Spent the day yesterday hiking in the Smokys on the North Carolina side. Only did about 12.5 miles but included a 1700 foot climb over 1.5 miles and a shorter 700 foot climb over a bit less than 1 mile. Not a big hiking day for us but we did it at an average of 3 mph, only stopped twice for water and snack. Temp was 26 when we started and never got above freezing until the end of the day when we came down; probably reached mid 30's. I wore Patagonia 2/midweight next the my skin and a 200 wt, 1/4 zip fleece most of the day. I did throw on a light puffy twice for a bit when we ran into some wind on the shady side of the mountain.
I still like Patagonia next to the skin. Merino feels better but the Patagonia dries much quicker and doesn't leave me feeling clammy. I did notice I never felt sweat running down my back. I also noticed my GPS face had water condensation on the screen from riding next to my fleece, presumably from water vapor moving through the capalene and fleece. I've worn this setup alot when the temps are in the 20'-30's during winter hiking and it plain works. I've used a very similar setup before I discovered merino. Going back to synthetic next to skin with a second synthetic layer over the thin next-to-skin base layer.
I've noticed something I missed in past years when I wore synthetics next to the skin - I stay cleaner at the end of the day. When we arrived home, I didn't have that sticky feeling when I peeled off my clothes. If I was hunting/backpacking I wouldn't have taken/needed a shower. I noticed the same thing earlier this week and last week when I was deer hunting after wearing the First Lite Aerowool. In fact I wore the exact same FL Aerowool for 3 straight days this week to see how it handled moisture and odor. I did bath after wearing it for 2 days - no smell, no sticky feeling. I've ordered a second FL Aeorowool Minneret shirt as a next-to-skin base layer for hunting. They dry quick, don't stink, and feel like merino next to my skin. They have a winner.
On FL clothing, I also wore the North Branch bib all week hunting. Those pants work as advertised. It was cold in the AM all 3 days I hunted (16-20 degrees). I wore 2 base layers under the bibs. I noticed I never sweated, got warm - yes, sweated - no. My cell phone was in the outer thigh pocket and it was fogged over several times, presumably due to water vapor escaping the pants. I'm going to like the North Branch bibs. FL really needs to put a hood on the NB jacket................ I do hear thats coming in 2018, I'm hoping its unveiled next week at DSC.
Next-to-skin layers that work well in moving moisture away from skin:
First Lite Aerowool Minneret
Outdoor Research Sequence
Patagonia Cap 1 (Daily)/ Cap 2 (Midweight)
