[at-l] silk and winter clothes... Re: Base layer?

[Sloetoe]

"Does anyone have any experience with silk or a
silk/wool blend as a base layer for winter hiking?"
Light'ning :-)

### From Sierra Trading Post, I got silk long johns
and (years later) silk turtleneck. Have hiked weeks
and hundreds of miles in them, ranging from 10-24 mile
days, in temps from 0*F-50*F+, from zero sneaux to
post-holing through oatmeal knee deep. (And uphill,
come to think of it. No! Really!) Worn for 8 days max
w/o laundry.

### 99% flawless product. Never noticed sweat, NEVER
stunk (that's what keeps me away from a synthetic
next-to-skin layer for longterm wear like winter), I
sometimes have hiked with just that top, a hat (beanie
or fleece or more), and light gloves (which I almost
never took off, I think!), in 10*F/0-wind/0-humidity.

### For lowers, I had SportHill running pants (very
spendy, very worth it, but I have seen Hind tights of
the same material (I think it was called "Himilayean"
or some such, in Sierra Trading Post, but not in the
current catalog), and was fine hiking in anything from
20*F on up. When colder, out came genuine wind pants,
and then brrrrrr, cheapo fleece pants with velcro sewn
all the way up the sides, so I could get them on/off
with boots on.  Back on top, following that silk
turtleneck with a comfortrel-like top (into which I'd
sewn a neck zip running almost to my navel) and a
100wt fleece pullover shirt. A 100wt zip hoodie, down
vest, 300wt fleece zip jacket, Gore-Tex shell
completed the upper.

OH, AND GET YOURSELF SOME COOLMAX UNDIES!!!!!

FWIW right now, from Sierra Trading Post, I'd lean on
the Merino Thermawool Base Layers AFTER the
weigh-nothing silkies. 

Lastly, in all of this, make sure you manage your neck
space. We are all half-aware that we need to manage
sizes according to when we intend to wear something --
e.g., the parka shell is biggest because it needs to
fit over *everything* AND stay non-binding -- but we
forget about the fact that there will only be so much
neck space. And being so close to the greatest
heat-sink on the human body (the head), it *really*
pays to keep the neck warm and comfy. But if
everything you own has a turtleneck, you're going to
be in big trouble. Oh, and if it's *that* cold and you
bust you parka shell zipper putting it all on? You're
skunked. So make some of these layers turtlenecks and
some *not*, some of them larger, some of them
closer-fit.

Oh, and manage your "waist-space" too. Watch for
overly-enthusiastic webbed elastic, especially if it
ends up right under your hip belt, with a second
overly-enthusiastic webbed elastic on top of that one.
A pack hip belt will chew you alive, if they're all
piled on the same spot. Make sure some are up, some
comfortably down, and that your hipbelt has a smooth
"ride."

Oh, and I said "99% flawless product" right? Well, the
lowers I'd hiked in for ~400 miles came off *shredded*
last time out -- I kept 'em for curiousity's sake --
an amazing sight. But the thing is, while they were
playing their sacrificial role ("sacrificial" cuz *I*
felt no rubbing or chafing*), I noticed no change in
performance. Now, 400-odd miles without a hitch, for
$16.00? Sounds good to me.

GREAT BASE LAYER.
(That're's the bottom line, ayup.)

sloetoe

Spatior! Nitor! Nitor! Tempero!
   Pro Pondera Et Meliora.