Patagonia Better Sweater

The Patagonia Better Sweater is the sweater that promises to look like wool with the ease of care of polyester. It delivers. As one tester bragged, “I wore the Better Sweater about every third day during a two-week trip to Japan and at the end it wore like it was fresh…which it wasn’t”. The Better Sweater features a fleece interior that is extremely comfortable next to the skin and can be worn as a sweater around the city, hikes on the edge of town or under a shell when the mercury drops. The Napoleon pocket (on the men’s 1/4 zip, vest, and hoody) proved surprisingly useful, holding phones, cameras, and iPods. On occasion I did miss hand warmer pockets (the 1/4 zip is the only version they are missing from) but do think the lack of them gave the sweater a more pleasing look, especially around town. The Patagonia Better Sweater is available in men’s and women’s 1/4 zip, full zip jacket, and full-zip hoody, and vest and kid’s hoody. The only downfall may be the price but for the versatility of the Better Sweater it may be well worth it, it may be the last sweater you buy.

$85-$149
www.patagonia.com

This lightweight wool next to skin base layer should be an essential for anyone doing cold weather activities. This Athletically fitted crew neck shirt has long sleeves and offers thumb holes to keep it getting bunched up under other layers. Even giving your hand a little extra heat inside gloves. All of Stoic shirts are somewhat stylish and would look just fine spending time at the bar after making your final tracks of the day. Although I would probably wear another shirt or a vest over it to keep from being “That Guy.” But at least it won’t smell bad when you offer to buy the cute ski bunny a beverage.

Design: Ultra-fine Merino Wool base layer
Retail: $59 (Buy)
Why it’s hot:

• Athletic Cut
• Thumb Holes
• Better Looking Than Plain Base Layers

Why it’s not:

• Thumb Holes Could Be a Tad Bigger
• Lighter colored fabrics are a little see though

http://stoicgear.com

Smartwool Midweight Boot Top Bottoms

I can’t believe it took me so long to get something like the Midweight Boot Top Bottom. I’ve used them countless times in only their first season. Incredibly comfortable they have a covered elastic waistband and flat lock seams. They are great under ski pants, climbing pants, or jeans while sticking it out though a cold fall football game. The length overlaps ski socks by a couple of inches and gives you one less thing to have to deal with around your ski boots or climbing shoes.

Quick Review:

Design: Ultra-fine Merino Wool base layer
Weight: 7oz
Retail: $70 (Buy)
Why it’s hot:

• Exceptionally Comfortable
• Length doesn’t interfere with ski boots

Why it’s not:

• I only have one pair

http://www.smartwool.com

Smartwool Sport NTS Crew

I’ll never go back. I have spend all of my adventure life wearing Patagonia poly-capaline. I didn’t know it could get better, but I was wrong. Not that the synthetic base layers are bad, mine still see some use. But there really is no comparison. The Smartwool’s 100% wool Sport STS Crew is just in another league. It’s has a considerable better feel next to your skin, is more formfitting and also allows for better range of motion. Made with flatlock seams it’s easy to forget your wearing it. However, my favorite thing about the Sport NTS Crew is length of the sleeves. I am 6’1” tall 175lbs and have a 3 ½” ape index. Finding any long sleeve shirt with the proper sleeve length usually means going up a size and having to accept swimming in it. Last but surely not last, it doesn’t smell bad, ever. In contrast my Patagonia base layers are worn with sleeves pulled up to my forearms and have to be kept at a distance as no amount of washing or fabreeze can rid them of their stink. I am anxious to see how well it holds up to wear and tear. I’m not worried about having it under my ski gear, but climbing off-width desert crack during our annual fall or winter desert climbing trips. Look for updates.

Design: Ultra-fine Merino Wool base layer
Weight: 10.2oz
Retail: $80 (Buy)
Why it’s hot:

• Incredibly Comfortable
• Athletic Cut With Long Sleeves
• Doesn’t Smell

Why it’s not:

• Pricier Than Synthetic materials.
• Durability?

http://www.smartwool.com

On our trek through the Raggeds Wilderness in August, these pants performed quite well. They are fairly water resistant, and dried very quickly when they did get wet. The built in drawcord cuffs helped keep the rocks & mud out of my boots since I wasn’t wearing gaiters. The convertible feature is quick & easy to use, the zipper never got stuck at all. It would be helpful if there were some identifying marks on the pant bottoms, since I tried to zip the wrong side on nearly every time.

So far the pants have worn pretty well, but they only have about 50 miles on them so far. The seams are holding just fine, despite the snug fit. The pockets are just right, and managed to hold all of my electronics & other necessities great on the trail. One issue I did notice is that the built-in belt does not hold very well. I had to tighten the slip-through buckle at nearly every stop.

These are a great pair of pants for light backpacking in fair weather. They’re not insulated so I won’t be using them for winter trekking, but they’ve worked well all summer. Since they run a little small, if you’re on the high end of a size, consider getting the next size up.

Quick Review

Design:

• Canyon™ Cloth, Lined with Micro-Chamois

Weight:

• 14oz / 392g

Retail:

• $74.95 (buy)

Why It’s Hot:

• Easily convertible
• Dry quickly
• Perfect pockets

Why It’s Not:

• Sizing a little small
• Belt slips

This shirt features a wicking anti-microbial fabric that’s very fast drying. This means less time for the sweat to soak in, and less odor. On our Raggeds Adventure, hiking to nearly 11,000 feet really put this shirt to the test. I’m glad to say that after three days of sweat & dirt, this shirt was still acceptable in a local restaurant in Gunnison.

Another great feature of this shirt is that the bottom seams are rotated toward the front, so your pack stays more comfortable. They’re also flat knitted, which is less likely to dig in to your skin. The fabric is pick-resistant, so even after quite a bit of off-trail trekking there were very few snags and the shirt held up great.

Quick Review

Design:

• 100% Polyester

Weight:

• 5oz / 154g

Retail:

• $44.95 (buy)

Why It’s Hot:

• Anti-Microbial (low odor)
• Well placed seams
• Durable

Why It’s Not:

• A little pricey for a T-Shirt

Patagonia Wool 2

Patagonia is known for making high quality products and the wool base layers uphold that reputation. The base layers are made from ultra fine Merino Wool which is processed using a chlorine free process to make the wool as soft as cotton. In addition to being extremely soft, Merino Wool is naturally anti-bacterial which makes it almost odor free. Even after a week of backpacking the shirt hardly gave a whiff of an odor. The raglan sleeves kept the shirt from chafing even after hours of hauling packs up and down mountains, and the long cut in both the sleeves and the torso make tucking in and wear under jackets extremely comfortable. As if that wasn’t enough, the wool has a self regulating property to assist you in keeping warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot. It also works well very well in wicking moisture away from your skin. The one downside we found is the fine properties of the fabric make it rather susceptible to snags. Other than the few burrs the shirt sports, it continues to hold up quite well despite the abuse we put it through. Patagonia makes four different weights of the base layer from wool 1 (silk weight) t-shirt for summer pursuits to the wool 4 shirts for the coldest weather, as well as pants to match in weights 2-4. Though the wool base layers may not be cheap, they will fulfill most, if not all of your base layer requirements.