Not done yet. I wore the Outdoor Research Sequence for 3 days this week. This thing is paper thin but works great. Temps in the 40-50's, humid (rain/fog every AM), lots of hiking (basically deer scouting), elevation changes 3-500 feet, steep climbs - a good test of the moisture wicking capabilities. The Sequence is good at wicking moisture. It would dry under my jacket in 30-45 minutes. The Kuiu Ultra Merino 210 hoodie is one of my favorite pieces of new clothing but it hangs onto the moisture a long time even though its a 50/50 product. I layered the Ultra 210 over the Sequence for hiking/still hunting. I added a Kuiu Guide jacket when I stood for any length of time.
I did a mini test today when I got home. I washed all the items, including a Patagonia Cap 2 and 3, and let them air dry while I timed till dry. The Kuiu Peleton 240 was the clear winner, followed by the Kuiu Guide pants. The dry times were 45/60 minutes respectively. After 60 minutes, I turned the ceiling fan on to hasten drying. After 90 minutes, the Ultra Merino 210, Duofold bottoms (50-50 hybrid), Smartwool socks were still a bit damp. Body heat would have helped drying. Surprisingly the Patagonia did worse than the Kuiu Peleton and the Peleton is a much thicker material.
For heavy hiking days, I'm leaning strong to all Peleton - 130 next to skin, 200 mid-layer, 240 hoodie as outer. I wore an Ice Breaker 260 top/bottom, Kuiu Ultra Merino 210 hoodie and Kuiu 240 Peleton hooded in the early part of the Tennessee deer season. I wore the Ice Breaker and Ultra 210 for the hike in, cooled down abit, then added the 240 Peleton to sit. Temps were in the 40-50 and windy. I was comfortable all day.
I'm leaning strong to a lightweight synthetic next to skin, followed by a synthetic or merino/syn blend for all situations except for short hikes into my whitetail treestand hunts. Then it will be Ice Breaker 260 all the way. I love the Ice Breaker wool - if I don't sweat much.
I'm working on my legs now. I'm thinking a heavier synthetic or synthetic/wool blend. I don't sweat much on my legs unless I'm absolutely drenched in my upper torso. I checked out Cabelas ECWS yesterday on my way by and left kind of feeling so-so about it. It uses PolarTec Power Dry so should wick well.
That is interesting that the Patagonia Cap. baselayers had longer drying times for you than the thicker layers from other makers. I've been using capilene for years and have had good luck, but have not experimented with other brands of baselayers, other than the Ice Breaker merino-I sweat so much that the merino was a disaster for me.
