keeping warm - base layer, need advice

travco said:
Start with marino wool . Costco sells t-shirts for $20 .. If you want the best then buy Icebreaker 260 base layer . You can wear the stuff for a week and still no BO ..
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I have owned an IB 260 long sleeve for 6 years. I have only needed to wash it once. It never smells and its warm as anything.
 
Magellann said:
When you say fleece, do you mean the polar fleece material that a lot of shirts and blankets are made of nowadays?
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Yes, polar fleece. The good stuff not the low grade stuff. Mountain Equipment Co-op for example has good fleece. Comes in three weights 100, 200, 300. The good stuff won't pill and ball up from use. I have some fleece put out by "Lowe" that I bought in 1989 and it is still going strong. "Marks Work Wear House" is not known for good quality fleece. You can tell the quality from the feel of it.
 
hi mate, my temps are proberly no where near as cold as Canada, although I use thermals on base layer, with polar fleece over that and then generally flannelette and then a Lammellar hunting jacket for when its cold.

I have also got a Swanny, big woollen NZ bush shirt.

Id also be inclined to wear a few layers of thermal/polar fleece if temps dropped!

cheers
WL
 
timandkimandshea said:
OK, here's the plan. The Costco "merino" is mostly synthetic, but it's inexpensive. So I picked up a set for the base layer. Next, Cabelas had mid weight merino wool tops and bottoms for $70 each, that's almost half off, so that's layer two. Then street clothes, and finally waterproof/insulated bib and jacket over top. That's the plan, we will see how it goes.
Thanks for all the input.
T
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Sounds good. But to be completely accurate, Costco sells two versions of "merino" underwear. One, Paradox, is mostly synthetic and therefore only sort of allegedly merino. The $20 coloured Rough Dress undershirts that people have been recommending are real merino wool.
 
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Bigbubba said:
there is no way anyone is selling 100% merino wool anything (except maybe a pair of socks) for only $20
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Our local Costco has had 100% Merino for the last few years. $20.00 for tops or bottoms. I have lots of merino, several different makes, and the Costco stuff is very good. It's a seasonal item though.

They also carry a synthetic/wool blend. Nice, but grows a stink quicker.
 
Big Bad said:
Sounds good. But to be completely accurate, Costco sells two versions of "merino" underwear. One, Paradox, is mostly synthetic and therefore only sort of allegedly merino. The $20 coloured Rough Dress undershirts that people have been recommending are real merino wool.
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Yup. They have carried a 100% merino underwear line as well. Locally anyways. I think it's branded 'True North' or something similar. Has 'Made in Canada' labels as well.
 
Cintax said:
My uncle always says cotton kills. Wool retains 80% of its insulating value when wet, whereas cotton becomes less than useless when wet. Its not even that great when dry. I wear wool or synthetic undergarments.
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Correct, if you have a local war surplus store the current issue Cdn Army long johns will more than fill the bill. Too warm in fact.
 
mrgoat said:
Yes, polar fleece. The good stuff not the low grade stuff. Mountain Equipment Co-op for example has good fleece. Comes in three weights 100, 200, 300. The good stuff won't pill and ball up from use. I have some fleece put out by "Lowe" that I bought in 1989 and it is still going strong. "Marks Work Wear House" is not known for good quality fleece. You can tell the quality from the feel of it.
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I like it too, I have a couple heavyweight polar fleece shirts that I use, Its very light and comfortable and dries quickly. It packs up fairly small into my backpack on warmer days when I'm walking about.
 
Big Bad said:
Sounds good. But to be completely accurate, Costco sells two versions of "merino" underwear. One, Paradox, is mostly synthetic and therefore only sort of allegedly merino. The $20 coloured Rough Dress undershirts that people have been recommending are real merino wool.
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I'll have to take a look for them on my next trip to Costco.
 
Big Bad said:
Sounds good. But to be completely accurate, Costco sells two versions of "merino" underwear. One, Paradox, is mostly synthetic and therefore only sort of allegedly merino. The $20 coloured Rough Dress undershirts that people have been recommending are real merino wool.
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I had originally said these were labelled Rough Dress. In fact they are True North. (The only label is inside the shirt at the neck).

Rough Dress are the excellent, also Made in Canada stretchy cotton t-shirts that I have many of... $9.99! Love Costco for things like this.

It makes me happy that they can sell Made in Canada textiles of good quality for less than overseas ones.
 
ive been working in rail yards for 12 years, i got UA cold gear last year for christmas, greatest thing since sliced bread, sometimes you can get too warm, but its worth every penny
 
Cotton should be avoided completely, not just for the base layer. I remember years ago I wore a cotton turtleneck over my synthetic fleece base layer, with a polarfleece sweater and then a shell on top. After working outside for one complete shift I was warm, dry and comfortable...but at the end of the day when I undressed I found that was wearing a dry base layer and a dry fleece layer, and sandwiched between the two was a sopping wet t-neck.

I always laugh at the guys on the job who laugh at me for wearing wool work socks in even the hottest weather. At the end of the day my feet are dry and relatively comfortable...their cotton socks are soaked.
 
A lot of sage advice there. I've always layered with a good thin wicking layer of synthetic against the skin, and a well designed wind proof shell, top and bottom. In warmer weather, I didn't need an insulating layer, but I have layers in different weights to use depending on temperature and activity (walking versus hunting from a blind).

I do have to say that I splashed out and bought a set of Under Armour, and found that I was much colder with that than my regular light polypropylene base layer. I was very disappointed with its performance.

I'll have to look for the Costco merino stuff. It sounds interesting.
 
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