For many years I have used Silk Longjohns for hunting. Sometimes with another base layer over them. They are getting harder to find, and I wondered if any of the newer base layers have the same or better performance. All expensive and I really don't want to blow a lot of dough on an experiment.

We used a lot of other stuff, and have come right back to Silk for the base layer.

Doesn't wear like it used to. But we keep buying it.

Wife and I have found nothing better.

havent tried silk.....may have to look. I am a big fan of Smartwool when temps drop up here

Merino....

I've used silk longjohns for years. In very cold weather I add merino wool as baselayer over the silk. No complaints with silk or merino wool. I also have tried a few of the high tech materials but natural fibers are more comfortable and work for me.

I have used silk, wool, cotton, and more than one kind of synthetic.

If I am moving about silk is fine and so is lightweight synthetic. If I am sitting in a tree stand then heavy synthetics or merino wool works better for me.

Not a base layer, but a silk scarf (wild rag) wrapped around your neck is extremely useful in keeping the cold and wind out.

We run silk as the base layer. when conditions demand, we put merino wool over. Sometimes heavy fleece, but generallly merino wool.

First Lite Hooded Chama is the shizza and then some.

I layer a thin merino 1/4 zip, then the Chama, fleece, and shell. Easy to adjust layers as needed depending on what I'm doing. Then a packable Primaloft puffy just in case I wanna sit on my ass for a spell.

Wick layer, warm layer, wind/wet layer......

silk first, then what ever works. Rio7

Guess I will stick with my silk and wool.

I hiked about 12 hours today and reaffirmed that merino really is awesome. Wind chill in the single digits with snow up to ambient 25F and sunshine and I never broke a sweat or got real chilly.

Merino base layer, t-shirt and lightweight fleece outer layer on top, bottom is easy, top is way more important.

I have Smartwool top and bottom Merino wool, and it is awesome. Worth every penny. I don't even bother machine washing the stuff, I just hand wash it in the sink with woolite and hang dry, and it is ready to wear the next day.

Merino.

I do love the tight fitting Under Armor as well. Especially when i am in front of the mirror.


Dave

If you mature well, as I have done, its all tight fitting.

Funny thing about merino is the stink is all you.....

I'm still wearing today's hunting garb and actually smell pretty damn good...

I typically wear it over silk.

The synthetics stink too much for my tastes.

I typically wear synthetic as a base layer. I have a few thin merino shirts and pants.

I prefer the merino to avoid the "polystink". I haven't been able to find any silk longhandles in a while now.

Any idea where I could get some?

West,
I have used silk for a long time and like some of the other guys have found it hard to find. Merino over silk has always worked for me however this year I purchased the KUIU 145 and 210 Merino underwear.
Actually purchased it late last year after I returned from a trip to Colorado where one of my good friends was using Kuiu gear including the underwear. My silk was about wore out and I still have a few pieces but will probably give it away.
I have never experienced anything that wicks moisture away and through into the mid layers like this stuff. Had 145 base and 210 over it this past week in Alberta with an 850 fill Super Down zip T under the Chugach wind breaker/rain gear jacket.
The down garment caught all the sweat and is actually the wrong choice for a mid layer when walking a lot. I did not get cold and the wind was blowing 30-40mph on the downwind side of the mountains. On the ridges it was hard to stand up with a pack on it was blowing so hard on Tuesday.
I know the stuff is expensive and I would never by it choosing to "bull it" and use what I was used to. I cannot say enough about there products. Used it in Mongolia in late September and the first of October in the Gobi and the Altai and again this week in south Alberta.
Zips down each leg so you can layer it on or off without taking your boots off. No more silk for me..

Dave

That used to be the case with the old polypro, but there are modern synthetics which don't stink, even after several days. I particularly like the Medalist Silvermax gear I bought a few years ago. Very good for next-to-skin wear, and no stink. I have some Sitka lightweight long johns too, which are also really good. Both use silver, and this really seems to work to prevent them stinking.

I personally much prefer this stuff to wool or silk.

I have polypropylene in three weights. The light is a pair I got from Walmart about 20 years ago and it has worn like iron. The middle and heavy are miitary issue. Poly stink isn't a factor as I'm not especially stinky by nature and come home and shower and change every night. I've been looking at silk, but according to online reviews there's a lot of phony stuff out there, as well as a lot of cheap and shoddy goods. I suppose I'll have to go with some L.L. Bean or the like to get good stuff. That, with some good merino over it sounds like the hot setup.

Polyester fleece seems to be replacing polypropylene somewhat, but on me it builds up moisture on the inside and it takes a long time to wick away. Fleece shirts are the same way which is why I'm replacing them with light wool Pendletons.

I really like the synthetics also. But, I have yet to find one that doesn't stink. The dri-fit type shirts are the worst. UA gear stinks almost as bad.

I will look into Silvermax.

in theory it should work. silver is incredibly toxic to alot of microorganisms severly inhibiting their growth. whether it works in practice or if it does how "hardy" the silver is in fabric form after repeated use I dont know but given some seem to say it works it may be worth a shot, especially if i can find it at a discount some time. buy alot of my stuff like this from Sierra Trading Post as they usually have great sales and i can pick up a load of stuff cheap.

Some is definitely better than others. The Medalist in particular has stood up to a lot of use, and of course laundering (FWIW cold water, plain soap and no tumble drying with any of my hunting gear), as has the Sitka. OTOH I have some Cabelas underwear with a silver treatment which hasn't been nearly as effective in suppressing odour (not a knock on Cabelas, just this particular line which I think has long been replaced)

I haven't found it too bad. I do like their HeatGear T-shirts and boxerjocks for hot weather. Really cool and comfortable when it is up there close to or into three figures on the Fahrenheit scale - it hit 107F here yesterday. .

All heavy metals are toxic. If you and I would be exposed to enough silver, we would be in trouble.

Silvadene (silver), is a very good topical burn cream.

I've never understood the Under Armor stinks comments. I've worn them for years and they've never stunk.




Travis

Want me to mail you a pair after I wear them tomorrow?

I use a thin layered poly with Merino on top on top of that, works great.


For cold weather hammock camping I like the Helikon Gen III level 2 with Kuiu wool on top.


http://www.kuiu.com/hunting-base-layer/ultra-merino-145-zip-t/20011.html?dwvar_20011_color=AshBrown

Yeah, ask any werewolf.

In cold country, I use the silk for base layers. In the south where I know it will warm up during the day, I use polypropylene. But the one thing that always goes with me is a long fuzzy wool fishermans sweater like they use in the north sea. I bought several in Scotland and they are great. I've been out in freezing rain and had ice build up on them and stay warm and dry.

lol,

Or ask anyone who has suffered from heavy metal toxicity. Pretty miserable.

When my dad was a young guy he wore heavy wool union suits. Then "thermal" cotton pretty much replaced wool and damp weather was a killer. Compared to the bad old days, everything we have now is great. I prefer silk close to my skin but Merino, polypro, polyester, and the proprietary materials all work. I have some off brand stuff and it is great too. I haven't had odor problems with anything. If I was a world class cross-country ski racer I would be picky but for recreation there are a lot of good options at a wide price range. Chalk one up for free market enterprise.

Back in the seventies I ordered some wool long-johns from Sears. I wore them under a Woolrich shirt, Woolrich wool hunting pants, and a Woolrich wool jacket. Spent one morning hunting in a steady rain and all that wet wool just about itched me into the nuthouse. They should try that stuff on the folks at Gitmo some day. They will spill the beans in short order!

Merino may not have that issue, but I think I'll always wear polypro or silk next to my baby-soft skin anyway. I never want to go through that again.

Yesterday I spent 7 hours in a tree waiting for Bucky. No joy. Temp was 8f juat after daybreak, and the highest I saw was 20, and wind less than ten mph. I wore terra max from Sierra trading post under Avery brutalgear top and underarm our wader pants. Great for sitting. Walk SLOWLY! I had a merino wool shirt over that, then a down vest, a jacket, topped with anLL Bean wool hunting coat. Bottom was wool pants under northern outdoors lighter weight hunting pants. Warm in the tree, and on the boat ride att 30 mph

Real men go Commando.

Merino SmartWool 250 weight for me.
www.sierratradingpost.com

Water is toxic if you drink enough of it.

OK........

Why expose yourself to something you do not have to?

I don't believe I advocated that. I was just commenting on your statement that all heavy metals are toxic. How about gold?

Humans have been exposing themselves to silver, including silver nanoparticles, for thousands of years. Apart from the risk of your skin going a bit blue if you regularly drink colloidal silver, if there were going to be adverse health effects from contact with it you'd think they'd have emerged by now.

dammit Dan you got it wrong. all those people wearing silver jewelry day in and day out are gonna drop dead any time now.

hell of a difference between ingesting heavy metals and some silver coated fabrics you wear.

BTW found some silk baselayers on Sierra today when ordering stuff due to a sale, no silver though, but gonna give it a shot and see where it falls in with my various wool and synthetics as far as effectiveness. have a fair bit of surveying still to do this winter so will see how it does.

Heavy metal toxicity

Here is one link, google foo it. More info than you care to know.

And yes, gold can be, I had a patient who got very sick after having some gold crowns put in.

once again the key word in all that is ingested. If your going to eat the clothing then yes you have a point but wearing it not so much

Bullsh**

actually not bullchit, just doesnt apply to silver in clothing like is being discussed here.....or people that wear watches and jewelry would be phugged......worn is not ingested....and if your worried about silver in clothing lead bullets must scare the chit out of you.....

Did you read the paper you linked? It says of silver "very high doses" are required to produce acute effects. You actually have to inhale or ingest quite a large amount. Quite a different thing from having tiny quantities of it in fabric next to your skin. Indeed if having it next to your skin was a problem how do you explain the fact that for thousands of years people have worn it in jewellery, including piercings, as well as drinking and eating from silver implements, and yet without reports of adverse health effects?

As for gold crowns, the thing about them is that they are usually made of alloys in which gold is only a minor constituent, and it isn't the gold which is associated with the harm. A bit like saying glass makes you drunk, because booze is served in it.

You are correct in that it doesn't apply to silver in clothing, but with respect to gold, which is what was being discussed above in my post, it's not only bullsh**, it's utter, complete bullsh**.

Hard to believe anyone arguing about toxicity would use a sample of one, with a supposed toxicant of unknown composition, and an anecdotal outcome as "evidence."

You are seeming to take exception to heavy metals being toxic, it is well documented. Have you ever seen contact dermatitis from people that are sensitive to silver jewelry? I have.

OK.....use what you like.
I have been very happy with silk/wool, not so much with the newer materials. YMMV.

Silver clothing...an answer to a question I have never had with silk/wool.

Do me a favor and fix your post, I didn't say what you attributed to me above.

And what I took exception to was your statement that ALL heavy metals are toxic. They're not. If you want to argue a point, know your subject.

Contact dermatitis is an allergic reaction, or a simple irritation, is it not?

yes it is and one that can happen easily with wool too. its not a toxicity issue

and gold itself is about as harmless as a material can be as it is nonreactive unlike most metals. if someone is reacting to a gold filling its likely the copper or other materials in the alloy. and a filling in a mouth is a long way from a material on the skin as you would be swallowing whatever is coming off the filling there for ingesting.....and once again no one is planning on eating teh clothing though as far as heavy metals go silver is pretty nontoxic and i doubt there is enough in a piece of clothing to do anything if you did eat it.

I find this thread funny, considering the number of people here who reload and play with lead bullets frequently, most likely not washing their hands. Lead is toxic too, bro.

believe i pointed that out too

Dan, I'd just like to point out that every single person who ingested silver prior to about the end of WW I is dead.

Back to the original topic...

My cold-weather outings are pretty much limited to ice fishing. I love my set of silk top and bottom for a base layer. I wear fleece bottoms over that, and either wool or heavy poly shirt on top. I don a set of insulated overalls when I get to the lake, and if it's really windy, I'll put windpants and top over the whole works.

I had no idea so many men wore silk undies. I feel better about myself already.

Thank you.

I am out of this discussion.

Where to buy quality silk undies?

We must save our precious bodily fluids!

Buy mine at LLBean. Free shipping and fabulous guarantee and customer service.

Here ya go...

PICK ONE

Learning some things here.

Thanks men.
Jim

Well I just finished packing for Kansas,and the only base layers in the duffel are Patagonia mediums and Smart Wool.

Hope I don't freeze my butt off.

Bob, hunting deer in Kansas?


Good luck!



It was 4 layers on top here this morning.

Bob's a stealthy guy like that.....

Yes Sam. Leaving in a couple hours. Having coffee right now.

Thanks! Looking forward to this hunt. First time in Kansas.

I agree.

I get a catalog from Winter Silks. I have some of their stuff and it is pretty good. YMMV