base Layer Weight for Thru Hike?

[Nick&Bruce]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the final stages of gear selection and I'm getting ready to purchase my base layers.

First off, being a FL native I've never really put any thought into keeping warm before so I am inexperienced. I sweat very easily so I want to be careful to not get something that will make me too warm once I get going. I've done a few local hikes in the low 30's and hiked up the approach trail at Springer with my buddy last year and know that even then if the sun is out I will sweat

Here's my clothing selection so far, please feel free to chime in with any recommendations.

Top:
Synthetic T Shirt
Montbell Ex Light down
Packa rain cover cuben fiber

Bottom:
Nylon Running shorts
Nylon Convertible pants

Based on some recommendations from friends I'm looking primarily at the Patagonia Capilene gear.

For the tops I was thinking that since I already have my t shirt, down jacket and am getting ready to order my Packa I could probably go with a Capilene 2 LW top with the zipper since I could just put on more if I was cold, but could also shed the extra layers and even open up the zipper if I did start to get a bit warm.

I know that as long as I'm moving I'll be relatively warm and haven't had any trouble staying toasty down below until I set up camp. Seeing as I'm skipping out on any heavy wear for my lower half I'm thinking that the Capeline 3 MW gear would be better for my bottom half. I figure that plus my convertible pants should keep me warm enough at camp until its time to get into my sleeping bag.

I want something that will enable me to keep me warm enough while at camp but not too warm when hiking with the rest of my layers being added or shed to make it all work.

Am I on the right track? Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Nick

[Sassafras Lass]

Wool, wool, wool. Synthetic will stink up and hey, sheep are cute.

I just bought some Icebreaker on sale and couldn't be happier. Last spring I hiked in cheap wool layers from Sierra Trading Post, from temps in the 30s - 80s, and they performed wonderfully - couldn't say the same for my synthetic stuff.

[TOMP]

+1 on wool, merino wool that is not a irish wool sweater or anything. Merino wool long sleeve or short is a great option it keeps you warm in cold and somehow isnt too hot when its warm out. And it doesnt absorb half as much stink as that synthetic tee. Also insulates when wet, is lightweight, and talk about comfortable. Get a top and bottom and this can be your base layer/sleep layer if you want. Long johns made with fleece would be fine too and even regular polyester, I wouldnt do anything with cotton even at small percentages.

[Tinker]

+2 on wool. Some of the inexpensive Merino wools can be a tad bit scratchy. I have Terramar Thermawool tops and bottoms which are good at insulating and minimizing odor, but may be (I haven't used more expensive brands) a bit scratchier than pricier items.

Yes - wool, wool, wool. (and it won't melt if you dry it by the fire and the fire gets out of hand).

My friend Digger had his shoe laces melt while drying the shoes by the fire one snowy evening. The wind shifted and before you knew it, solid plastic laces. :) Sorry, Digger :rolleyes: (I built the fire, btw, and, to his credit, he never once blamed me). :)

I once was sitting by a fire when I felt a searing pain on my left wrist. A spark had landed, unnoticed, on the sleeve of my polyester long john top, melted the plastic (that's what it IS), and the molten glob had instantly given me a second degree burn - OUCH!

BEWARE - Don't sit too near the fire with synthetic shelled garments ESPECIALY DOWN garments - one spark can cause an insulation leak. I have several duct tape patches on my favorite down jacket to prove it. :o
For similar reasons, don't set up your nylon shelter too close to a fire, or your pack. I've never melted holes in my shelter, but my pack's rain cover has a couple of small holes (easily patched with shoe goo, silnet, or equivalent - unless they are too big.

[bamboo bob]

Doesn't wool take a very long time to dry?
Do I care about the stink?
I get a shower every week or so whether I need it or not, at home.

Of course when on the trail I let myself go a bit.

[TOMP]

Doesn't wool take a very long time to dry?
Do I care about the stink?
I get a shower every week or so whether I need it or not, at home.

Of course when on the trail I let myself go a bit.


Thick wool hats or socks yes it takes while to dry, but not merino wool shirts. Longer than polyester, but probably close to a cotton tee. If it is soaked just wring it out and it will dry in a couple minutes (10-15). Well why stink more than necessary. If im at the trailhead I dont want to smell you from the shelter:)

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Wool is ok but not that much better other than the stink.

[garlic08]

Do not wear your down layer while hiking (repeat that three times--too long to type). You will soak it with sweat and it will be dead weight.

A wool or synthetic jersey should be good while hiking. I used synthetic and it was fine. Save the down and bottoms for your campsite or long breaks. The bottoms are for comfort, not survival, and I didn't need any. On extremely cold nights, I got right into the bag. You may not need the shorts--I didn't.

You are thinking in a good direction. Good luck with your choices.

[aaronthebugbuffet]

Cap 3 bottoms sound good. You can even wear those if it gets real cold and rainy too. They will dry quickly from body heat when you get to camp.
I usually wear a Cap 3 ls zip top in the 30s with mild wind. I'm still a little sweaty but the capilene moves the sweat away from the skin nicely. I'll take it take down to 20 with a light syn tshirt underneath and thin hat and gloves.

[4shot]

go to walmart or target and get their polypro baselayer set. Might run you $25 - 30 and will work fine. Your bottom piece will be seldom used assuming a mid-march or later start date. You will get to wear the top piece more often but I still have the wally world top (and bottom) from my hike in '10 and a pair of target short pants. Clothes are the one piece of gear that you can skrimp on and be fine with imo. However, get a decent rain coat and puffy coat. one thing you will not be concerned with after your first 5 or 6 weeks is which material 'stinks less." you are about to be exposed to a level of stink that very few human beings (outside of the waste management/treatment fields) have been exposed to. good luck.

[takethisbread]

Wear Shorts and a shirt. And keep a jacket and a spare set of socks. You don't really need anything fancy. It's just walking.

[takethisbread]

I lost those shoes on the fire the year after I had my down jacket melt by the fire at the PA Ruck while listening to Bag o Tricks tell stories. It was cold and I was drunk.



+2 on wool. Some of the inexpensive Merino wools can be a tad bit scratchy. I have Terramar Thermawool tops and bottoms which are good at insulating and minimizing odor, but may be (I haven't used more expensive brands) a bit scratchier than pricier items.

Yes - wool, wool, wool. (and it won't melt if you dry it by the fire and the fire gets out of hand).

My friend Digger had his shoe laces melt while drying the shoes by the fire one snowy evening. The wind shifted and before you knew it, solid plastic laces. :) Sorry, Digger :rolleyes: (I built the fire, btw, and, to his credit, he never once blamed me). :)

I once was sitting by a fire when I felt a searing pain on my left wrist. A spark had landed, unnoticed, on the sleeve of my polyester long john top, melted the plastic (that's what it IS), and the molten glob had instantly given me a second degree burn - OUCH!

BEWARE - Don't sit too near the fire with synthetic shelled garments ESPECIALY DOWN garments - one spark can cause an insulation leak. I have several duct tape patches on my favorite down jacket to prove it. :o
For similar reasons, don't set up your nylon shelter too close to a fire, or your pack. I've never melted holes in my shelter, but my pack's rain cover has a couple of small holes (easily patched with shoe goo, silnet, or equivalent - unless they are too big.

[Sassafras Lass]

BEWARE - Don't sit too near the fire with synthetic shelled garments ESPECIALY DOWN garments - one spark can cause an insulation leak. I have several duct tape patches on my favorite down jacket to prove it. :o

Ha - me too! It's my favorite jacket and I get funny looks in public. Non-hikers don't get my fashion.

[Sassafras Lass]

Doesn't wool take a very long time to dry?
Do I care about the stink?
I get a shower every week or so whether I need it or not, at home.

Of course when on the trail I let myself go a bit.

In my experience, no. Like I said, I wore my merino wool layers in all weather - frozen nights to mid-80s in Hiawasee . . . . sure, I sweated up a storm - but I found that they dried out while I was making dinner and I was good to go until the next day when I got sweaty again.

[Sensei]

First off, an answer: the Cap 2 should be fine for the top and the bottom as well. Most people don't feel like they need much insulation for their legs - I personally didn't carry anything other than my convertible hiking pants. It really depends on you... just like everything else, I guess. It also depends on when you are starting. My rec assumes an average (mid March) start, but I started in Feb. and would have carried the same thing.

Now, for my own take: I am also a merino wool guy. Lots of people like Icebreaker but you can get a practically identical product from Cabelas for half the price. Also, consider using your baselayer as your primary hiking layer - go with longsleeves so you can roll them up. Then switch to a lightweight short-sleeve synthetic shirt for the warmer months. No need to carry both if you don't have to. Here's my favorite:

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/en/or-gear/shirts/echo-tee-m-s.html

Hope this helps!

[Nick&Bruce]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Are the generic brand thermals really that good compared to the Patagonia's Capilene stuff?

[Sensei]

For merino wool the generic brand stuff (i.e. Cabelas) is just as good - I know because I've used it. Capilene is pretty sweet material but I've never used a generic brand synth thermal so I wouldn't be able to provide a comparison. For what it's worth, I think Capilene is designed primary for use as a baselayer under several other layers (duh, haha); I've skied in it and it is fantastic stuff. But on the trail I prefer wool over Capilene since I'm really not layering all that much while I'm actually hiking. Even in temps into the mid twenties I rarely need anything other than a mid-weight baselayer and a rain jacket (along with my trusty balaclava).

[BrianLe]

I've used a thin merino wool layer but prefer a capilene 1 layer. Yes, it doesn't smell as well, but it does dry faster. To be clear, I'm not saying that a thin merino wool takes forever to dry, but I distinctly remember feeling just somewhat more wet, longer, in the merino wool base layer than I do with a cap 1 layer. I have no experience with cap 2 or cap 3 layers; I like a thin base and then layer other things on top of that at need.

I guess my final answer is that I tend now to not use any of those sorts of base layers in favor of the lightest available all-synthetic hiking type button-up shirt next to the skin. I like the pockets. I like that if I pull on something stretchy (say, a patagonia R1 hoody), the button-up sleeves on the button-up shirt stay in place while I pull on the hoody sleeves. At times I like the collar. Nothing against the other style of base layer and I'll use it at times too, just a personal style thing I guess.

However you slice it, I like my next-to-skin layer to not be one that adds a lot of warmth or is at all slow to dry.

[ScottP]

Hi everyone,

I'm in the final stages of gear selection and I'm getting ready to purchase my base layers.

First off, being a FL native I've never really put any thought into keeping warm before so I am inexperienced. I sweat very easily so I want to be careful to not get something that will make me too warm once I get going. I've done a few local hikes in the low 30's and hiked up the approach trail at Springer with my buddy last year and know that even then if the sun is out I will sweat

Here's my clothing selection so far, please feel free to chime in with any recommendations.

Top:
Synthetic T Shirt
Montbell Ex Light down
Packa rain cover cuben fiber

Bottom:
Nylon Running shorts
Nylon Convertible pants

Based on some recommendations from friends I'm looking primarily at the Patagonia Capilene gear.

For the tops I was thinking that since I already have my t shirt, down jacket and am getting ready to order my Packa I could probably go with a Capilene 2 LW top with the zipper since I could just put on more if I was cold, but could also shed the extra layers and even open up the zipper if I did start to get a bit warm.

I know that as long as I'm moving I'll be relatively warm and haven't had any trouble staying toasty down below until I set up camp. Seeing as I'm skipping out on any heavy wear for my lower half I'm thinking that the Capeline 3 MW gear would be better for my bottom half. I figure that plus my convertible pants should keep me warm enough at camp until its time to get into my sleeping bag.

I want something that will enable me to keep me warm enough while at camp but not too warm when hiking with the rest of my layers being added or shed to make it all work.

Am I on the right track? Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Nick

When are you starting?

I rock the synthetic
I've had success with the generic stuff. Patagonia is a pretty cool company thought.

[swjohnsey]

Thanks for the input everyone!

Are the generic brand thermals really that good compared to the Patagonia's Capilene stuff?


Pataonia stuff is cool. Their Stand Up short are what I live in most of the year. Everything they sell is overpriced and still made in China.

[Nick&Bruce]

I'll be starting about April 15th. I'll have to take a look around the local places for generics. Something tells me I'll have trouble finding these in FL.

[HT1]

I'll be starting about April 15th. I'll have to take a look around the local places for generics. Something tells me I'll have trouble finding these in FL.

the base layer synthetics are easy to find. start at the outletmalls if you are near any of them, you can get some killer deals that way, mid and top layer you may have to order online. Dont forget to look in the Army surpluss stores for polartech fleece top and bottom.
HT1

[handlebar]

Love the Icebreaker 150 weight base layer. I wear short sleeve T spring thru fall and long sleeve in winter. Though I sweat heavily, I find the shirts dry out with body heat while I'm preparing dinner (takes a little while on my alcohol stove). Doesn't seem to stink all that bad----especially compared to synthetic.