Hi all im new to Outdoorsmagic.com  I was just looking for some advice from experience on the best pair of thermal Pants to buy. I'm a male if it makes a difference and im looking to use them to do winter hill walking and light climbing in UK but also to transfare them to an Attempt on Kilimanjaro that im thinking of making some point in the next year. I am looking to spent a very maximum of £75 on them and i thought maybe the sales would be a good time to start looking? Any hints, tips advice etc would be greatly appreciated! Thanks Kili Man
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 Hi Mr Man 'Thermals' is one of those wonderful words hijacked and misused by companies in order to sell kit, but that's just my little rant I would suggest that you're looking for a base layer that copes well with sweat rather than providing loads of insulation. Don't get me wrong, pretty much any clothing will provide insulation but the primary purpose of a base layer is to be breathable and allow for the transportation of sweat in some way. Now you can go for man-made, such as polyester, or natural, such as merino wool. Chocolatefishmerino are worthy of your money and although I don't own any of their longjohns, I do own some of their other products and the quality is very good for the price. Other merino stockists would be icebreaker, finisterre and so on. Even Aldi sells very cheap but surprisingly good quality merino wool products from time to time. You can pick up merino wool longjohns for less than 40 quid if you shop around. If you ever do choose merino wool, make sure that it's pure merino wool - check for the wool mark or the term superfine (don't be fooled by terms like super 70, super merino or ultrafine, these are fake merino wool names and not worth the money you'll be charged). Poly products are far cheaper and the quality is often much the same across the board. You can happily go quite cheap here in my experience. Dare2b have some crazily cheap products. What trousers are you wearing? It's here that you can gain extra insulation if you need it. Paramo make the excellent cascada trousers (along with torres and velez), Buffalo make incredibly warm trousers and I own a pair but have never had cause to use them. My advice would be to spend some time over in the Gear section and trawl through the reviews. Good luck on your trip!
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.jpg) Hi Kili Man, Welcome to OM. As Warhippo says, a base layer needs to be comfortable and wick sweat away from your body, if it doesn't do that any insulation it provides will be degraded. Trawl OM gear section - try the search function for specific words. Google is also your friend here.
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The Helly Hansen Lifa longjohns are as good as any, and can be had for £20 or less.
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 How about silk? Mine came from nz baselayers but there are plenty other suppliers - Patra (sp?) in UK for example. I've found them effective in some pretty cold conditions.
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If you go for silk, make sure that you don't buy them from Ann Summers - the quality is great but I'm guessing the style is not quite what you're after....
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If you go for silk, make sure that you don't buy them from Ann Summers - the quality is great but I'm guessing the style is not quite what you're after.... Does this explain your avatar's stance? 
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LOL
That's supposed to be my man of the mountain power stance :0
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Scares me.... 
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 Chocolatefish Merino is good but again I don't have longjohns, I tried Trekmates Bamboo and I find it ok but a comment on my blog suggested it took ages to dry, worse than cotton but the definately hasn't been my experience, it does get out of shape pretty quickly though. Synthetic, I've got a set of Serious, bought in TKMax and it does the job, Sub Zero is very good and keeps it's shape really well. Another that is mostly forgotten now is North Cape Rhovyl/Modal. These were pretty popular back in the day but somehow fell out of favour, no idea why but I suspect 'fashion' played a part. I done a net search last weekend to see if they still existed and turned up a few retailers, one was Daleswear who were selling zip neck tops and longjohns at £5 each reduced from around £30 but there wasn't much choice in sizes.
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| Edited: 05/01/10 11:46 |
R_Mac wrote (see) Another that is mostly forgotten now is North Cape Rhovyl/Modal. These were pretty popular back in the day but somehow fell out of favour, no idea why but I suspect 'fashion' played a part. I done a net search last weekend to see if they still existed and turned up a few retailers, one was Daleswear who were selling zip neck tops and longjohns at £5 each reduced from around £30 but there wasn't much choice in sizes.
If you're thinking of the rhovyl North Cape stuff from many years ago (it had a soft, almost natural fibre, feel) then be aware that the newer gear uses a very different material with a similar name. It's nowhere near as nice in terms of the feel - it seems like a typical cheap (very synthetic feeling) polyester fabric.
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Wow thank you all for a great response youve really give me something to think about. Great advice people thanks! Although not new to out door activities i am fairly amature when it comes to kit. Much of my previous activities have been done in summer or autum and mainly around the UK so the need for 'Serious' kit has never been a must i use an icebreaker bodyfit 200 Baselayer Top which i find great for wicking but i find the labels itchy! And i use Montane Terra Converts for just walking pants. I also own a Mountain Equipment Micro Fleece some police issue leather gloves and some Karrimor KSB 300 eVent Boots a Cheap (I know tut tut) Rockport Waterproof Outer Shell (Was £150 i got it for £40) and a Mountain Equipment fleece lined Beanie. I was Just wondering if any of this Kit is Transfareable to my Kili Kitlist? was thinking of making a summit attempt around June July time of the year.
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 I have two pairs of these and I find them really good. I find some of the softest, most finely knit wool base layers a bit itchy but my TNF stuff is really comfortable. Cheap,too, at the moment. Edit: I have a HH LIFA baselayer set and they work fine but they become really tomcat smelly in just a few hours. I have a 5 Seasons superman set that perform better in that respect but my merino baselayers are still unsmelly after 48 hours constant wear. BTW, lots of merino/man made fibre mixtures work really well but if you go that way make sure they are of a reliable, well known brand.
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| Edited: 05/01/10 12:58 |
 Wim Hof, The Iceman, did it last year just wearing a pair of shorts. On Youtube here.
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R_Mac wrote (see) Another that is mostly forgotten now is North Cape Rhovyl/Modal. These were pretty popular back in the day but somehow fell out of favour, no idea why but I suspect 'fashion' played a part. I done a net search last weekend to see if they still existed and turned up a few retailers, one was Daleswear who were selling zip neck tops and longjohns at £5 each reduced from around £30 but there wasn't much choice in sizes.
If you're thinking of the rhovyl North Cape stuff from many years ago (it had a soft, almost natural fibre, feel) then be aware that the newer gear uses a very different material with a similar name. It's nowhere near as nice in terms of the feel - it seems like a typical cheap (very synthetic feeling) polyester fabric.
Spot on Graeme, the ones I ordered arrived yesterday and they're totally different in feel (thinner) and style (flat sewn seams, and turtle neck? rather than double over polo neck) to my original from back in the day.
That said I was wearing them yesterday (top and bottom) and bottoms today under a pair of North Cape polarplus salopettes (remember them?) and it feels softer than my Sub Zero F1. It's almost like an Airtex type fabric but quite soft, worth £5 easily. It appears that North Cape no longer exist, the web address on the label was www.north-cape.com but it's a dead addy. I noticed that Dare2B are based in Manchester which is also where the newer North Cape was based, wonder if there's a connection?
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Kili Man - I reckon you could use all that gear on your Kili trip. I used Terra Converts when I did it! See here (I'm on the right in the daft pose)
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 > It's nowhere near as nice in terms of the feel - it seems like a typical cheap (very synthetic feeling) polyester fabric. Interesting, as it's still being advertised as Rhovyl/Modal RhovylTherm. The last lot I bought from Daleswear (admittedly, 11/06) was the same fabric as my old RhovylTherms, just with a heavier weight zip, and a slightly baggier cut (in the same size). The collar had actually improved, as the embroidery only went through the outer layer, not both layers like the old ones, so the minor irritation was removed. My earlier RT zip turtles were flat-locked. I have some even older RhovylUp zip turtles that had a thicker fabric; sure you're not getting confused with this? I much prefer the RhovylTherm fabric as a base layer over the Up version. I also bought a pair of the CoolMax LJs at the same time, but these were the 'soft feel' CoolMax, not the smoother, mesh-style face on my old Peter Storm Ts. They've bobbled a bit, but they've been in almost continuous use a pyjamas since then. Baggier cut than the RhovylTherm LJs. And the £5 balaclava is great value. Currently sleeping in it in these cold nights...
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My original North Cape Rhovyl Modal is thick type stuff, lilac with a pink zip (well it was about 1989) polo neck which folds down to give 4 layers. The North Cape logo is slightly different on the old one too. The ones I got yesterday are marked on the sewn in care label as Rhovyl/Modal (85%/15%) but on the swing tag and packaging the garment is referred to as Rhovyl Therm. It's srill a 2 layer fabric. The old one was referred to as being Rhovyl/Modal but the care label says Chlorofibre 70%/Modal 30%.
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GOOGLE Cabela's catalog and look at the three different polyester base layer long jophns they sell. I prefer the newer Polartec version but own 2 pair of their midweight "Thermastat" tops and bottoms that have seen heavy winter use for TEN years and are still showing no sighs of wear! That's Nordic ski patrolling, XC racing, winter camping and hunting for 10 years. Yeah, I'm amazed too.
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| Edited: 07/01/10 02:05 |
> The old one was referred to as being Rhovyl/Modal but the care label says Chlorofibre 70%/Modal 30% That's 'RhovylUp', not 'RhovylTherm', then, I think.
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