Thermals

[Nagual]

How do you find the bamboo to wear ?
It's really just bamboo processed to produce celluose and that's then turned into bamboo viscose. ........like the soya bean silk.
I've spun both, and they are lovely to work with, makes a good addition to feltmaking, but I've never worn it.
The Chinese fibre manufacturers claim, "Bamboo fabric can absorb and evaporate human sweat in a split second. Because the cross-section of bamboo fiber is filled with various micro-gaps and micro-holes, bamboo fabric has much better moisture absorption."
Be interesting to hear how folks really get on with it.

cheers,
Toddy

Would love to know this as well, as I've been looking at various sites trying to find out more info on bamboo clothes, and trying to find the cheapest deal too. I really need something this winter, my poor legs feel the cold something awful .

How are people experience with silk base layers? There seems to be a lot of them available too, and not badly priced too, if you hunt around. Silk is something I've never really used so have no idea what it's like, especially when used as a base layer.

 

[John Fenna]

OK - just to muddy the waters!
I have been trying out Bamboo base layers and I find it excellent!
Very cozy and non iritating next to the skin and with good wicking ability the bamboo viscose is great - however, check how much cotton is in the blend as cotton content is variable across the brands - and even styles in brand range! I rather like Mountain Junky and Sue Me brands.
Another blend I have been trying out is Silk and Merino wool - sheer luxury! - Silkbody is a name to look out for here...
I also like the Merino/synythetic blends used by Woolpower (Ullefrotte or whatever in the past) and this washes well at pretty high temps.
As soon as we get another cold spell I will be checking out some Mereklon....

 

[Phil6201]

Marino - light, warm, doesn't itch (I do not like traditional wool, but have no issues with marino).

It doesn't smell as bad as synthetics.

Doesn't have the plasticy feel of polypro

Works when wet.

 

[treadlightly]

How do you find the bamboo to wear ?
It's really just bamboo processed to produce celluose and that's then turned into bamboo viscose. ........like the soya bean silk.
I've spun both, and they are lovely to work with, makes a good addition to feltmaking, but I've never worn it.
The Chinese fibre manufacturers claim, "Bamboo fabric can absorb and evaporate human sweat in a split second. Because the cross-section of bamboo fiber is filled with various micro-gaps and micro-holes, bamboo fabric has much better moisture absorption."
Be interesting to hear how folks really get on with it.

cheers,
Toddy

I have a bamboo tshirt and a long sleeved baselayer. They are very soft and comfortable, are as good as wool for not smelling but are not quite as warm, somewhere between wool and silk I would say.
I don't think they perform quite as well as wool when wet but overall its very impressive stuff.

BTW, how similar would you say bamboo is to a so-called semi-synthetic fabric like viscose?

 

[rik_uk3]

What are cold weather Norgi shirts made of?

 

[Improviser]

What are cold weather Norgi shirts made of?

I think there made of a loop stitch tight weave wicking cotton sometimes reffered to as 'towelling'.

Dont quote me though!

 

[rik_uk3]

I think there made of a loop stitch tight weave wicking cotton sometimes reffered to as 'towelling'.

Dont quote me though!

Killer cotton?

 

[Toddy]

It's the way it's woven; that gives it a different structure.........like the difference between a towel and a tshirt.
A towel will absorb a heck of a lot more water, and surprisingly evaporate it off a lot quicker than the tshirt.

If it's the jeans thing Rik.......denim is woven 2:1 twill from soft spun weft on a tighter spun, closely spaced, warp.
It's a lovely weave, but it's heavy. The fibres are heavy, the weave adds to this, it makes it relatively snag proof, takes flat wearing fine, but it eventually fails at creases and seams.
Oh, and it's absorbant but not quick drying.

And while comfortable, Norgies are cheap bulk produce for servicemen, and they do get wet but the structure of the weave increases the surface area enormously and allows body heat to evaporate sweat........unless worn under closed waterproofs

I do agree that we can be guilty of over kitting for the UK, but is it not practical to understand the equipment we wear, the choices available, and realise that our climate is the real issue ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[Algie]

Merino for me too. Wore an Icebreaker long-sleeved crew top all week during a survival course - was lovely and warm when it rained so hard everyone got wet through. The synthetic micro-fleece I wore on top still smells after a few washes, but the Merino passed the Wife's nose test after just one wash.

Will definitely be investing in more of this stuff when I win the lottery.

Oh and I'm from the "wool is too itchy" camp, but I have no problems with Merino

Algie

 

[susi]

No offence intended to the OP of the question, but I don't see purpose of the question (assuming by "thernals" we're talking about long underwear, long johns, etc?). You may as well ask which is the best jacket to wear, without giving any information about the weather likely to be encountered, or even whether the "jacket" is required to stand up to a snowstorm or simply required to attend a banquet

For me the choice of what to wear next to skin depends very much on the outside temperature and activity level, or even what is to be worn as an upper layer.. If I'm sat still in cold weather, perhaps waiting to shoot something, then wool is nice, perhaps even cotton if it's not too cold. If I'm doing something active in the cold, and maybe I will have to follow the exercise with some sitting around, then cotton could be considered dangerous as it holds moisture against the skin, which will soon chill..in this case something that wicks moisture would be the winner.

I don't want to pee on the thread, but just feel that there isn't really a single straight answer to "what are the best thernals"....