How many outdoor candidates made the wrong choice to play the bottom layer, and finally lost their w
Have you ever had such an experience: taking off your backpack during a break on foot, but a gust of wind blows，outdoor product, and your sweaty back feels piercingly cool; in order to make it easier to wear ordinary underwear, you can find that the inner thigh is rubbed and bleed after walking for a day I can only endure the embarrassment and pain silently; I only wear a short-sleeved top in the hope of being cool, and after exposure to the sun, I find that my arms are almost sunburned and peeled...
All of the above dilemmas are caused by your neglect of the most intimate bottom layer.
Inconspicuous bottom layer
Layered clothing is now a familiar concept for outdoor enthusiasts: a bottom perspiration layer, a middle insulation layer and an outer protective shell work together to help us wick away sweat, keep warm, and protect us from weather, so we can adapt to the ever-changing outdoor climate Variety.
In this typical three-layered method, the base layer is the most inconspicuous layer. It's not as cool as a jacket, and it's nowhere near as expensive as a down jacket, but it's the foundation of the entire layering system that's indispensable.
As the weather gets warmer, thermal clothes and hard shells are often useless and become passers-by in the backpack, but the bottom layer can be worn all the time and accompany us all year round.
Play the underlying work logic
Among the three stacked layers, the main function of the bottom layer is to absorb moisture and perspiration. Why is sweating so important? How does the bottom layer sweat for us?
Sweat - the invisible accomplice of hypothermia
Hypothermia is something all outdoor enthusiasts talk about and don't want to experience. But many people's imagination of hypothermia is often under the severe cold and winter, but do you think that when spring comes, there is no risk of hypothermia when the weather is warm?
At least 1,500 people die of hypothermia in the United States every year. Surprisingly, most cases of hypothermia related to outdoor sports occur at 0-10 degrees Celsius, not in extremely cold weather; the silver "5.22" that killed 21 people Mountain cyclocross events also take place in relatively warm May rather than winter.
In fact, there is no direct relationship between heat loss and ambient temperature. Humans are warm-blooded animals. When the rate of heat production cannot keep up with the rate of heat loss, and it is difficult to maintain a body temperature of 37 degrees Celsius, hypothermia may occur.
In most cases, the loss of temperature is not due to the low temperature of the environment itself, but due to the evaporation of water (rain, snow, sweat) from the body surface, which removes a large amount of body heat.
In a windy environment, the speed of water evaporation and heat absorption will be quickly accelerated, even if the ambient temperature is not low, it will make our body quickly cool. When you start to shiver and your hands and feet are shaking involuntarily, this is a red flag, and sweat, the most easily overlooked invisible enemy, has taken advantage of it.
As a warm-blooded animal, one of the important goals of dressing is to maintain body temperature, and dryness is the basis of heat preservation. The windproof and waterproof outer layer is handled by the jacket, while the inner sweat and rainwater that breaks through the outer layer are absorbed by the bottom layer and discharged from the body surface.
Keeping dry while retaining heat, creating a close-fitting "micro-climate" for us in complex outdoor environments, is what the bottom layer does.
Primer - keep the bottom line dry
The bottom layer is the first layer of clothing that is close to the skin, and its job is to be a water porter. It works in two steps: the first step is "moisture absorption", that is, the process of absorbing sweat and removing it from the skin; The second step is "quick-drying", where the fabric dries quickly in a short period of time, draining the sweat absorbed into the clothes and keeping the skin dry.
How the bottom layer works
A qualified base layer needs to have both "moisture absorption" and "quick-drying" functions in order to effectively expel sweat from the body.
Cotton clothes worn daily have a strong ability to absorb sweat, but they dry very slowly, and the sweat cannot be drained out of the clothes for a long time, leaving the skin in contact with moisture for a long time. That's why cotton is a potential "killer" for outdoor sports.
Play the bottom to buy a book
The autumn clothes, long pants, and all kinds of cheap T-shirts and POLO shirts that are often worn in autumn and winter are mostly cotton fabrics, which are not suitable for outdoor wear. How to choose a suitable bottom layer?
Material: Merino wool and polyester
At present, there are two types of materials for the mainstream outdoor base layer on the market, one is natural merino wool (Marino Wool), and the other is synthetic polyester fiber (Polyester), which is what we often call polyester.
Speaking of wool, if you wore an old-fashioned wool sweater when you were a child, you might get an itchy back just thinking about it. How could you possibly wear it close to your body? You can rest assured that soft and delicate Merino wool has replaced the itchy traditional wool in the selection of the base layer.
In order to adapt to the environment, the hair fibers of Merino sheep are constantly evolving under natural selection, becoming finer and stronger, which can stay dry in the temperature of 30+ degrees Celsius in summer, and can also withstand the low temperature of -10 degrees Celsius in winter.
Today, such excellent natural properties are used to make wool products suitable for outdoor sports.
The fleece base layer has good moisture absorption performance, it can absorb 35% of its own weight in moisture. However, the drying speed of wool is relatively slower than that of polyester, and it takes more time for wool to dry completely under the same humidity.
As a base layer, the biggest advantage of Merino wool is temperature control. Its natural active fibers can automatically save or release heat according to changes in the external environment.
When sweating, the wool absorbs sweat and releases a small amount of heat to keep the skin warm; when the temperature rises, the moisture absorbed by the fiber is released to cool down in time. This process is like wearing a layer of "close-to-body air conditioner" with a constant temperature setting on the body, which has the effect of "warm in winter and cool in summer".
In addition to this, wool is naturally resistant to odor-causing bacteria and can absorb and "lock" odor molecules away from the human sense of smell. This excellent deodorant feature is even more apparent on wool socks.
Polyester is a very common synthetic fiber material.
Compared with wool, the advantage of polyester base layer is its excellent quick-drying ability. With the continuous innovation of material technology, artificial polyester can not only match the moisture absorption performance and skin-friendly body feel of wool, but also surpass wool in quick-drying ability.
For example, the classic quick-drying fabric COOLMAX is a polyester synthetic fiber. It uses a four-channel fiber structure to efficiently guide sweat away from the skin surface through capillary action, and quickly spreads in all directions.
In addition to quick-drying, polyester primer also has obvious advantages in terms of cost performance, durability and durability. Simply put, it's cheap and durable!
Polyester base layers are usually 30%-40% cheaper than wool when they are similar in function, quality, and brand price. And polyester fabrics are far less "delicate" than wool, more wear-resistant and can be worn longer.
To sum up, when it comes to moisture absorption, natural wool and synthetic polyester both perform well, and it is a close match. Wool is better in terms of heat preservation and deodorization, and also has a natural texture and skin-friendly experience that is difficult to simulate, but the price and maintenance cost are higher.
Polyester has better performance in quick-drying and perspiration, better care, and at the same time cost-effective. How to choose depends on your own focus and needs.
Thickness
After selecting the material, you will find that there are differences in the thickness of the base layer of the same material. How to choose this?
In fact, the thickness of the base layer is related to its warmth. Generally speaking, the bottom layer is responsible for perspiration, and the middle layer is responsible for keeping warm. But in some cases, the bottom layer will also undertake part of the heat preservation work.
For example, on a warm and cold spring day, it is too hot to wear a fleece jacket on foot, and it is slightly cold to wear only a thin bottoming shirt. At this time, you can wear a bottoming transition that combines moisture absorption and heat preservation.
Another scenario is severe cold weather, you need to wear as much as possible, the warmer the better, you can also wear a heavier bottom layer to help the middle layer keep warm together.
Therefore, the thickness of the bottom layer, that is, the degree of warmth, is also an important aspect of our purchase. So how do you judge the warmth of a bottom layer?
Many outdoor brands like to use words such as "light weight", "mid weight" and "heavy weight" to represent the thickness of clothes. As the name suggests, lightweights are generally thinner, while heavyweights are thicker.
Brands with more comprehensive product lines may also be further subdivided by the specific weight of the clothes. For example, ICE BREAKER, a classic brand of merino wool products, has more base layers to choose from.
style design
In terms of style, the bottom layer of tops is roughly divided into two types. One is the bottom layer for inner wear, similar to "outdoor autumn clothes", which is suitable for use with other layers of clothing in autumn and winter.
This type of clothes is more focused on the performance of the bottom layer, the appearance design is relatively simple, mostly self-cultivation styles, the neckline is mostly round neck or high neck, and the color is mostly solid color. Due to the relatively poor wear resistance of many wool base layers, they often focus on high-quality inner wear layers.
The bottom layer that can be worn outside is another type, which is what we often call "quick-drying clothes". They are both functional and aesthetic, perfect for wearing alone in spring and summer. There are many styles of this type of tops. In terms of necklines, there are round necks, zipper collars, high necks, and some are also designed as hoodies with hats.
In addition to different appearance styles, different neckline designs also have subtle differences in warmth, breathability and sun protection. For example, a bottoming shirt with a hat will have stronger protection and sun protection.
In terms of color, quick-drying clothes usually have more choices, splicing color blocks or pattern designs, which have good functions and show the aesthetics and styles of each brand.
bottom layer of trousers
Similar to the top, the bottom layer of the trousers is also divided into inner wear and outer wear. The innerwear is similar to "outdoor johns" and is usually worn under softshell or hiking pants.
The style of leggings worn outside is more casual, often with zippers and pockets. This type of trousers not only has the function of moisture absorption and perspiration as the bottom layer, but also has the basic anti-scratch and wear-resistant protection function.
Bottom layer for special parts
In fact, underwear is not the whole bottom layer, after all, we also wear underwear and socks. And the bottom layer of these close-fitting parts is often overlooked by us.
Many people wear expensive wool bottoming shirts, but they wear cotton underwear and socks inside, and the all-round protection of the bottom layer falls short.
Underwear can choose polyester quick-drying underwear with better elasticity, and socks can also choose quick-drying socks. Moisture-absorbing and odor-resistant wool socks are also a good option for long hikes. Girls' underwear can refer to sports underwear and choose a fabric that is breathable and quick-drying.
Matching the bottom layer with other clothing
The layers of clothing in different climatic environments will be different, and the specific dressing method will be affected by various factors such as the type of activity, exercise intensity and geographical environment.
The following sets three common climates, list a few outdoor scenarios that may be encountered, talk about the precautions in specific scenarios, and how the combination of different layers can help us cope with the outdoor environment.
Spring and summer warm weather
In sunny and warm weather, in addition to paying attention to ventilation and coolness in outdoor clothing, you should also pay attention to sunscreen and protection.
So even in the hot summer, many experienced outdoor players like to wear long pants and long-sleeved shirts. This is because the bottom layer of light and breathable long clothes and trousers will not only not be stuffy, but also can play a certain role in protection, such as sun protection, anti-mosquito and anti-scratch.
In the high-altitude areas with strong ultraviolet rays in the west, or in the complex and dense forests in the south, no matter how hot the weather is, we can't be greedy for the cool, and we should try to avoid exposing the skin in a large area.
Lightweight, breathable polyester long-sleeve shirts and polyester quick-drying trousers are better options than shorts and vests.
The bottom layer here actually replaces the multiple functions of layered clothing. In addition to moisture absorption and perspiration, it also plays a role in the basic protection of the outer layer.
If the exercise intensity is high, such as running outdoors on sunny days in spring and summer, or long-distance hiking in arid mountainous areas, heatstroke prevention is the first priority, and the cooler you dress, the better. In these situations, you can wear a short-sleeved quick-drying top with quick-drying shorts. Of course, sun protection is essential, remember to wear a sun hat, and apply sunscreen to the exposed skin in time.
cool rainy day
In wet and rainy weather, the clothes you wear need to be both breathable and waterproof.
If you are hiking outdoors in a cool light rainy day, you can choose a light polyester bottoming shirt with a light and breathable fleece jacket, and a waterproof jacket on the outer layer. Lightweight polyester leggings can be worn on the lower body, paired with water-repellent soft shell pants.
It should be noted that the air permeability of the jacket is relatively poor, especially after the outer layer is exposed to rain, so when wearing the jacket, you should always be alert to the excessive sweating of the body.
Many times people walk on rainy days, even wearing a jacket, they still feel wet, is the jacket leaking? In fact, it is not always the case. In most cases, it is due to excessive sweating caused by the wet weather and the insufficient breathability of the jacket.
The quick-drying efficiency of the bottom layer is limited, especially on cloudy and rainy days. As the exercise intensity increases, you sweat more. If you feel wet and cold, you should rest in time and reduce your travel speed. Seek shelter in time when conditions permit, and find opportunities to change into dry clothes.
In light rain, the clothing layer can also be used, but in windy and rainy days, no matter how waterproof the jacket is, it will not help. For the sake of safety, we should try to avoid all outdoor activities in windy and rainy days, and be sure to check the weather before going out.
When uncertain weather conditions, in addition to the necessary layers of clothing, it is best to pack a portable raincoat and emergency waterproof pants in your bag. If it rains suddenly, put on a raincoat and waterproof pants and seek shelter as soon as possible.
cold winter weather
In cold weather, the combination of perspiration and warmth is the most important. When the temperature is low and the exercise intensity is not large, keeping warm is the first priority, and the warmer you dress, the better.
For example, for outdoor sightseeing trips in winter, you can wear a more skin-friendly and warm wool bottoming shirt for the top, a light down jacket or polyester fiber-filled cotton jacket for the middle layer, and a breathable hard shell or soft shell jacket with stronger warmth for the outermost layer.
While keeping the lower body warm, you should also avoid being overly bloated, so as not to hinder flexible movement. Warm, breathable wool leggings can be worn along with softshell trekking pants. In cooler weather, add a pair of light fleece pants to the middle layer.
Outdoor safety has been a common topic, but most people still regard large items such as tents and sleeping bags as the primary responsible equipment for outdoor safety, but ignore the least visible bottom layer.
