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Lets talk underwear!

I forgot to mention my layering system in the winter as I work outdoors everyday on our small farm.

In essence, the wool top gets sandwiched between the two light weight t-shirt type tops.

Over this goes a 1/4 zip neck polyester fleece pullover or a heavy wool sweater. Then various outerwear coats or vest depending on the temperature.

For the lower anatomy; underarmour boxer briefs, wool longjohns, then fleece lined or unlined jeans.

After a lot of trial and error this layer system seems to work best for me as I never get sweaty and stay pretty warm and comfortable.
 
kgd said:
Now when you gotta poop with a union suit and a bib....Well, no getting around it...Its a pain. You gotta take off all your jackets and shirt and then the bib and union suit. Lets just say you don’t want to be caught in one of those ‘just in time’ situations.....Especially with all that wicking fibre about you!!!
Click to expand...
It's a lot easier to take a dump with the old fashioned drop seat union suits than with the "slit up your crack" type. Don't know how else to put that...
 
One more thought: if things go horribly wrong, cotton burns nicely & poly burns like crazy.
Wool is naturally fire-retardent.
More important for outer-layers, but anyway...
 
This past year I watched Steep&Cheap for Merino and came away with an Icebreaker 260 top and a lightweight pair of SmartWool bottoms. The Icebreaker is a mid weight and has the most comfortable texture of any garment I own. The Smartwool is very thin and feels about like any of my synthetic base layers.

As much as I love the Icebreaker top, I don't really dig the special treatment it requires. I haven't decided if I'm going to buy a pair of matching bottoms.

Ken, I love the idea of a fleece bib. The waistbands on most fleece pants are thick and uncomfortable under pants, but with the bib there is no extra fabric. Of course, it makes it a tad more difficult to shed layers . . .
 
Has anybody else tried one of the next to skin windstopper or other membrane type garments? They don't really seem to have caught on, maybe due to the heavy price tag, but I'm very impressed with the Mountain Hardware Transition zip t and long johns.

Breathe-ability isn't 100% but they're very warm, wick well, and eliminate the effect of icy drafts. They're at their best when I really want to shed heat and allow me to strip down to a single layer without having the life sucked out of me by the wind.

Dave
 
I'd prefer to have my wind layer at the outer most- the base layer should be wicking moisture off the skin

in really adverse conditions (artic/extreme cold) vapor layers are commonly used- the moisture stays next to the skin and can't get to any of the other layers- it's the old trick mother's commonly employed w/ kids in the winter w/ bread sacks over your socks and then into your boots :D
 
+1 on the Merino wool. I had them on one time with a t-shirt over it so you could see the sleeves of the underwear and my buddy who knows his stuff thought it was silk. It feels and looks like silk and is extremely comfy.
 
I have several people I know who are big time into rock climbing. They used silk long underwear and complained about the stench that the silk quickly created. They all moved away from it.

I had never heard of anyone complain about Capilene stinking. I use a set of Patagonia, which has an anti-microbial in the weave. As I stated in a previous post, I wore the top for 30 days as an experiment and I could hardly detect any oder. Maybe untreated Capilene?
 
jw2n said:
I had never heard of anyone complain about Capilene stinking. I use a set of Patagonia, which has an anti-microbial in the weave. As I stated in a previous post, I wore the top for 30 days as an experiment and I could hardly detect any oder. Maybe untreated Capilene?
Click to expand...

What about the people around you?

;- )

I've never had a big problem with capilene, either -- but I've never gone 30 days.

I recently got some lightweight REI stuff -- it's a very light, silky synthetic with a slight waffle to the weave. I got it as much to use as my only layer in the desert as for long underwear, though I think it can serve both purposes. Seems far more comfortable than my old capilene/polypro, though.
 
Doberman_Dave said:
Has anybody else tried one of the next to skin windstopper or other membrane type garments? They don't really seem to have caught on, maybe due to the heavy price tag, but I'm very impressed with the Mountain Hardware Transition zip t and long johns.

Breathe-ability isn't 100% but they're very warm, wick well, and eliminate the effect of icy drafts. They're at their best when I really want to shed heat and allow me to strip down to a single layer without having the life sucked out of me by the wind.

Dave
Click to expand...

I have the MH Transition bottoms and I like them. Like you I use them as outerwear if I'm doing something where I sweat a lot.
 
smersh said:
What about the people around you?

;- )

I've never had a big problem with capilene, either -- but I've never gone 30 days.
Click to expand...

I must be a stinky bastard, then, because after a single day of hard rock climbing (and sweating a decent bit), my (recently purchased and the treated variety) capilene smells so bad the leaves on the trees over my hammock wilt.
 
Thanks for this thread, I just tried long johns for the first time yesterday. They helped enormously on a very cold hike. I'm happy to have this reference for picking nicer ones.
 
MustardMan said:
I must be a stinky bastard, then, because after a single day of hard rock climbing (and sweating a decent bit), my (recently purchased and the treated variety) capilene smells so bad the leaves on the trees over my hammock wilt.
Click to expand...

Maybe you could kill the pine bark beetles.

My experience with all synthetics (have not used Capilene), is they stink.

Did you ever notice a medium-high synthetic collar on an outdoor vest or coat?
It will never wash completely clean, and it will be oily and start to smell in a few days.

Anti-microbial?? What side-effects could we expect from a chemical next to skin?
 
fnc said:
Anti-microbial?? What side-effects could we expect from a chemical next to skin?
Click to expand...

from Patagonia:

"Most companies use heavy-metal ions to kill the bacteria that causes odor in their clothing:

Heavy metals are a major groundwater pollutant
Heavy metals are not safe for human ingestion
These risks were unacceptable to Patagonia, so we developed a safe, nonpolluting alternative:

Gladiodor natural odor control comprises naturally derived* amino acid chains
Gladiodor technology kills odor-causing bacteria on the product
Gladiodor technology is nonpolluting and safe for humans
Gladiodor natural odor control is durable
"

I have experienced the smell w/ older polypro, but fortunately for me the Capilene has been fine, granted I haven't done the 30 day test, but several 3-4 day tests w/ some rather arduous hiking.

If Capilene doesn't work for someone then it's probably worth ponying up the $ for Merino
 
There's a sport store closing around here. They carry Orage and HH Prowool underwears. These days they are at closeout price.

Any experience with those?


Where do you guys buy your fleece bibs? I really want one. Last time I slept outside, my lower back got really cold. That is bad.
 
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