John Frazer, your idea of reversing the wool to wear as a base layer and the wicking synthetic outside has intersting possibilities. I will have to try that.
It's not at all original with me -- a friend who's a serious ultralight backpacker/trail runner/ice climber/SAR team member is a big devotee of wearing an Icebreaker or Smartwool base layer under a softshell jacket and pants. When he stops moving, he puts on a big puffy Primaloft jacket over top of everything.
He's in southwestern Colorado, so he's dealing with cold but dry conditions--at least externally dry. His activities would certainly create the "inner storm"!
