This post describes my ultralight adventure clothing where I essentially use the same base layers of merino thermals for walking, backcountry skiing, resort skiing and surf beachcombing and fishing.
Introduction.
Some years ago my walking friend Rob put me onto the idea of using multiple layers of lightweight and thin thermal clothing for walking in very changeable weather conditions in our alpine areas where walking involves various levels of bodily exertion. “In other words up and down mountains”. When I did a recent three-week-long through a walk along the Hume and Hovell Track, with Rob and others, I realized that I had taken his clothing philosophy even further over multiple outdoor activities. What I describe below is a summary of what I find works for me.
My ultralight adventure clothing
Polypropylene to merino thermals
My first modern thermals were made of polypropylene, but with the introduction of low-cost merino/elastane thermals (from Aldi) with superior softness, warmth, skin comfort, moisture-wicking and antibacterial silver treatment there would be no going back to polypropylene for the base layer.
Compression tights and merino tights
I use compression tights for more rapid muscle recovery. “Who knows if it works, but I think the recovery during a good long sleep is what does the trick?” I usually wear the compression tights over merino thermals if wearing two layers of tights. My first pair of compression ‘Snow Skins’ were difficult to purchase, very expensive, had uncomfortable raised seams around the crutch and fell apart around there after a couple of energetic backcountry ski seasons.
In contrast, my current compression tights that have been available annually from Aldi are just great. They are cheap, warm, comfortable, tough, light, antibacterial and are quick to dry after river crossings. I have never had a bad failure with much walking and skiing. I have damaged them, repaired them, but all are still functional clothing.
If you read my article/s you will see that I am a great advocate for Aldi adventure clothing and equipment. It is just fantastic value for money and excellent quality when compared with much more expensive brands and nearly all my favourite adventure clothing items are from this source.”
I wear only compression tights as my base layer when it is not cold and wear merino thermals below them when the weather is cold.
Thermal tops
I use merino thermals tops (Aldi) and don’t bother with compression tops. The base merino top may have an extra merino top added over the top. For the first layer, I use one with a high reaching zip-up collar for sun protection around the neck. Most of these Aldi merino jumpers/tops also have ‘thumb slots’ in the lower portion of each sleeve. When used these make excellent sun protector for the back of the hands while leaving the fingers free to do what fingers do. The extra thermal layers that may be added do not need to have a high collar or hand protectors.
If the base layer sleeves are pulled down even further they can provide some cold weather protection for the whole hand if needed in an emergency.
I also make my own supplementary cuff extensions from yellow fleece. These extensions are sewn to the thermal top that I use for my first base layer. These make great thermal protection for my hands and they can’t be left behind (They are shown in a photo below).
Number of thermal clothing layers
In the Australian remote alpine areas where I adventure most, the weather can change unpredictably and suddenly so comprehensive winter clothing needs to be on hand at any time. Consequently, on overnight trips, I take 2 merino wool/elastane tights, 1 nylon compression tights, 2 merino wool/elastane tops and 1 merino/elastane jumper with a zip-up collar for extra warmth and sun protection around the neck (and another modification described later).
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Layering order
For most activities, I wear the compression tights over the top of the merino leggings and leave a dry pair of merino leggings in my dry bag in my backpack for emergencies and use in camp. I find that the merino layer is the most comfortable layer to wear against my skin and the compression layer over the top keeps things tight and less likely to catch on trackside vegetation etc.
As well as extra layers for warmth, it is equally important to be able to easily remove layers to prevent overheating and excessive sweating. The order of wearing of the multiple layers is critical to making thermal adjustments during a day without excessive delays while leaving a functional residual base layer.
Now, some people think that men should wear shorts over tights, but I disagree as walking or skiing in tight is like walking or skiing in your own skin and what could be more comfortable. On the other hand, if I wear shorts they add extra clutter and drag around the legs and if they should get wet with perspiration, mist, rain, snow or dare I say a very occasional tumble on the snow (or as my kind friends term it; ‘a little rest on the snow’) then they get wet and stay wet and stay uncomfortable for much longer than leggings alone do.
If people are in any way offended by this attire, I simply suggest to them that they don’t look and concentrate on improving their own Telemark technique or walking skills.
And no, I don’t use walking poles either, I also tell my walking friends who ask about this……… that I use them for their proper use for skiing only and one day I might just use them for walking when I get old, especially if I can use them for a tent pole!!!!
Me
When backpack walking or skiing under Australian wet or damp conditions, the exertion of the body will result in wet or damp clothing, regardless of wearing any rain protection wear. The benefits of wearing only thermals are that they can carry or store only a minimal amount of water and they are so close to the source of body heat that they can dry out very quickly.
For most days my tights have a very fine layer of dewdrops on the outside while staying warm and dry on the inside. This means that, when walking or skiing is over, your clothing will be dry and warm by the time you have put up your tent, put out your sleeping gear and had a cup of tea and dinner. You can then change into your nighttime thermals knowing that you have dry thermals for starting the next days trekking or not bother and just sleep in them anyway.
Ultralight DIY gaiters/leg warmers
My DIY gaiters are made of light nylon (discarded tents) and are attached to long leg warmers that are made of fleece (yellow). The warmers can be stashed down on the ankles when it is hot. They are also long enough to be pulled up above the knees when it is cold. These provide a wide range of thermal protection that can be instantly adjusted according to heat from physical exertion and air temperature and wind chill factors. The adjustment up and down the legs can also be made according to the need for protection from snakes and snagging on trackside vegetation.
Most mornings start with the fleece pulled up over the knees and as the body heat builds they are lowered progressively to my shins, but they can be easily raised and lowered during the day without any need to stop for adjustments. They are also nice to pull over the knees when kneeling on snow to adjust Telemark bindings or when skiing deep fluffy snow slopes, when the snow gods bless us, and that ‘bow wave’ of snow keeps shoots up your legs to your knees as you bend your knees for each turn (season 2018 has so far been blessed).
These gaiters are much lighter and softer than conventional stiff gaiters” and dry quickly. They cause no noticeable restriction to body movement while walking or Telemark skiing. They are so soft that they can also be worn in bed for more warmth on extra cold nights while camping. “I always make them in a vulgar bright yellow/green colour on the pretext of offending trackside snakes, snowboarders or ‘abdominal snowmen’. However, an infinite stock of this wonderful fabric from Darn Cheap Fabrics is closer to the truth. More seriously they can provide extensive snake bite protection and reduce the risk of envenomation when fully deployed on the lower leg (photo below).
Ski gaiter/leg warmers
I have similar but separate gaiters for walking or skiing. The ski version has an oversized nylon portion that has a hemmed cuff with a light shock cord loop in it so that it fits tightly down over the top of the rather bulky ankle of the telemark ski boot. This prevents rain, stones, detritus, snow, flying ice chips and leg melt from entering the boot top. “I am amazed at the number of skiers that I see skiing with their pants or tights tucked into their boots. This is just inviting any snow or ice off their pants to go down into their boots to melt and make their boot wet.”
Walking gaiter/leg warmers
These are very similar to the ski gaiters but they have a narrower nylon portion with a shock cord loop that fits over and down over the walking boots. An additional rubber strap is attached across the shock cord loop so that it can be stretched under the boot, just in front of the heal piece. This strap holds the gaiter tightly down over the boot opening to keep out plant material, stones, gravel and sand particularly when doing river crossings and river walks.
The rubber strap is made of linked rubber bands that are made of slices of bicycle inner tube (DIY rubber bands). They have survived many days of walking without damage or accidental snagging.
Thermal tops modification
I also modify one merino top by adding two long fleece tube extensions to each arm. “Yes, you guessed it, these are the same vulgar colour as the gaiter/leg warmers.” These are sewn to the base layer sleeve, so they are never far away. These tubes can be deployed for warmth, for cold morning starts, sun/skin cancer protection in bright sunshine, while still leaving fingers available for normal use when required. They can also be hidden inside the sleeve when you want to look more like a normal person.
Thermal merino top with high zip-up neck and with adjustable sleeve extensions for warmth and skin cancer protection. Ultralight nylon gaiters with integrated leg warmers that can be quickly adjusted up and down the legs on the fly according to thermal requirements. One leg warmer is up and the other is down. I think that we had just climbed to the summit of Mt StGwinear.
Outer Layers
Puffer jacket
I take one of these Aldi down puffer jackets (see the blue jacket in the photo below) with me on every trip into alpine country. At about $50 these provide wonderful warmth and comfort for such little weight and outperform my much more expensive jacket in many ways:
- Better resists water/snow,
- Dries more quickly,
- Has integrated hood in a collar,
- Has many small and large functional pockets,
- Has an integrated packing pocket that makes a down pillow and
- Has absolutely minimal down leakage.
Wind and rain jacket
More to come
Zip on waterproof pants.
I purchase good quality light rain pants from opportunity shops and unpick the outside leg seams up to above the crotch level and below any pocket openings and I leave any velcro or press stud closures on the lower leg or add velcro closures. Then I sew in a lightweight zip (open ends at the bottom) from Darn Cheap Fabrics .”I find their staff are just so friendly and helpful”).
This makes the rain pants easy to put on or take off while wearing bulky ski boots or walking boots when the weather changes very quickly. It minimizes the time taken for a clothing change and reduces the extent of body exposure during the process. “It also helps to discourage the attitude of ‘I will wait a little longer to make the change’ that can contribute to someone developing serious hypothermia when their judgement is already suboptimal.”
With the separate velcro closure near the boots, it means that the zippered portion can be closed or quickly opened to provide generous ventilation according to the weather conditions, while the bottom of the legs stay tightly anchored to each boot. For similar reasons, they are excellent for bushwalking with changeable weather when wearing light thermal clothing.
Socks
It will be no surprise by now that I use Aldi socks for all my activities. I use the thick wool ones for bushwalking and also while wearing gumboot on my farm. I find that this farm use of socks in gumboots is the harshest test and they pass every test. A walking friend Eileen, who was also a dairy farmer confirmed what I already knew, she said: “Those Aldi socks are fantastic they even stay fixed on my feet all day even when wearing gumboots”.
The thin long socks I use for Telemark skiing and the intermediate ones for everyday use and sailing. They are just wonderful socks that are cheap (~$5/pair), warm, durable, extra thickness where needed, resistant to balling, comfortable and the stretch and shaping makes them stay in place all day where you put them on, even in gumboots!!!!! Congratulations Aldi! I have had one sock (of unknown age) fall apart mysteriously, on a recent three-week walk and the rest have given years of perfect performance, so I have no complaint. Please see my DIY Dingo tricks for keeping socks and boot and gloves odourless on long trips.
[Photo of my array of favourite Aldi socks]
Emergency clothing. When involved in remote alpine activities I am notorious for carrying a big day pack and usually take the following:
- Light rain/windproof jacket,
- Light zip-on rain pants,
- Light silver nylon tarp with cord tie-outs for wind rain protection emergency cover
- Mylar thermal bag,
- My puffer jacket
- Spare socks
- Spare merino top
- Fire starting pack
Neck warmer.
This simple tube of fleece may look a silly item of clothing, but it is very light and useful for snow trekking. It has multiple uses as a soft hat (for evenings), ear warmer, neck warmer and face protector in blizzards. It also has holes cut in it so that it can provide breathing holes and an aperture that can be aligned with the goggle lens when required.
The fleece neck warmer completes the face protection up to the ski helmet and goggles. The puffer jacket provides lovely upper body warmth and can be covered with my rain jacket when things get really bad. I put the puffer hood on my head before putting on the ski helmet. At first, it feels a little restrictive, but it is well worth the extra insulation for the neck and upper body and also stops snowmelt entering around the neck and shoulders. I find that after the thrill of a few telemark runs that I forget that the hood is even under my helmet.
Jacket hoods
I have found that hoods are a much-underutilized clothing item. When skiing in falling snow or strong wind I always deploy my hood on my outer jacket after fitting my neck warmer and before I don my helmet. I find this is a little restrictive for neck/head movement at first, but it provides great thermal insulation and protection from snow and snowmelt entering around the neck and then to the back and chest. Even the thin hood on the Aldi puffer is very effective. The padded hood on my ski jacket just fits inside my helmet. Initially, it feels very constrictive, but it provides great day-long protection in sub-zero temperatures and I get accustomed to it and importantly it does not adversely affect my skiing.
Padded ski suite for resort skiing
For resort skiing where there is little uphill effort required thick insulated jacket and pants are hard to beat when it is or could be very cold. Yes, I wear an Aldi suit and it has always kept me warm even under the cold conditions experienced in Japan.
I have found that the pants cuff protectors of the Aldi ski pants, were not tough enough to resist ski edge cuts and the internal insulation fibres started to leak out. This problem most likely stems from my propensity to ski with my skis very close together (Too close according to The Master).
To address this issue, without correcting my ski technique, I sew on strong ripstop pack cloth protectors to the pants. This has meant that they have survived many weeks of hard skiing without so much as a scratch (see photo below). The heavy sewing involved is not difficult, just slow. I turn the protector fabric around the original protector and up inside the pants leg. This means that there is a strong rolled edge at the very bottom of the cuff and when sewn through from the outer layer it makes for invincible protection.
With my primitive sewing skills, I find it easier and less frustrating to first pin the protector in place and then tack by hand stitching before cautious, stitch by stitch, sewing with the machine using candle wax on the fabric and needle as a lubricant. A bootmaker or boat cover maker might be able to do this last step quite easily.
[Add a photo of strong pants cuff protectors]
Knitted wool onesie
This one-piece suit is for sunny resort ski days (or occasional backcountry day trips, where a strategic retreat to change is possible. This suit was lovingly knitted by my Mum as a year-long project for a birthday present nearly 50 years ago when I first started work. She said to me “What can I get you for your birthday”. I replied; “Nothing thanks Mum… I have good pay and you have given me so much….” and she replied; “Then I will make you something that you can’t buy” …..and that was the start of the Onesie. It is a wonderful outer layer to wear on the right day.
The same base layers
Just in case it is not clear all the various outer layers of clothing are worn over basically the same base layer of clothing for any of the activities mentioned.
Tim
