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Frenchy19
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Depends on the temps. Real warm? Who cares! Real cold? Merino wool.
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drnatus
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quote Frenchy19: "Depends on the temps. Real warm? Who cares! Real cold? Merino wool."
I know.... how does it do that????
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QueticoMike
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Typically light weight , breathable clothes that dry fast.
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zski
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Hey MT, no trick question and for the most part the answers are the same theme. wicking, synthetic, merino, no cotton. it's good to hear that sometimes there just isn't anything you can do to stay dry depending on the amount energy being put out. i'm thinking more than once after a portage, perspiration soaked, not long after, on the water the temp drops and the wind kicks up. breathable windbreaker is a good idea. keeping the fleece jacket handy wouldn't hurt either.
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Basspro69
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Modern synthetic fabrics and good old reliable fleece along just in case you get cold. The best solution for sweating under raingear is the Shoulder seasons :-)
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jfinn
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Absolutely quick drying tops/bottoms are always in play. Paddling, running, cycling, climbing, skiing, hiking and even sitting in camp. Any activity will produce heat a wicking layer will help remove that from the body.
Now where it does from there depends on a lot of factors. As BWCASOLO states, nothing (rain shell) is completely breathable. If your output is high in any season, opening up vents is the only way to go, or slowdown and lower the production of heat. One of the reasons I love the precip gear is that it has generous venting options and has served me on many outdoor activities that require a moderate aerobic effort.
If you are so hot that you are wet and conditions turn, getting out of the wet and into a dry base layer with insulating layers (wool or poly) and the shell (wet or not) is the way to go. If you don't need the shell, let it dry. Keeping a very wet base layer will take you longer to warm after adding insulating layers only because that wet is still next to the body.
I always have a synthetic for sleeping that will stay dry and is the backup in a pinch. I have had to pinch a couple of times. I got terribly wet on a fall solo and had the shivers getting into camp. Getting dry and then layering up I was good to go in a jiff.
Insulating layers for me are fleece light pullover and or mid weight jacket and a puffy is in the pack almost always.
John
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bhouse46
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I concur with the level of activity impacts internal dampness and any permeable membrane will allow passage. Hence like others I layer and pick the inner and outer layers according to conditions and have one or two layers to add or drop as the activity and weather dictate. I have been able to stay adequately dry paddling in a drizzle, but when it comes to a downright rain I usually just get off the water and under a tarp. I am a weenie and willing to admit it. If it is cold and windy and even a drizzle I get off the water unless I must travel so tarps provide the rain gear. Weenie up to a cozy fire is my answer when conditions suck.
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sylvesterii
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Merino wool. Can’t beat it.
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zski
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From a separate thread:
"Based on my 50 some odd years of tripping and virtually every other serious tripper I've ever spoken to, I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that the idea of breathable and waterproof is largely a myth - the two just don't go together. Water resistant maybe but in the shoulder seasons that really won't cut it."
"AGREE 100% WITH THIS POST !! Sometimes what you have on under your rain gear makes all the differences between comfortable and hypothermia."
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I agree with these guys. Have had times when weather goes from warm to cold after already being wet under the rain gear from either outside moisture or perspiration. Do you have a layer system? Wicking under, absorbing over? Stop and throw on a fleece or what?
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Savage Voyageur
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Synthetics
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OldFingers57
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I wear synthetics all the time when out canoeing or backpacking. Both synthetic tops and pants. During the winter it's either synthetic or merino.
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andym
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I definitely wear wicking, synthetic materials under my rain gear. I tend to sweat a lot and need very breathable gear. While nothing breaths perfectly, I am finding that the eVent fabric is a step up from older GoreTex. However, I haven't tried a new GoreTex jacket. For extra breathability, I find zippable vents to be a big help. Even if a tiny bit of water gets in, is that worse than closing them and sweathing more.
And I haven't found any problem with it being waterproof, even in some very heavy rains.
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bct
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Another vote for wicking underlayers - polyester or wool. While it is tempting to layer up to the point of being warm, I opt for comfortably cool to reduce wetting out from sweat once I start moving. I also have a nylon pullover windbreaker (i.e. not waterproof) for mist or light drizzle. It breathes far better than a coated jacket and still keeps me as dry as I need to be.
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deerfoot
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"I agree with these guys. Have had times when weather goes from warm to cold after already being wet under the rain gear from either outside moisture or perspiration. Do you have a layer system? Wicking under, absorbing over? Stop and throw on a fleece or what? "
Sometimes no matter what you are wearing you will need to stop, set up camp, get into warm clothes and warm up.
Certainly agree with the statement that in some conditions you will never stay completely dry no matter what you are wearing.
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mastertangler
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Is this a trick question? Sort of like the old inquiry "Whats under that Kilt"?.............. ( the answer is of course "Socks").
I usually wear clothes under my rain gear. But often I will wear just a pair of boxer type bottoms so I don't end up sweating excessively. Just layer up so you can adjust accordingly as the day goes on..........synthetic of course, fleece etc.
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sedges
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I know this is a gear thread, but there are other factors involved in difficult precipitation and temperature situations. Any gear, even the best, is going to fail you in some conditions. Most of my trips have been in June and I am no longer surprised by temps at 40 or even less with wind and driving rain, sometimes lasting for several days. Even sleet has been on my earliest trips. I am always willing to stop traveling, always flexible about itinerary and go to great effort to keep a dry alternative- chiefly a dry sleeping bag. If my clothes fail to keep me warm I don't hesitate to retreat to a sleeping bag well before hypothermia symptoms. A good book and headlamp are important items in that scenario as well. In a rough weather camp I pack up the bag if I am not in it to keep dry if water finds its way into my tent.
Your decisions about camp set-up and travel have as much to do with being comfortable in miserable weather as your clothes.
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SevenofNine
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Synthetic wearer as well. If around camp in a shoulder season I might have a merino wool top (heavy weight) on over the synthetics. I have a down coat for shoulder seasons as well and one year during MEA weekend I was chilled so it too went on under the rain jacket.
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boonie
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Definitely not cotton (hydrophilic), unless I want to be soaking wet and/or cold. I too wear (hydrophobic) wicking synthetic base layers and insulating layers. Adding and subtracting layers as exertion increases or decreases helps too.
I think sometimes people expect a miracle, but there are times when it's humid and you're going to be covered in perspiration even if you're shirtless. A breathable shell is not going to improve that. A wicking layer may help somewhat.
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bwcasolo
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I think it also has a lot to do with the amount of energy you are putting out. I have been biking to work, year around, here in NE Iowa for 25 years. I have the top of the line Patagonia, Marmot, you name it, and I layer. With a rain jacket on, in my case, Patagonia's top jackets, the moisture just will not get out fast enough. I don't care how you are layered.
Rain jackets just do not breathe. I don't care how many hundreds of dollars you spend on one, moisture will remain trapped under the rain jacket.
Now paddling is a lower aerobic workout than biking. I have stayed dryer with my Patagonia wool layers and synthetic underclothes paddling my Prism in the rain.
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jcavenagh
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If you must know....
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Scout64
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Count me in for wool. keeps you warm when wet; can't beat that.
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oldirtybassturd
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Merino wool for me too.
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