Why you should use wool and avoid cotton like the plague

[Storker]

...for your base layer under your undersuit.

 

[Marie13]

Wool makes me itch like the devil! Doesn't matter what type. I'll stick with fleece, thankyouverymuch!

 

[Storker]

One time, many years ago, I made the mistake of using polypro instead of wool underwear on a multi-day mountain trip. Around day three, the underwear - and I - was so nasty that my then-girlfriend had problems keeping me from taking a full bath in a half-frozen creek.

After that, I've only used wool. When I'm close to a week in the boonies, I might have to chase down my underwear in the morning and hit it over the head to make it lie still enough to don, but when I finally have donned it, it's (almost) as comfortable as it was on day one. Synthetics OTOH... (yuck!). And I've been so effing flooded on dives that even my boxers were soaking. But I was still (sort of) comfortably warm. Because I always use a wool base layer. I've tried polypro, I've tried polyester, I've tried other synthetics. At medium to low activity levels, nothing comes halfway close to wool.

Good quality merino wool doesn't itch for 90% of those who try it, at least not unbearably so (there are differences between brands, though). I feel sorry for those who have serious issues with itching, and I really prefer a bit of "wooly feeling" over being cold and miserable.

 

[Jack Hammer]

Had my drysuit flood fully in 37* water with 30 minutes of deco to go... The cost of my wool base layers paid off with dividends that day.

 

[Killerflyingbugs]

If you get itchy with wool use a good cotton t shirt and shorts under them helps with the itchy

 

[BRT]

If you get itchy with wool use a good cotton t shirt and shorts under them helps with the itchy

I did that for a long time but found the cotton was always wet and cold under the seemingly dry outer garment

 

[Killerflyingbugs]

I did that for a long time but found the cotton was always wet and cold under the seemingly dry outer garment

True

 

[KevinNM]

I did that for a long time but found the cotton was always wet and cold under the seemingly dry outer garment

Instead try some thing like under armor.

 

[Jack Hammer]

I'm using Smartwool 250 gram merino wool undergarments as a base layer. It's kinda pricey but worth it as they've been very durable, not at all itchy, and are machine washable. They are much warmer, more comfortable, and very forgiving when I am in hot weather compared to the Under Armor i was using before or the Polartec base layer I used before those. And as a bonus - they don't get very stinky.

 

[tbone1004]

science backs the title of this thread. No synthetic polymers are able to recreate the thermal abilities of wool, especially when wet. If someone is able to do this, please let me know, we'll be very, very rich...