Synthetic/Wool combination for hiking

[twyggy]

After my mishap with wet cotton, I've been looking into synthetics and wool as fabric to use for hiking. I've found a pair of pants from 511 that are 54 poly, 44 wool, and 2 percent spandex. Before I buy them, I thought I'd ask the knowledge base what they think.

Would a Synth/wool mixture function well to transport moisture from my skin as well as keep me warm?

Does anybody have any experience with any synth/wool mixtures in these percentages? What did you think?

Thanks!

[haha49]

They should do well.. I wear clothing like that skii in the mountains and they keep me nice and warm even when wet.. but the trick is dont get wet at all.. wool is the best when wet it all comes down to what you wear on the inside and out side of clothing

[shag]

From my experience both do well. I've mostly worn poly as they are very light and dry quickly. One winter tramp I wore a merino thermal top though. Was a hard choice as it weighs several times more even though it's almost as thin. Late at night, knee deep snow and absolutely freezing... just had the shell jacket over the thermal and open at the front for air to limit the sweat ;P

Anyway, on arrival at the hut I took off the jacket and wandered around in the thermal top only. Was funny to see all the sweat in tiny shiny beads on the top of the thermal... seems to wick nicely as well! Just checked the label on that and it's 100% wool.

[AKpredator]

I have nearly everything 511 makes but I am not familiar with those pants. I don't like everything they make but we have to wear it so I have no choice in the matter. Most everything they make is pretty sturdy, though. My knives tear up the pockets on all of my BDU pants.

I have always liked flannel lined wool pants for anything cold. A little heavy but quiet, tough and comfortable.

[FredLee]

The polyester in them should increase their longevity and aid in them drying faster.

[peter martin]

The old army shirts I have (OG108) are 80% wool and 20% polyester. I don't know if 44% wool is enough to maintain warmth when wet, but it's probably still excellent when dry.

Has anyone ever seen a study about the insulation qualities of wool, polyester, fleece, polypropylene, cotton, etc., when dry and/or wet?

[Indianajohns]

I know wool retains 80% of it's insulation when it's wet, I'm not sure about fleece. I know it does retain a lot of it's insulation too but I don't know if it's more or less. I'm led to think that it's more because of it's favor with hikers and backpackers but that could just be because it's more lightweight and compact than wool.

Wool also holds water for a long time.

[Indianajohns]

Here's a couple links.

Wool.
Fleece.

[peter martin]

Good links Indiana... I'll get some polypropylene undershirts and a polartec fleece for winter camping.
I'll be testing it at Superior Nat'l Forest in Minnesota.

[LittleCat]

I have always opted for synth/wool as over-clothing for lighter garments underneath, it keeps the cold out and the wet off. Also, my dad swears by those freaky mixtures, almost to the point of fanaticism, but he knows what he is talking about.

[TANSTAF1]

What you really want to do is layers, not just one multi-purpose item.

So for really cold weather you should have a moisture wicking layer of polypropylene long johns. Then an insulating layer such as wool, or some synthetic, but not cotton - that's the worse (although admittedly I do wear cotton blue jeans for this layer. And the final layer should be some windproof and ideally also water proof and breathable layer like ski pants made of Goretex. Non-breathable layers trap sweat and make those layers wet and when they are wet they do not insulate.

Ideally there should be vents and closures that can be opened/unzipped/loosened. Look for what is called a technical jacket. Mine has zippers under the armpits than can be opened or closed, plus the wrist, waist, hip, and neck openings can be tightened or loosened. The outer shell goretex and the inner jacket has a fiber fill insulation so the two can be worn together or separately.

[haha49]

I wear that combo as a shirt and it works well under fleace when it gets cold.. it gets wet and stuff and you still stay reasnable warm all wool cant beat it though but the weight is higher..

[haha49]

Originally Posted by TANSTAF1

What you really want to do is layers, not just one multi-purpose item.

So for really cold weather you should have a moisture wicking layer of polypropylene long johns. Then an insulating layer such as wool, or some synthetic, but not cotton - that's the worse (although admittedly I do wear cotton blue jeans for this layer. And the final layer should be some windproof and ideally also water proof and breathable layer like ski pants made of Goretex. Non-breathable layers trap sweat and make those layers wet and when they are wet they do not insulate.

Ideally there should be vents and closures that can be opened/unzipped/loosened. Look for what is called a technical jacket. Mine has zippers under the armpits than can be opened or closed, plus the wrist, waist, hip, and neck openings can be tightened or loosened. The outer shell goretex and the inner jacket has a fiber fill insulation so the two can be worn together or separately.

I wear same combo but instead of jeans I wear cotton sweat pants but snow pants on top of it though so I stay nice and toasty warm because good water proof gear will keep you dry the only diffrence is if you sweat..

[Indianajohns]

Originally Posted by peter martin

Good links Indiana... I'll get some polypropylene undershirts and a polartec fleece for winter camping.
I'll be testing it at Superior Nat'l Forest in Minnesota.

Yeah man, MEC rocks. They've got incredible customer service. And their site is really helpful too.

[Aven]

I worked for the Washington State DoT on a survey crew. We worked year round in all but torrential downpours. Standing by the side of a highway when its rainy and 40 out can be a miserable experience, especially when you factor in the windchill from the 60+ mph vehicles.

I couldn't find a raincoat that really worked for me. Anything that was breathable eventually leaked. The ones that didn't leak left me sweaty and just as wet as if I didn't have a raincoat, to say nothing about being cumbersome to work in. I found that a runner's t-shirt made a good base layer, then a long sleeve shirt (usually flannel) over that followed by a thin wind-stopper shirt topped with a thick fleece jacket worked well. I stayed warm and pretty much dry. Layers are key.