Base layers

I use merino wool base layers (in various weights) all year round. They also help regulate your temperature (not just warm), and amazingly, they are highly resistant to odor. I can wear the same base layer top for maybe 3-4 days on a long trip with no appreciable smell, which is kind of incredible.
I also use a Hotwire heated jacket in the cooler months. Light weight, easy to pack and wind resistant. Depending on the temp, I add some kind of mid-layer between the merino wool and the heated jacket, or outer shell if I'm not using the heated layer. Works for me in most conditions. Humid summer days in the American North East are another story, and one I have yet to fully solve......

ECJJCE said:

I use merino wool base layers (in various weights) all year round. They also help regulate your temperature (not just warm), and amazingly, they are highly resistant to odor. I can wear the same base layer top for maybe 3-4 days on a long trip with no appreciable smell, which is kind of incredible.
I also use a Hotwire heated jacket in the cooler months. Light weight, easy to pack and wind resistant. Depending on the temp, I add some kind of mid-layer between the merino wool and the heated jacket, or outer shell if I'm not using the heated layer. Works for me in most conditions. Humid summer days in the American North East are another story, and one I have yet to fully solve......

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response! Do you use (Merino) long sleeve shirts and long underpants during (mild) summer? Any Merino brand you recommend? Have found some Merino here but it seems to be thicker and targeted more against winter time. Guess the Merino pants/shirts should be thinner during summer (?).

/Lars

Lars-
Yes, I wear even in summer as a top underlayer, but no bottom layer. A company called Smartwool makes a lot of different option and weights. I use the 120 weight for warm weather use. They also make a short sleeve version, but I usually wear a long sleeve version under elbow pads, etc.

ECJJCE said:

Lars-
Yes, I wear even in summer as a top underlayer, but no bottom layer. A company called Smartwool makes a lot of different option and weights. I use the 120 weight for warm weather use. They also make a short sleeve version, but I usually wear a long sleeve version under elbow pads, etc.

Click to expand...

Ordered some smartwool top layer in 120 weight + socks + underwear. Also getting some Under Armour and will compare which I like the best.

Smartwool is pricey but have already a thicker Merino base layer (thicker Merino for winter - of other brand) - which is very comfortable. Smartwool will probably be as comfortable.

Thanks again for the tip,

Yes, it is a little too expensive, but it does work well, and the ‘no stink’ factor is amazing. I did the North East Backcountry Discovery Route last summer, and wore a 120 weight Smartwool base layer top for the first 3 or 4 days (it still didn’t smell), and then switched out to another non-merino top, which starred stinking first day. Switched back to the same Smartwool top after airing it out a little, and wore it for the remaining 4 days (!), at which point it was just starting to get stinky. Pretty amazing. Plus, it dries incredibly fast.
Their sizing can be weird though. I’m 185cm (6’ 1”), and wear a small in the 120 weight (I think I wear a medium in the other weights).
Let us know what you think after you try it out.