Sweating and cccold weather.

underarmor and similar (moisture-wicking) products definitely get the job done.

 

Did that sort of work for over 30 years muff....that UA is greatest...get the Under Armor heat gear for the spring/summer and get the Under Armor cold gear for late fall and winter....you'll be happy you did!

 

This is some absolutely terrible advise right here. Denim as an outer layer? Are you kidding? The only good advise you gave is the UA baselayer. Everything else does exactly what you don't want in the winter months. You're wearing 5 layers that weigh 15 pounds because absolutely nothing on your list sheds the wet and the wind. I can wear a base layer and a lightly insulated shell and ski comfortably all day long with temps in the teens, adding a light, goose down insulating layer when the sun goes down.

OP; I don't have a job like yours, though my last job had me out working in the snow on messy customer sites and I've done my share of winter backpacking/camping, skiing, etc. If you're interested in wearing a bunch of heavy, soaking wet clothing, and finishing your shift borderline hypothermia, follows this fella's advice, but here's what I have to say.

Rule #1 when it comes to winter clothing and the layering system; AVOID COTTON AT ALL COSTS!!
--Cotton has almost zero insulating properties. But what about those warm cotton long johns?, you ask. They're heavy, bulky, and have zero versatility. You absolutely must have an outer layer over long johns, so when you get hot, you're long johns have failed because a) you have to walk around in long johns....or b) sit in a pool of your own sweat because now you're over dressed but can't remove anything.
--Cotton retains moisture..very well. Soak a cotton t-shirt in water, wring it out and let it sit at room temperature. It will still be wet hours later. Do that with a synthetic t shirt and it'll be dry within a half hour tops. A synthetic will dry even faster with your body heat helping to dry it out.
--Cotton has no ability to break the wind.
--Cotton loses what little insulating power it has when wet. Yup. True story. Now you're just wet, cold, miserable, and lugging around 15 pounds of dead weight.

Y'know, This is already way too long so I'll just say this; Wearing cotton is about as stupid as it gets when it comes to playing in the cold and wet. Cotton is cold and wet and potentially dangerous. Stay away from cotton. Wool, fleece, poly synthetics, even silk, are all far superior performers to cotton when it comes to keeping you warm and dry.


http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/layering-basics.html <-- already written for me.

 

Soooo I was gonna write a really long rebuttal to your statement, but truthfully I don't give half a rats ### at this particular moment.

Do what you want, I use cotton- I use quite a lot of cotton; cotton thermals, cotton t-shirt, cotton flannel, cotton polyester blend and my outermost layer is wool and it works great.
Gonna wear it tomorrow, we're getting an ice storm, right this very moment in my area. Gonna be wet and crappy all day long, I'm gonna get gallons of water thrown at me and I'll stay dry and warm while I'm working in conditions quite a bit worse than skiing. Lol.

One thing I will rebut- Wool is extremely warm regardless of whether or not it is wet. I wear a wool parka as my last layer, it repels water fantastically.

EDIT- on particularly cold, windy and wet days I use an insulated Denim Carhart, the exact same one that I would use when it came time to wrangle cows into pens when I was growing up, in one of the worst winter weather conditions in the country. It kicks the living hell out of any synthetic "shells" I tried which were effectively thick garbage bags glued to liners filled with fluffy plastic. Lasts a WHOLE lot longer, too.
(Common sense > being talked into buying $300 jackets- it's your choice and I wont stand in between you and it.)

 

I can assure you the feeling is mutual. But I'm not the one giving out terrible advise. I was just giving the OP a far more efficient, versatile, and effective way to stay warm and dry. I imagine you look a lot like Randy getting ready for school.

Wool has natural oils in the fibers that do a wonderful job at repelling water, you're right about that also. I mentioned wool in my original post as a superior fabric to cotton.

 

Poly Pro underwear [shop the ski section] as Under Armor is good example but expensive.
The secret is poly propylene does not absorb any moisture.
It wicks the moisture away from the skin and into the inner layers keeping your skin dry [and warmer]

My hunting suit is thinsulate w/ Gore Tex. I wear the bibs over a thin pair of Poly Pro bottoms and I an good down to about 10 degrees.
I wear a cotton Tee over the poly pro top and a cotton [camo] shirt and the insulated jacket.
The tee and shirt are always damp but my skin is warm and dry.

In colder weather I add a pair of wool pants and a Woolrich shirt inplace of the coton shirt. I have hunted down to -5 this way.

When I purchased my first pair of poly pro everyone scoffed over how thin it was as they piled on their cotton and nylon quilted underwear [this was the early 70's] but I was warm and figured out that my Backpacker Mag was correct; Poly Pro was the way to go.

You can rinse them out and throw them over a clothesline for 30 min and they are dry and good to go. Slowly my group of hunting friends got rid of the multiple cotton/nylon quilted long johns and went w/ just one pair of poly pro as they did not need another suit to wear tomorrow as today's suit hung drying out.

Wool socks alone did not solve the cold feet. That stopped once I could afford thinsulate and Gore Tex boots.

I do admit getting caught in a downpour a mile from the truck the Poly Pro is a useless as anything else once the rain runs down your neck and thru your butt crack!

 

Military used to use this stuff too...only thing is some folks are really allergic to it.

 

If you are allergic to wool, then wear synthetics.

Cotton vs Synthetics - I've worn both and I've found that FOR ME cotton works okay if it's just cold (no rain/snow and maybe down to 20 degrees). If its lower than 20 degrees or if it's precipitating (rain/sleet/snow), I am more comfortable without cotton (including undergarments).

If you shop around for your clothes and gear you can find some great deals. Don't just go to REI or Cabelas. They have good stuff but it's pricey.

Old Navy sells "active" shirts for around $8 bucks a shirt. Academy Sports sells adequate stuff.

Everyone is different.

 

I've got over 15 years experience with ... let's just say a tad extreme climbing. "Layered" on top of that experience is 30 years designing and producing clothing for major brand names like REI, LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, etc. etc. in the outdoor retail industry.

Longarm is absolutely correct.

AVOID WEARING COTTON AT ALL COSTS.

Old school, before the advent of good synthetic fibers, was to wear wool because it retains some insulation when it gets wet. On the other hand the reason why clothing designers use cotton is only for its COOLING characteristics when it gets wet, like for summer sportswear.

Second rule of thumb is WEAR LAYERS. The two most important layers are the base layer (the one that goes next to your skin, like Under Armor) and the SHELL layer (like a Goretex outer shell). I've climbed more than my fair share of major frozen waterfalls and big mountains, and was quite comfortable with ONLY a thin base layer and thin Goretex shell WHILE I WAS CLIMBING, but as soon as I stopped for a rest break or to belay my climbing partner for the next hour I put on a middle layer that might be a polyester fleece jacket or a down jacket.

If you are constantly getting in and out of your truck, where a base layer with maybe a LIGHT polyester fleece sweater while you drive and WORK and then when you stop you might throw on a SHELL garment like a goretex jacket or a Carhartt jacket (depending on whether you need abrasion resistance).

Stay AWAY from the cotton. If you've been wearing cotton, then THAT's the problem right there.

 

Dude, I know this thread is old, but that was some funny stuff right there.. I'm cracking up picturing him with his arms out saying <in a muffled voice>"I don't wanna go"... lol thats funny