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Guys,

My mule deer hunt this year will likely have temps. in the single digits much of the time, and lower at night. I have an $80 REI gift cert. which I have been hoarding, and am thinking of some new long handles to wear under my wool and fleece. What would you recommend as decent stuff for cold and dry conditions? This will be a DIY hunt, so I will need good gear and am willing to spend the $$ as needed.

Thanks.

forepaw

Smartwool, medium-weight, top and bottoms. Sure made my 2nd rifle season, CO elk hunt comfy last year. We had temps from the 50's, down to the teens with both rain and snow and they worked great.

If not Smartwool at least some type of medium wt. merino wool. I "found" merino wool base layers here in this forum last fall and wore merino this winter. Great Stuff!


FWIW a medium wt Smartwool top will take care of your $80 gift card. You'll need another 80 bucks for the bottom! However, money well spent.

You may also want to check out Minus33 merino wool. They are VERY soft and do not itch like some of the others, and are often cheaper than most. I have had the opportunity to test out several merino wool companies over the past ten years, and the two or three companies that I prefer the best are Wool Power, Minus 33, and IO Bio.

No such thing as the "best" base layer, look at the "most comfortable pack" topic to see why.

I spend a lot of money on gear but I am cheap when it comes to clothing. For cold weather my favorite is Polartec power dry. I am not a fan of wool base layers. I tried a bunch of them based off recommendations from highly respected guys here. I found out that a prefer synthtic base layers. Under armor does not seem to stink nearly as bad as patagucci.

Smartwool

/end thread

I've got some of the REI brand long underwear in mid weight Polartec Powerdry that works very well. I like the merino wool but it is expensive and doesn't wear quite as well as good synthetics. Your gift card will cover top and bottoms with the power dry. It doesn't seem to have picked up the synthetic stink that the older synthetics would.
Given a choice with money no object- I'd take good merino wool. If I'm spending my money, then I buy Polartec.
In either colder or warmer conditions than you described, I start with a silkweight. The silk weight top makes a comfortable sunshield when it gets warm and a good first layer below expedition weight underwear in near zero conditions.

I'd go with Merino wool, but I would choose the lightest you can for a base layer.

I've tried a number of synthetics and we wear this stuff several months a year here in BC, but, I have never found one that equals good merino for me.

I like 140-150 wt. Icebreaker, superfine MEC and IO-Bio for a base layer and then a heavier Icebreaker in cold conditions and down or PL.insulated garments over that.

Synthetics seem to work better for some, but I still perfer wool for most conditions.
My upcoming issue of the Ed T's Backcountry Journal will have an article on Base Layers & Mid-Layers.

Merino wool is great. I have Smartwool and it is great stuff but minus 33 is the same material and can be found for cheaper. Kuiu, Sitka and first lite all make camo wool layers.

The last synthetics I tried were very light longies from MEC and what I found was that when I put them on at bedtime, they actually made me feel slightly chilled. Then, when I would get up during the night as we geezers oftimes must, I felt the same thing.

So, I just started to wear my spare merino longies to bed and they seem to keep me totally comfy in a very wide range of conditions.

I did this on a trip a few years ago, which started in a sudden snow and then sleet storm in mid-Sept, in BC's Chilcotin country and our "accomodations" were rather primitive, so, a warm bed was pretty important for the week-8 days we were there. I will be posting some photos of this here soon, after I get the discs made.

I prefer UA against the skin with Patagonia R1 above that over everything else I've tried, including my merino. Haven't had an issue with smelly synthetics since I quit using the army polypro 10 or more years ago.

I like to use 2 layers of merino, a microweieght 150gr. short sleeve crew neck tee shirt and briefs against the skin and a midweight 250gr. long sleeve zippered neck shirt and long bottoms over it when it gets cold.

Personally, I love Merino. Lightweight for baselayers, midweight for 2nd layer if needed. Synthetic gets stinky fast when worn several days in a row (for me, at least). I can (and do) wear the same Merino for a full week and not notice any significant body odors. And, if you're not in a hurry it's not too difficult to find some good sales, even at REI. Try to hit their Scratch and Dent sales and you might find some.

I have about 6 R1 pullovers and a bunch of Cap 3 stuff. They are comfortable to wear in mild weather. However, I much prefer Merino wool once it starts to freeze. As others have mentioned, I find Icebreaker and MEC to be great. Although I do want to try a set Woolpower this year. Have heard good things.

BTW, if I wear synthetics, I actually prefer Powerstretch over Power Dry. I have a Cabela's Powerstretch top that I find warmer and more comfortable than the Expedition powerdry R1s that I have

I haven't tried all of the different brands/materials available, but I have no complaints with any my Merino wool.

Here's a pretty good price for tops:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___91988BLKXL#pr-header-91988

And bottoms:
http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___03046?cm_vc=PDPZ2

The choices run from some sort of fine wool to a fast drying synthetic like Patagonia's Capliene.
Because I climb and cover alot of ground, I much prefer Capliene. That's because it dries alot faster than even the best wool.
Wool is warmer. So, for the hunter that doesn't climb alot, it may well be a better choice. E

I have thought about wearing a synthetic top for the wicking action as BC is all about climbing and is much colder and wetter than most US jurisdictions, more of an Alaskan-type of situation. Given the miniscule weight involved, I might try this in Sept, and keep my light merino top to put on when I get to the top of a ridge to glass and, hopefully, out-smart an Elk......they are usually MUCH "smarter" than I ever have been......

E, old boy, what specific synthetic do you find wicks the best and stinks the least? Any others have ideas on this?