Silk or Polartec long underware

[jmorgan]

OK i am trying to decide between silk long underwear and Polartec. I will be hiking the white mountains in dec and think i should get some just in case. I am leaning more towards the silk. Anynoe have any opinions?

[JAK]

I have both, and wool also.

Wool works best for layers that can be worn continuously, so not all layers should be wool. Silk and polyester are better for layers that are added and removed to suit your activity level and conditions of the day. This does not preclude carrying layers that can be slipped on underneath the other layers. Taking a wool sweater off to add a layer underneath is a good way to freshen up a little. Also, you don't need skin layers all the time. I like my loose wool layer all the time, with bare skin under most of the time, and no shell over so the wind can blow through. Sometimes wool sweater and shorts even in winter if it is sunny enough and not too windy. That allows me to keep the wool layer on when active, so it stays dry. It also means the layers I add and remove are the ones that pack easier. I usually don't have wool bottoms unless I know it is going to be a really cold week, like 0F.

The silk with nicely under the wool as an extra layer, but in general I find polyester layers, skin or 100wt or 200wt fleece, more verastile than the silk. It is good to have one set of silk to try out and mess around with. It can stretch over a loose wool layer also, which is something to try. Didn't really feel right, but it was something to try.

[Llama Legs]

I much prefer sleeping in silk, which is my primary reason for longs.

[Spokes]

Polartec gets my vote. Silk is comfortable but weaker and harder to care for in the long run.

[JAK]

One reason I like silk is because it is available in light weights. Not saying it is warmer for its weight. Just a nice way to carry a little extra, when another layer is too much, but you might need something extra.

The other thing I like about silk is that it is hard to figure out exactly what it is. Is it really a natural fibre, or is it more of a synthetic fibre, that just happens to involve some worms in the process? Does it wick moisture, or trap heat? Is it warm, or cool? Is it comfortable, or clammy? It is weird stuff. When I wear wool at least I am still a mammal. When I wear silk I'm like some sort of a space bug or something. lol

[jmorgan]

Thanks for the info... I think i will get silks for this trip (The whites in mid Sept) and then a set of smart wool that i can wear in colder conditions.
I dont plan on sleeping in them because i already get too hot when i sleep now. Even in 14 degree weather i still find my self unzipping my mummy to 3/4 some times!

[tdilf]

I will be trying silks my next time out this fall - but mostly for sleeping. One thing to note wool and polartec will still work while wet - not so much for silk.

[JAK]

Wool works when wet because it can hold up to 35% of its weight in water before feeling wet or losing insulating properties, but it still pays to take them off and wring them out and put them back on again if drenched. Polartec works by hardly holding any water at all, even if you take a plunge. You can pretty much shake them dry. Silk, I thought, would be somewhat in between the two, but closer to polartec. It also works well when wet simply by virtue of being so thin. Still, you might have to peel them off and give them a shake and put them back on if completely soaked. I haven't got my silks that wet yet. You have me curious.

[mudhead]

Wet silk suks. Wet wool suks. Wet polyester I can deal with.

[JAK]

I like a combination of some wool layers and some polyester layers. The combination is better than just wool layers or just polyester layers. Silk is a little different. Still feeling it out. It can be really thin tough, which makes it useful for your closet to sometimes bring instead of something heavier, or to leave home.

[musicman4534]

In my opinion, wet silk and wet wool don't suck Mr. mudhead. Silk is super awesome.

[fiddlehead]

I would take both silk and poly(something) to the white's in Dec.
It'll be cold (most likely) and both are lightweight garments with amazing qualities for keeping you alive and comfortable.
Have fun.

[Tipi Walter]

There's silk and then there's silk. Most people think of silk underwear, long johns, as being sheer and very thin, but there are beefy silk tops/turtlenecks which can be layered together and become an equivalent midlayer, replacing fleece or capilene or polypro or merino. WINTERSILKS sells various weights of tops, and Cabelas sells a nice Men's Tall sheer top if you want your silk baselayer to hang low below the waist and have the arm lengths come down over your wrists for cool weather protection.

I always carry a sheer silk longsleeve top all thru the year, and sometimes wear it under my backpacking t-shirt when on the trail for cool mornings. Otherwise, in the winter the silk top becomes my next-to-skin baselayer under my merino(or sometimes layered silk)tops.

All in all, I prefer merino layered tops for my winter midlayer, under my polartec fleece jacket and that under my FF down parka when the temps really hit the floor.

There's been a long discussion on whether silk is better than merino(or for that matter, polypro/capilene), and no one seems to know. When silk is used in the equivalent weight/thickness, it's a hard call. Comfort is fantastic with a sheer silk top and bottom when inside a zipped up sleeping bag--you move around like a greased hot dog--but then again, fine merino next to the skin is also nice(for most people).

The basic question is: In the same weight, what's best? Merino, silk, capilene or polypro? I started my backpacking life(the second part, at least)in polypro, good old stinky polypro(and laundrymat dryers will eat it). Eventually I upgraded to some Patagonia capilene and found it to be usable. Then I got on a heavy Icebreaker merino kick until those wore out. Now I'm currently on a Smartwool merino jag, tops and bottoms. But you know, the old Duofold Campmor polypro is fine and it's hard to see a real difference between them all.