Maybe merino doesn't wick as well as synthetics(?) but i find it far more comfortable. I've never had that horrible cold back when you take the pack off, using merino. I have using synthetics. I wear an Icebreaker Tech-top under my Aspira and never get that horrible chilled back.
I don't wish to contradict what has been said above, but feel I can clarify a bit on your choices.
I have tried many many baselayer options over the last 15 years with varying degrees of success and identifying various pros and cons.
First clarification : Wicking is a property of a fabric that enables liquid water to spread across a wide surface area, thereby encouraging evaporation and removing sweat droplets from your skin. Cotton actually 'wicks' extremely well - dunk a t-shirt in the sink and watch the water rise up through the fabric. But cotton is a very poor baselayer choice because it holds moisture (hydrophilic) and you can get cold very quickly as a result.
Wool also holds water, though retains its insulation far better than cotton (and apparently also releases some heat exothermically when it gets damp). I find that wool is good for low instensity activities or very cold conditions but I generally avoid it as a baselayer choice. Others swear by it (comfort, lack of pong etc.) so I am not writing it off - it just doesn't suit me that well for high activity levels.
Polypropylene (AKA Helly Hansen LIFA, Meraklon etc.) does not wick! If you put it in a bowl of water it floats and as soon as you lift it out the water drains to bottom in minutes. It is, however, one of my baselayers of choice. Polypropylene actually absorbs the least amount water of any baselayer material and therefore allows vapour to pass through rapidly to outer layers. Plus it dries significantly faster than the others, meaning that if you do get wet from inside or out it doesn't stay damp for long. This is one reason why it is so popular amongst boaters of all varieties.
HH LIFA uses a weave pattern (denser towards the skin) to create a mechanical effect similar to wicking - the water spreads from the denser to less dense parts of the fabric and away from the skin. This kind of pattern is also found in Lowe DryFlo and Odlo's baselayer products though these use polyester...
Polyester on its own doesn't wick very well, but the numerous fabric coatings used in the outdoor industry have come a long way and now there are many polyester baselayers that do wick very well. Capilene is one of the best I have tried. Coatings will eventually wear off but modern kit from a decent brand should be fine. Polyester is cheap to produce and so the majority of baselayers use it. Apart from Capilene and Powerdry, which is are very comfortable fabrics, I don't rate it that highly.
One of the best at 'wicking' in my experience is the lesser-known choice of using the coated polyamide (Nylon) fabrics produced by SubZero. Their Factor 1 products are my stock choice along with Helly Hansen LIFA sport weight. F1 is not only extremely effective at wicking and insulating (a bit hot for summer use), but it is incredibly robust too. Abrasion that would destroy LIFA, Odlo, DryFlo or even Capilene is no problem for this fabric, so I use it a lot when I might need to strip down to a baselayer under rucksack straps or against a rock face. They also produce a warmer (Factor 2) and two cooler (All Active & CoolT) choices for different purposes – but Factor 1 is the best general purpose baselayer I know of. The other advantage of this fabric is that it is inherently stretchy which gives it a form-hugging fit and makes it more efficient at moisture management.
I bought my Tech-top about 3 years ago and it is the first thing i reach for from about Nov. to March. I was so impressed i bought one of the lightweight Ultrafine T-shirts for the rest of the year. I find that merino keeps me just fine temp wise. Never too hot, never too cold. I wore the T-shirt for 11 days last summer on a trek and it was still smelling fresh at the end! No need to carry a spare.
Second clarification: Manage insulation to manage sweating! If you are sweating, it is obviously important to make sure that your skin and clothing stay dry so that you don’t chill when you stop. But the fact that you are sweating at all indicates that you are overheating! With wicking fabrics, it isn’t always easy to notice this (another reason why LIFA is a wise choice in winter – you can sense when you are starting to get damp). You can reduce your work rate, but most hikers would rather keep up a nice steady pace – especially if there’s a target to reach by nightfall! So it is best to reduce the amount of insulation that you are wearing at the first sign of sweating, and put it on as soon as you stop. That way, you keep your insulation layers dry for when you really need them. Plus it reduces the risk of dehydration and heat exhaustion.
This is why I often walk in baselayer plus windproof (with an additional microfleece if it’s cold). I save my raingear for when I have stopped moving (or at least am on the way down!), and usually my intermediate layers can dry out underneath.
So my personal recommendations would be SubZero Factor1 or AllActive, or Helly Hansen LIFA Sport Weight (now called HH DRY).
John - substandard baselayer purchased. I'll let people know how I get on with it. At the moment I prefer merino over HH for about 10 months of the year, but it will be interesting to see how the Subzero compares. Thanks for the tip.
hope you'll be saying the same thing later! I have bought their substandards before, given that I give my kit a beating and don't care too much about cosmetic damage. When it arrived, I honestly couldn't find anything wrong with it! Maybe a little factory dust that washed off on the first run through the machine. Let me know what (if anything) was substandard... I might well pick up some more at that price. (A bit overkill given that I have at least ten SZ items scattered around from the last 15 years)
John, thanks for the posts, single-handled you drained Subzero of its medium size F1
The point has been made that in general its best to regulate body insulation so actual sweat production is limited, benefiting reduced need to carry liquids and/or better performance. In physically hot environments, its often impossible to avoid sweating unless you reduce output, but skiing - the air is generally cold and you have the variable output from exhertion and variable sunshine/wind/ambient your clothes need the flexibility to respond to, so it should actually be possible to sweat less with skiing than with say summer hiking.
I would argue that in colder climates, you get more mileage by insulating the extremities more than you would do in warmer climates, and not to add more insulation in the core, i.e. don't add a midlayer just because its cold, but rather focus on warmer trousers, socks, a jacket with an insulated good. I theorise all a midlayer does is interfere with the process of cooling of the core and with the process of venting. I have a theory the body is hoarding heat the torso as it senses the cold in the extremities and the torso is locally trying to cool itself and the 3 layers aren't able to cope.
On my bike, I tend to perform better in cooler climate by thickening insulation on my legs feet hands arms and not adding a mid-layer to my torso as I found 3-layer torso just made for a soggy mid-layer. You lose more actual total heat venting the torso as its warmer (loss is more rapid from a warm torso than from a cooler arm/leg) so can more swiftly respond to overheating and thereby avoid sweating altogether. In this manner, I'd reduce to about 0.5L my need for water in a 4 hour bike ride in winter down from 2L in the same time in summer.
Ordered a Subzero F1 in large (hope not too baggy, tapemeasure says 42" chest).
Alright note to self: don't try to edit posts with smiley faces...Let's try this again:
Want a Paramo jacket that's fitted, stretches, and weighs half as much for less than 50 pounds? Read on...
Paramo pushes in both directions--towards the body from the inside and away from the body on the outside of the pump liner. When water is inside the liner, it is pushed outward. The reason you stay dry is because you have a baselayer, you aren't overloading it, and your body is evaporating water which passes through the liner. Don't believe me? Put a drop of water on the inside of your Paramo jacket. It won't be absorbed (unless you haven't reproofed it in a long time).
There's confusion even among clothing manufacturers with technical terms. Some even list their wicking baselayers as hydrophobic, "so that it won't hold water." What they should say is that their fabrics have little water absorption.
The main distinction to make is how fabrics move water. Fabrics naturally have small capillaries--imagine small tubes. By denier gradient weaves or brushing, manufacturers can manipulate the direction of these tubes. Many have a brushed interior that creates capillaries perpendicular to the body, which will move the water away from the body. On the face, the capillaries will be parallel to the body, spreading the liquid out for quicker evaporation. Every synthetic baselayer I know of is coated to be hydrophilic: water is drawn or "sucked" into the capillaries. Manufacturers also manipulate the direction the water is sucked by changing the diameter of the capillary: in hydrophilic capillaries, water moves towards the smaller end. Here's a basic illustration:
Body Capillary
| >
| > Water direction ---->
| >
When you turn around and put the rougher side of the Paramo Cambia baselayer towards your body, it looks like this:
The water will be kept closer to your skin, cooling you off.
So why is Paramo pushing in both directions? The "pump liner" is a set of capillaries that are hydrophobic. Instead of water being drawn in, water is pushed out. If water is inside the pump liner (not inside the jacket), it will be pumped out. To make sure the water inside the liner is pumped outward rather than toward the body, Paramo changes the diameter of the capillary. Remember how in hydrophilic capillaries water is drawn towards the smaller end? In hydrophobic capillaries the opposite occurs: water is pushed from the smaller end to the larger end. Here's another rudimentary illustration:
| <
| < Water direction ---->
| <
But keep in mind: water must be inside the liner for it to be pumped out. It will take force for water from either direction--inside or outside--to enter the liner system. Luckily, in the real world, heat, movement and difference in pressure systems can create enough force for liquid water to move into the liner from the inside.
How does a Paramo jacket that's fitted, can be worn in the summer or winter, and is not overly warm for less than 50 pounds sound? Try this:
1) Find an old wicking baselayer that has a brushed interior like Polartec Powerdry or Powerstretch. The older, the better; the hydrophilic coating is more likely to be worn away.
2) Find a windshirt that fits well
3) Wash both a couple times with detergent, and rinse extremely well. Then wash with Nikwax Tech Wash, rinse well. Then wash in NikWax Direct Wash-In.
4) Wear a regular baselayer that wicks well. Turn the Powerstretch/Powerdry baselayer inside out and put it on. Put on the windshirt. You now have a baselayer + Paramo system that is waterproof.
Because I can't get Paramo here in the U.S., I experimented with this. It works. The windshirt absorbs the impact of heavy rain, and you'll see water running out the bottom of the jacket when the windshirt wets out.
it works but only up to a point. the "paramo on the cheap" requires a lot of washing/proofing and general looking after for it to acheive the same results as a paramo jacket. you can get similar results from a paramo top and windproof, but ONLY if you always wear the top and windproof together or the proofing quickly wears off the top..
i think "pump" is rather overused as my experiments with a fine mist over the paramo liner have not supported the idea that it "pumps". the fact that the physics of it means that it moves liquid across its face by capilliary action is not in dispute but just how small do the droplets have to be for you to see this "pump" in action in something that has a very low surface area. generally, vapour moves readily through the liner and it's easy to confuse "pump" with the mere fact that it has passed through. this effect can impress those who have not worn paramo before because it is the complete opposite of goretex which relies on the coating to absorb water before allowing it to pass across the membrane. i think its "pump" effect is very minor compared to its sheer air permeability.
Here is a link to a threat where Nick Brown gave some explanation to how the Pump liner works - from 23/08/2004 onwards basically confirming what Pete2s and Parky say. Capillary Depression explanation given on 24/08/04 by him.
John - am I remmbering corectly that Helly Hansen recommend wearing another top on top of the Lifa ie a wicking layer to move the sweat away and help it evaporate over a large area or am I getting confused!!!
The Paramo-on-the-cheap system may require a bit more maintenance, but not much more if you're using the right material. PowerStretch is the best I've found so far, probably because it's made in similar fashion to Paramo and is usually cut like a shirt, in contrast to the usually bodyfitting PowerDry. The advantage Paramo has is that the brushed polyester can be more coarse and dense because it isn't designed to be in skin contact. Theoretically, the PowerStretch DWR should last nearly as long because it stretches rather than rubs. Either way, I'd be interested in hearing other people's experiences. I wore my system this morning in the rain, and it worked fine despite not having been reproofed in a few months. One thing you have to be careful about is the water coming out the bottom of the jacket between the layers can soak your pants.
If I knew how to sew, I'd put the two layers together. I'm sure it'd help.
I have ordered a substandard F1 longsleeve T. I have also ordered a substandard F2 zip T and longjohon. At about a fiver each I don't care if they only last one trip, it's a great way to try the system out.
The F2 stuff is really very warm. And lasts better than a polyester microfleece. I'd guess that if you wear it under Paramo, you'll be too hot in most UK conditions...
I tend to wear it as a cheap alternative to softshell - the outer surface is tight-woven and surprisingly wind resistant. It is my 'warm up' top for winter rowing and also a nice baselayer for low activity outings.
Let me know how much the fabric degrades when you eventually wash it. I have been tempted but would be disappointed to get only one use out of it. My F2 turtleneck is now about 9 years old and going strong!
Though I am glad you have all benefitted from my F1 recommendation, I regret that I didn't put my order in before posting on this site! My order was rejected, presumably because you all bought one immediately!
Judy,
I haven't tried the All Active stuff yet. I think that they have focussed on making a more advanced design. The CoolT fabric is very impressive in hot weather, though the long-sleeve I have has a strange cut (the sleeves are too tight towards the wrist). It isn't as tough as the F1 though, as it has an open weave and can snag. I'd recommend it for maintaining a comfortable temperature and avoiding the use of excessive suncream! But I think SZ could do a more functional design using this tactel aquator fabric - something with looser cuffs to allow you to roll up your sleeves and a polo-style collar to help avoid sunburn on the neck...
update... apparently it was a problem with my card, not a shortage of F1 size M. Try phoning SZ if you have problems making an order online.
PGJ,
When Helly make their hybrids, they do put wicking or hydrophilic fibres outside the polypropylene (LIFA Versa - aka HH DRY - is polypro + polyester and is a very effective example for warmer weather, and the Prowool stuff places the wool mostly outside the polypro). But no special effort is needed as LIFA is generally worn under a polyester fleece or fibrepile which has the same effect. The LIFA Versa Trailwizard leggings are the best I have tried for cool-weather running.
