Winter baselayer suggestions?

Brynje with a snug midlayer is my vote.

. FIELD NOTES: WINTER BACKPACKING IN SOUTHEAST WYOMING why not look at the latest BPL article, it has a video and gear list that goes over clothing

As a broad answer to your question Ryan polypropylene is a slightly better moisture manager than polyester. In addition polypropylene is cheaper to manufacture. Why then has the industry shifted towards polyester as the de facto material for baselayer construction? Polypropylene has a tendency to pick up and hold on to body odors more easily than polyester.

As you note it is hard nowadays to find polypropylene baselayers.

Asking what brand or specific item is best is generally a poor way to go about choosing an item simply because there are numerous items which could fit your objective.

That said there are 3 broad types of baselayers. The sub 90g/m synthetics (Rab Interval/OR Echo/Pat LW), the sub 150g/m wool/synthetic blends (Rab 120/Voormi)\, and the sub 160g/m grid (Cap Thermal/MEC T2/ME Solar Eclipse/Montane Allez). People also use the Brynje baselayers but I know nothing about them and cannot comment.

Hopefully this all clarifies the current landscape of baselayers some.

As others observed, polypropylene has a tendency to put up stink pretty quickly. The best winter bases have voids.  Brynje was the classic way to do this. I personally think polartec Power Grid works just about as well and I find it more versatile… I am a huge fan of using patagonia thermal weight base with a minimal shell while active and then layer insulation over it when I slow down / stop.

–mark

Polypro base layers are everywhere. You just need to look outside of the “Backpacker” market.

PolyPro is so good at it does that I seriously consider buying a set every winter for my “emergency” set of clothing, but instead I use one of my old set of 100 weight fleece to save money and carry the extra weight

Thanks for all the suggestions, I have been considering the Helly Hansen lifa merino seamless halfzip cause it is polypro aka Lifa on the inside and merino outside and also considering the brynje but not sure to go with the merino or polypro, maybe both.

I love merino in winter. I use it for ski trips, either one or multi day, if the temperatures will be 10F or lower. Even if it wets from sweat it stays warm. In my experience polypropylene dries faster, but just does not feel warm to me when damp.