Cold weather gear

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Fuori

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Oct 13, 2014
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It's getting closer to that time and there are some nice sales going on. One such sale is on the Patagonia R1 Full-Zip, which has Polartec insulation. I already own the Cabela's ECWCS Polartec fleece and I'm wondering if there would be a noticeable difference? The R1 is supposed to be fantastic, but I don't want to double up on what I already own. What would set them apart?

The next item I'm considering in that same middle layer category is the Wiggys Supplex Sweater. I contacted them yesterday and was told it would fit under a shell. The nice thing about his products is they supposedly work well when wet. How would this compare to the R1 and fleece? I can purchase both, but would only like to do so if I'd be gaining something.

The last on my list are the Wiggy's Super Mittens, which also supposedly work well even when wet, but I have no direct experience with them. There are a lot of other choices on the market, but not many proclaim to maintain insulation even when wet. I know his sleeping bags do, but have never owned his clothing. Would they be an upgrade over mittens at a sporting good store?
 
One of my favorite cold weather items is an old Army wool 5 button fatigue sweater. Army hasn't issued them for a while now and hasn't had wool ones for even longer. Still hard to bead good quality wool for insulation when wet.
 
I have Dachstein double boiled wool mittens with a light nylon over mitt
Do they still make them?
They were good to -20 and lower
 
MAybe there was more to the conversation than you reported. How can anyone tell you a garment will "fit under a shell" if they do not know the size of the shell vs what is under that shell - you + other garments besides the layer they are discussing? Of course it will fit. Sure. No doubt. Absolutely. If we sell it, it will fit. Looks great on you.

"Insulation when wet" is more than a little optimistic. "Insulation" is provided by trapped air. Some materials work better when damp, dry quicker than others, and cause moisture to migrate outwards. Hence the superiority of polyester over wool as reflected in the universal use of polyester insulation by expeditions of the poles. But if "cold" water has filed the spaces formerly occupied by air, your body heat will not be trapped by the wet garment.
 
I know Wiggy's sleeping bags work when wet, so if the jacket is made from the same material it would make sense that it would as well. I left out the part where he said it would fit as long as my shell is a bit loose.

Is anyone familiar with Supplex as a material?
 
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the R-1 is a different animal than the ECWCS fleece, the ECWCS is much closer to an insulating layer than a mid-layer imo- it's much warmer than a R-1, however a R-1 shines when you're moving- the grid fleece moves moisture much better than "normal" fleece

if you're looking for a cold weather mid-layer on the move in cold weather, the R-1 (or any of the lighter grid fleece offerings) will serve you well; when stopped- pulling the ECWCS over the top will keep you warm while stopped
 
The Cabela's ECWCS has the same checkered fleece as the R1 from the looks of it. The only difference is the R1 seems to have a slightly tighter weave. Does that make a difference?
 
I was referring to the original Ecwcs- a 300 weight fleece, Cabelas power dry fleece is the same as the R1 in mid weight, their lightweight power dry is equivalent to Patagonia's Capilene 4- I didn't look closely at the Cabelas site, but see if they list the garment weight and then compare with Patagonias - it will usually be expressed as oz/yard that way you can compare apples with apples- it's all power dry, just various weights
 
If you are looking for cold weather gear that is a little different......but super effective.....take a look at Buffalo systems !

 
cold weather gear for me, has to perform well down to about 20F. That's about as cold as it will get here in North Florida, and only one or two days out of the year.

I can get by with a decent mid weight base layer, a fleece pullover and a wool shirt. Gloves and a hat finish off the protection.
 
I can't find a US site selling Buffalo clothing. I've seen the videos and they are impressive. I liked that guy jumped in the lake and was able to maintain insulation. That's one reason I'm so interested in the Wiggys gear. I have their sleeping bags and it does in fact work wet.
 
mtwarden said:
Cabelas power dry fleece is the same as the R1 in mid weight, their lightweight power dry is equivalent to Patagonia's Capilene 4- I didn't look closely at the Cabelas site, but see if they list the garment weight and then compare with Patagonias - it will usually be expressed as oz/yard that way you can compare apples with apples- it's all power dry, just various weights
Click to expand...
The Cabelas stuff is a little different weight-wise from Patagonia's, but I'd have to look up the numbers, and the patterns are different. I'd put them both between Capilene4 and R1, but I don't have any Cap4. Because of the price they can be had on sale, I decided to try them as a Cap4 alternative.
Whatever the weight, they're impressively warm. I bought both mid and expedition weight bottoms on sale last year(for about $42/ea-take that Cap4!), and used them at work when we had a few weeks of much lower temps than normal. I do tend to run very warm, but was never cold wearing either just walking around from single digits to teens under my fire-retardant cotton work pants. Started using them for camp in cold weather, too, and was fine with the expedition weight bottoms under my Marmot Scree pants standing around for several hours at 4F.
I really can't tell a huge difference between them in warmth, but the expedition weights are more comfortable and breathable. If you're on the edge, you'll need to size up, because they are close fitting, particularly the midwt. I should probably have exchanged those for a Large(or better yet for another pair of expedition weight), since my legs and butt barely fit in them.
I'll put up some specs in case y'all are interested.

Here's how they compare with several other bottom baselayers in weight, all in size Medium unless otherwise noted:
Capilene 3: 208g/7.3oz
Terramar Eco: 221g/7.8oz
Cabelas ECWCS midwt: 202g/7.1oz
Cabelas ECWCS expedition: 220g/7.75oz
Icebreaker Bodyfit200(Large): 202g/7.1oz
Kenyon Powerstretch: 187g/6.6oz(comfy, but no fly)
GI R1 bottoms: 261g/9.2(very warm, but VERY high-waisted)
The Cabelas easily outperform everything except the heavier/warmer R1. The Terramar Eco is almost there, but the Cap3 and 200wt merino aren't even close in spite of the minimal weight difference.


Top to bottom:
GI R1
Cabelas Expedition
Patagonia R1
Cabelas midweight
Terramar Eco
gud68y.jpg
 
Leaving aside the opinion that "traditional fabrics" work better, most polyester fleece is made of recycled PETE beverage containers.
 
OwenM said:
The Cabelas stuff is a little different weight-wise from Patagonia's, but I'd have to look up the numbers, and the patterns are different. I'd put them both between Capilene4 and R1, but I don't have any Cap4. Because of the price they can be had on sale, I decided to try them as a Cap4 alternative.
Whatever the weight, they're impressively warm. I bought both mid and expedition weight bottoms on sale last year(for about $42/ea-take that Cap4!), and used them at work when we had a few weeks of much lower temps than normal. I do tend to run very warm, but was never cold wearing either just walking around from single digits to teens under my fire-retardant cotton work pants. Started using them for camp in cold weather, too, and was fine with the expedition weight bottoms under my Marmot Scree pants standing around for several hours at 4F.
I really can't tell a huge difference between them in warmth, but the expedition weights are more comfortable and breathable. If you're on the edge, you'll need to size up, because they are close fitting, particularly the midwt. I should probably have exchanged those for a Large(or better yet for another pair of expedition weight), since my legs and butt barely fit in them.
I'll put up some specs in case y'all are interested.

Here's how they compare with several other bottom baselayers in weight, all in size Medium unless otherwise noted:
Capilene 3: 208g/7.3oz
Terramar Eco: 221g/7.8oz
Cabelas ECWCS midwt: 202g/7.1oz
Cabelas ECWCS expedition: 220g/7.75oz
Icebreaker Bodyfit200(Large): 202g/7.1oz
Kenyon Powerstretch: 187g/6.6oz(comfy, but no fly)
GI R1 bottoms: 261g/9.2(very warm, but VERY high-waisted)
The Cabelas easily outperform everything except the heavier/warmer R1. The Terramar Eco is almost there, but the Cap3 and 200wt merino aren't even close in spite of the minimal weight difference.


Top to bottom:
GI R1
Cabelas Expedition
Patagonia R1
Cabelas midweight
Terramar Eco
gud68y.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow, thank you! That's what my Cabela's looks like. So, the R1 is heavier and warmer, but it's close? If I already have the Cabela's is it worth the $85 to upgrade?
 
Fuori said:
If I already have the Cabela's is it worth the $85 to upgrade?
Click to expand...
Not to me. The hoody on sale(mine was $106, and that's a "good" price) is the only way I'd buy R1 under the Patagonia brand when you can get the surplus R1 zip neck for $30, bottoms for even less, and the Cabelas stuff for way less than the Patagonia sale price.
Nothing else has the zipper and hood of the R1 hoody, though!
UnIGY7.jpg
 
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