Layering for Cold Weather 101: Base Layer

As the weather starts to grow a bit colder and our lives keep taking us outdoors with football games, baseball tournaments, deer season and the fair, we want to take a minute to educate you on the BEST way to keep warm. Though a good jacket is a great step in the right direction, there is so much more to keeping warm. We are going to start at the very bottom of it all, what you need to wear under your clothes, and work our way out to jackets, gloves, hats, scarves and even socks in this technical series on layering.

The Base Layer: Part 1

By Staff Member Ross Lee

I remember going to the National Peanut Festival with my family as a kid. We always loved how the weather would turn cool just before the fair arrived, almost as if it was planned that way. We would bundle up:  long johns under blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt, a sweat shirt and big fluffy jacket with a beanie on top of our heads. We would go out there every year thinking there was no way we were going to get cold, but every year after running all around the fairgrounds, I would come back to my parents, almost in tears, because I was so cold. I could never figure out why I froze every year even though I had dressed so “warm”. It took many years of being miserably cold before I figured out the secret.

The secret doesn’t lie in having a really warm big fluffy jacket, though that can be very important, the secret lies in what you wear under everything, your BASE LAYER. My problem was not that I did not dressed warm enough, my problem was the long johns I was wearing were made of cotton and soaked up all my sweat as I ran around the fairgrounds and made a wet layer right next to my skin which kept me from getting warm.

Base layer is the foundation in your cold weather clothing system, and though different brands use different technologies in their base layer systems, the end goal is the same: your base layer is supposed to keep you dry. Your base layer should wick away moisture from your body and evaporate it out, keeping the layer closest to your body warm and dry. Base layer systems come in different weights, which are used to keep you warm in any scenario. Lighter weight base layers are used when you are participating in a more active activity, such as sports, whereas heavier weight base layers are used in more passive activities, such as watching sports or hunting.

Here at Eagle Eye, we carry four different types of base layer. Patagonia Capilene is made with a 100% polyester material called Polartec® Powder dry®. Powder dry® is a two layer fabric. The bottom layer is designed to wick away moisture very quickly, and the top layer is designed to evaporate very quickly. These two layers work together to keep you dry. It was designed with flat seams and strategically placed gussets to allow the snug fit you need with a base layer but also not to impede with natural movement. Patagonia Capilene would be a great option for base layer for all ranges of activity.

The North Face is the new kid on the block this year with their new base layer system featuring their proprietary FlashDry ™ technology. The North Face base layer is a blended polyester/polyolefin material that is double layered. Its FlashDry™ technology works a little differently than the others. Not only does it wick away moisture very efficiently, but it also spreads the moisture out over the surface of the garment so that the moisture can evaporate faster. It was designed with flat seams and strategically placed gussets to allow you to move freely and would work best in a more active environment, i.e. the ski slopes.

Columbia has revolutionized the market with their Omni-Heat ® thermal reflective material, matched with their Omni-Wick ® moisture management system. Columbia has found a way to keep garments really thin, but also really warm. Columbia took old technology found in an emergency blanket and redesigned it to create an awesome material that we now know as Omni-Heat ® thermal reflective. It reflects your body heat back to you while it gets rid of excess moisture, causing the garment to be up to 20 % warmer. It is made with a polyester/elastin blend which lends itself to a snug athletic fit. Columbia base layer is made for the person who is on the go, and doesn't want to be held down by thick base layer.

Under Armour has something for everyone in their base layer. Whether you need a thin layer to keep you warm and dry as you play soccer, a scent proof layer to keep you warm while you keep the deer guessing where you are,  a warm but flexible layer as you ride your motorcycle through the mountains, or a thick cozy layer to keep you warm in the stands as you cheer your football player on, Under Armour has a little bit of everything. Utilizing a gridded polyester fleece, Under Armour base layer will help spread the heat across your whole body, while wicking away moisture. It is super light and flexible and available in 4 different weights to keep you warm in any situation.

Don’t suffer through another cold winter with the same old cotton long johns you have been wearing for years while wishing you were warm. Swing by Eagle Eye and let us help you find the right base layer for your cold weather activities.