LOWER
BODY
INSULATION

Base Layer Shirts

Two 100% poly thin insulation layers:

Thin Poly Tank Top

Thin Poly Long Sleeve

Poly layers used 24 hours, except during hard work.

1 to 2 base layers.

ADD
Medium Poly thermal

2 thin Poly layers + Medium Weight poly thermal.

Three base layers. Outer 2 layers can come off during heavy hiking.

Insulation Layers

Medium Weight Fleece Coat

Option
Medium Poly thermal

ADD
Medium Poly thermal

Option
Down Coat

REPLACE
Medium Poly thermal with heavy Poly Thermal

ADD
Quality Down Coat

Jeeze, this one is 7 years old. I've sewn the trim back on too many times to count. It is still warm.

This is the basic upper base layer, for all seasons.

I've stripped to this layer to begin backpacking on cold, but sunny December days in the High Sierras.

We had better start generating some heat as quickly as possible!

Light Weight Poly Tank Top, All Season Base Layer

This is my base layer (along with the poly tank top above, and the heavy poly layer below) for mid-Winter.

During Summertime, this is our also second base layer, but almost always kept at the top of our pack for easy depolyment.

When we are climbing to a high pass, sweating and grunting, and a cold wind comes up, we can pull this baby out and quickly put it on.

If the wind is carrying snow, we may also pull out your medium weigth jacket.

Light Weight Poly Long Sleeve: 2nd Layer, All Seasons

Medium Poly Long Sleeve: 3rd Layer, Optional Summer, Spring/Fall. Mandatory Layer, Winter

Fleece Coat.

This is my all-season camp insulation jacket.

This particular fleece coat is "heavy," being thicker than my medium weight Summer fleece, which I wore out.

Fleece Coat: All Seasons

Down Coat: Optional Spring/Fall. Mandatory Winter

Just picked up this medium weight North Face Shell Jacket from their Outlet in Berkeley (March, 2009), after my apartment burned, and I lost my Marrmot Precept ultra-light shell jacket. I decided on a medium weight, rather than a lightweight, jacket. I was really happy I did.

This jacket performed exceptionally well, almost perfectly, through the biggest Spring storms ever recorded in the in Northern Mendo County in May of 2009 when I did 131 miles along the Lost Coast. Massive downpours pushed perfectly sideways by the 50 mile per hour standing wind, which gusted up to phenomenal blows, were perfectly protected by this jacket.

The "Almost" concerns the hood, and how it is connected to the coat body. Though watertight, this particular design impedes turning your head. When I turned my head more than 40° in either direction, the coat resisted, and leakage began. This really pissed me off at the time.

But this was an extreme conditon, and this jacket, like the rest of my gear, kept me dry until the third day, after which everything was totally wet. Despite the wet, my poly gear kept me totally warm, even when "dry" was just a memory, for the next two days of the storm. This is my Summer, early Spring, and late Fall jacket.

Medium Weight Shell: Summer, Spring and Fall

My good old North Face Mountain Jacket. This baby is the King of Mid-Winter. It is perfectly designed. Easy head-turning in the full coverage hood. Highest degree of wind and rain protection. Internal water-bottle storage pockets, to keep you water in liquid form. Mostly perfectly positioned pockets galore.

My only bitch: The main front pockets are cut a little high. When I stuff my gloved hands in the front pockets, it forces my elbows into a slightly elevated position. It's just a little off, for my body design.

Heavy Weight Shell: Winter

The Gear Section

Gear is Important

But what is even more important is our understanding of our own physical vunerabilities, the unpredictable power of the weather, and our own expectations.

We've got to be able to pack and carry the gear necessary to effectively work and rest across the range of conditions we can expect. This becomes heavier the colder it gets.

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Upper Body Insulation