Episode 136 | Fringe Season Layering

What changes do you make to your layering system between “summer” (warm days and nights above freezing) and the “fringe” season (cooler days but still above freezing, nights below freezing)?

1) As mentioned, I choose heavier shells in cooler weather. Lack of pockets on UL shells are less convenient, and heavier fabrics can sometimes breathe better (and usually resist weather better). (Also I’m not a fan of “trim fit” in shells, ever).

In cooler weather, I count the extra few ounces as “insulation”.

2) I’m more likely to wear SealSkinz socks and/or WPB boots in cooler weather. The boots are clearly a weight tradeoff, but they resist rain and snow better than anything I’ve found for warm weather. I mostly just get my feet wet in warmer weather, or use UL MYOG waders for muddy swamp crossings.

3) I use a pair of long buffs as “legs” for my shorts in shoulder seasons. KamSnaps or a shock cord to keep them up.

(Kuhl changed the Renegades this year, so the REI Saharas are the only convertibles that I am aware of with a vertical zipper for easier on/off.)

4) When the weather is consistently below about 45F (7C), I switch from an OR Echo to last-year’s MH Airmesh (83? gsm) as my base layer shirt. I may add a Brynje underneath the Airmesh, although I consider it optional.

(There’s a gap in the market this year: the new Airmesh is heavier, and I don’t see anything else as perfect as the old Airmesh Half-Zip for a shirt. ZPacks is the closest, but the hood and kangaroo pocket make it less ideal as a shirt. Still, it’s the only half-zip I see in that excellent fabric.)

Otherwise, it’s all the same: Layers. 

A topic near and dear to my heart.

I don’t like to slow down except for breaks so my layering is optimized to reduce water retention and maximize breathability with warmth.  Wind shirts and alpha/octa are used more sparingly.  Here’s my system after a lot of trial and error.

It’s fairly generic in application, a hotter or colder traveler would have to adjust the temperate ranges accordingly.

• 15C and up: 1/4 zip OR Echo only, it holds the least water, vents (hoodie doesn’t) and has easily rolled up sleeves.  Shorts or Ferrosi pants
• 0C to 20C: Columbia silver ridge light.  Vents, doubles as a wind shirt.  Brynje alone causes chills in a slight breeze.  Long pants
• 0C to 13C: add short sleeve Brynje as a base layer.  Polyprop only, wool is a sponge
• < ~ 5C swap poncho for rain jacket
• < ~ 0C: swap SRL for Lifa polyprop base (wear 2 base layers, only).  Lifa holds less water than SRL and the SRL venting is no longer needed.  Add Dooy as wind shirt, use WPB boots, make sure pants have wind block properties (I use Columbia silver ridge, Ferrosi‘s are far too wind porous at these temps)
• < ~ -5C, swap short sleeve Brynje for long sleeve to help keep hands warm, add octa (use as needed, ie 3 “base layers” at once), swap 3 season gaiters for Outdoor Research Helium (OR Rocky Mountain high gaiters trap tons of sweat even at -15C)
• < ~ -8C add Lifa polyprop leggings under the pants
• < ~ -20C swap the Airmesh for 120 weight or more fleece, weight appropriate for the temp. I’ve pushed this to ~ -30C for a full day

It’s critical to bring another breathable fleece for stops.  Puffs are near VBLs so I avoid them since I’m still dumping a lot of sweat when I stop regardless of temperature.  I have 4 weights of Decathlon fleece and bring the right one for the temps.

An interesting finding as I dialed this in was that as your core gets colder, you’ll notice it in the hands far before you notice it in your core.

Competing factors are at play: reducing water retention over the core layers by reducing insulation there makes your hands cold first, so I wear silk glove liners ~ 5C, switch to fleece liners and wristies at ~ 0C, swap those below ~ -5C for wool glomitts with a long gauntlet then add fleece liners as temps go down, weight depending on temp.  I think I have 6 different liner weights: I got obsessive after I came home from a 25km -20C snowshoe day and couldn’t work my hands.

I add nitril VBL hand liners < ~ -10C so no water vapour at all gets in the glove system.  This lets me push the core system to colder temps further reducing sweat build up in the layers and makes a big difference in overall layering system performance.

In the summer I am always prepared for temps down to freezing.

If it might go below freezing, I’ll add a down vest.  And fleece fingerless mittens, balaclava, neck insulation

If it’s going to rain a lot I’ll switch from my lightweight RSBTR WPB rain jacket with a neoshell version

Great episode! Always nice to have your choices validated, although I mostly listen to garner new options. I’ll keep it short. I recently completed a SOBO thru hike of the AT. My layering system consisted of a Brynje Super Thermo short sleeve shirt, Senchi alpha 60 and Patagonia Houdini. Rain was managed with a Zpacks poncho and occasionally a Montbell Versalite. This system excelled in all sorts of weather from July in Maine through late November in the southern Appalachians. Anytime the wind kicked up, and the Brynje/Senchi combo was failing, the addition of the Patagonia wind shirt (occasionally with removal of the Senchi) handled things well. Towards the end, I added a down puffy for camp use, but never needed it on trail even with temps in the 30s.