core clothing faves

“What are they? I'm talking for varied temps, let's say freezing to 75.

raingear.

Regular wear: shorts, pants and a tshirt and my marmot windshirt for all around whatever.

Warmies: I always bring my capilene top and bottom, a hat and some shortfinger gloves.

Insulation: Now, here is where it gets tricky. I usually bring a down vest and a sweater, too. However, I am tempted just to bring a lightweight down jacket from now on instead.

Whadyall think?”

“Fleece, in layers.

Base layers are Starter long sleeve poly shirts I found at Wallyworld on sale a couple years ago. Dry quick, nice and toasty and in the winter, I can usually hike with one under a tee shirt.

Marmot precip.”

“Around 20 to mid 40's i've got a silkweight shirt (real tight fit) that I wear under a t shirt, or maybe a looser fitting long sleeve (wicking material). May or may not have a shell jacket on, depends on the wind.

On the bottoms I generally have a midweight thermal pant under a shell pant.

Colder than that I'll beef up the top layer once I get to camp, but not while moving around. In camp i usually would put on rainpants - they serve as a vapor barrier and keep any wind out.

raingear - GoLite, i forget the model name. Used to use Red Ledge, but it finally gave out after 7 years and started to wet thru where the pack rides.”

“Dang, Roam. that's it for upper layer insulation below freezing??”

“while hiking it is. but once in camp, i'll beef it up with a puffy down jacket. :)”

“that's what I wanted to know! I think I am going to trade out the sweater and vest combo for a full down jacket.”

“make sure you get a good one. I got hosed on a down jacket that did damn near nothing for insulation... and of course I didn't find out it was inadequate until I really needed it (15 degrees out). That was fun.”

“Well, it's a cheapie Sierra Designs with 550 or 600 fp, but it's pretty light with no extras, one zipper and only two pockets.”

“before i went off to summer camp i bought three light under armor (spell?) shirts for night kayak trips. they were on clearance at REI. i kinda like them. anyone else have these things?

ok, that's enough serious talk. come out and play now!!!”

“dude, go Western Mountaineering - 900 fill. You'll be the happiest camper ever.

When the temp gets below 20 I will ditch the silk weight shirt and go with a midweight thermal (polypro). I might add a fleece vest too when it gets real cold. But I tend to find that I wind up unzipping it fairly often. But the fleece vest and shell jacket combo work real well for backcountry skiing where you get real hot skinning up a slope and then cold when you stop to come down.”

“when i snowboard i only need a fleece shirt and a sweater”

“I know, but bucks, bucks, bucks. Someday when I have extra money to toss around. Right now it's the $60 special from STP and it works fine for what it is and hasn't lost any noticible loft in two seasons of moderate use. Man, decisions, decisions...”

“i got my WM coat off a clearance markdown rack at a local outfitter. It had one flaw - the internal pocket that is supposed to be the built in stuff sack was ripped out. big whoop, huh?

I got the coat for 175 - a STEAL.”

“Good thread Rosey. You have my thanks.

Raingear: Right now I have a Gander Mountain WB shell. It's really a great jacket for the price but it's almost two sizes too big now. I'm replacing it with a Marmot Precip jacket.

Regular wear: I wear the zip off hiking pants with TNF poly t-shirt.

Warmies: Normally I wear whatever I have in the drawer. I tend to go with light, cheap t-zip long sleeve tops and whatever long johns bottoms.

Insulation: I have TNF man made insulation insul jacket which is too big and will be replaced by a new Montbell hooded down jacket this year. I sometimes carry a fleece vest in winter for hiking in.”

“After hiking I wash off my upper body with towelettes and put on a base layer of polypro long shirt, then my Montbell down shell (7 ounces), and my Marmot precip. That keeps warm down to around 35-40. If I know it is going to be colder, a second base layer of polypro really helps keep in the heat!

The Montbell was expensive, but worth it.

For cold outings I also bring along a pair of very heavy thick wool socks...seems to be warmer than several layers of thin socks.”

“Socks! Thanks for reminding me Phil. I wear short hikers for day and heavier wool for camp and at night. In the winter I carry down booties for around camp and then I wear vapor barrier bag/socks under my socks in the sleeping bag.”

“I wear a very thin base layer on my body and my feet. A thin polypro T-shirt and a thin pair of socks are enough to absorb any perspiration and they dry in minutes. When I stop for long periods I take off the base layer and hang in a tree or tent.

When walking I only wear longjohns when the temps get to single digits. My legs stay warm unless there is a very strong wind.”

“Rain gear: Isis pants and jacket. Love that company but definitely have to watch for sales.

Hiking: in winter a regular fleece pullover w/ mid weight polypro underneath, light weight polypro longjanes and nylon pants. Midweight smartwools or sealskins. Hiking boots, lightweight fleece hat and gloves
Other three: coolmax shirt nylon pants, lightweight smartwools, running shoes

Around camp: in winter windblock fleece pants and down sweater, down booties, 300 weight balaclava, windblock fleece glove w/ over mitts if necessary. Usually mid weight polypro underneath.

Otherwise light fleece pants, pullover, or whatever. Crocs. I always change out of my hiking clothes though.”

“I'm looking forward to a few snow camping trips this winter!”

“For what it's worth I gave my Precip to my daughter for downhill ski-ing. IMO, it's too fragile for the real world and the difference in breathability compared to Gore-Tex was evident the first time I wore it X-country ski-ing.

I had had a Sierra Designs G-Tex that I loved, but it delaminated and SD sent me another one free. Unfortunately the new one had a roll-up hood (they leak at the seams) and was cut for downhill fashion (and I'm not).

I bought the Precip for the Rainier trip for the space for layering (and for the price). I liked it, but, as Mountain Gear says, it was obviously for 'low friction' activities. I strapped on the skis and went out back of the house and quickly discovered that, compared to G-Tex, it was not up to G-Tex standards in breathability during strenuous activities, even in ideal conditions (cold and dry). Well my daughter got the SD G-Tex and the Precip (my son already has a Mont Bell and an Arc'teryx).

I got a G-Tex at MEC and love it.”

““when i snowboard i only need a fleece shirt and a sweater”
dizzybtch
3:30:42 PM
8/18/09

Doesn't your tush get a little cold?”

“Here we go.”

“I wondered that chili, perhaps the bush is huge and oh so toasty warm!”

“I mean the last posts, not Dizzy's photo (thanks, eh?).”

“My summer & winter stuff doesn't vary much since I like to backpack up in the mountains where it gets cold every night in the summer.

For core, I got some Peppers double layer (med. weight) long johns this year that I like real well. I always wear them to bed.

I wear some kind of t-shirt hiking - usually polypro unless I figure to sweat a lot. I like long sleeve t-shirts a lot. I often layer a short & a long sleeve t.

I got some cotton-poly blend TNF pants this year I like a lot. My favorite pants are Wrangler camo cargos from WalMart. I never wear shorts hiking any more. I never wear fleece pants and only take shell pants for snow.

Always expedition weight hiking socks without liners. Got some Scarpa boots recently. I like the lighter boots, but gotta have ankle support and a meaty lug sole.

I usually take a fleece jacket cuz it's warm, breathes & layers well. Got an old cheap Sportif W/B shell at the Sierra Trading Post in Wyoming. It's been to the top of Rainier. I have a new soft shell that's nice, but I haven't figured out how to replace any of my old stuff with it. That and a base layer are great for winter climbing.

I have an REI down "sweater" but don't take it backpacking. I take a cheap down vest for cold nights& mornings by the fire.”

“And I wear one of those floppy wide brimmed hats like the old farts these days...”

“I have one, but it's only been perched on top of my scare crow.”