Thermal Base Layers For Snowboarders,Skiers and All Winter Sportspersons! Why, How and Where to Buy Them...
Thermal layers are the first part of the 3 layer system designed to keep people warm and dry when its cold and wet outside...They are the first line of defense in your snowboard winter clothing designed to keep you warm and dry...Ok what is the 3 layer system...It is simple...Base layer... Insulating layers and an outer layer...
Layer #1...is a NON cotton layer of clothing that soaks up body moisture and moves it away from the body....Good examples are thermal underwear made of Silk or Polartec or Akwatec or any other fabric designed to wick moisture away from the body...Please don't wear cotton... Keep on reading and see why !
THE BEST PLACE to get schooled and buy thermals for adults and kids is WICKERS.com...You can learn REAL FAST all about thermal technology and their fabric called.....AKWATEC.....I HIGHLY RECOMMEND... THIS SITE ! ... FOR SNOWBOARDERS, SKIERS OR ANYONE WHO WEARS WINTER CLOTHING!!!
Layer #2... is one or more layers worn over your base layers and under your outer snowboard winter clothing that insulate the body from cold...a good example would be a fleece longsleeve shirt and long legged midweight bottoms...You want a thicker material that holds air but wicks moisture...The colder it is the more insulating layers can be added as needed...definitely avoid cotton...A merino wool sweater is perfect over fleece...If you snowboard in areas that are more wet than cold, smart wool or natural wool can be a good choice...AGAIN...Natural wool is the ONLY fabric/cloth that will keep you warm when soaking wet, but can be very itchy and seldom worn as base layers...But try not to get soaking wet... See layer #3 advice..
Layer #3... is the outer layer, that is waterproof and windproof...ie your SNOWBOARDING JACKET and PANTS...They are the most important layer in your snowboard winter clothing wardrobe besides the base layers.
They are waterproof in one direction... water cannot get in, but water vapor can disperse out....The best example is GORE-TEX...Gore-tex is expensive to use in snowboard clothing as all the seams must be taped or welded...but well worth the extra cash if you spend alot of time outdoors in the cold and wet...
I checked out the gore-tex website and learned a lot about gore-tex and it's use in winter clothing that I didn't know before...Hey YOU can go check it out too at GORE-TEX.com Then jump back here to trek on with your winter clothing schooling !
DO NOT wear cotton as a base layer...DO NOT EVEN THINK about dressing yourself, your kids or even your dog in cotton base layers !!! BECAUSE Cotton gets wet easily from sweating and does not wick water and moisture away from the skin, and it feels cold when wet! IT IS COLD WHEN WET !
Always wear thermal base layers made specifically for snowboarding or winter conditions... Cotton can be worn for intermediate layers, but its better not to wear it at all... Try fleece or other fabrics made for snowsports ...Some of the best base and intermediate layers are made of Capilene by Patagonia, Polartec,Cool Max mesh liners, Helly Hansen Lifa ,Smart Wool and natural wool... These fabrics are used extensively in ski and snowboard and winter clothing...
Another good website to get schooled about some other commonly used fabrics and materials used to build a hot jacket is PATAGONIA.com where you can learn all about CAPILENE versus WOOL ... Plus what techniques are used to make those materials work properly so they keep moisture off your skin and allow moisture to escape !!!
WHERE TO BUY THE BEST THERMAL LAYERS ONLINE
Well check WICKERS.com first... Then check out all the other shops that carry thermal base layers for use under winter clothing...I SAVED the BEST for LAST so scroll down the page to see the shop items by BACKCOUNTRY.com AND DOGFUNK.com...
A shop with a pretty good selection of base layers and thermals is
Altrec Outdoors.com. They have mainly Patagonia Capilene and silk thermals along with a few thermals by Outdoor Research and one or two others for women AND men...You can pick what works best for your area...You can see just about everything they have in stock right here, but do not forget to check out all their other winter clothing too...
Time to move on and check out all the other places that sell snowboard and winter clothing and snowboard clothing products before you buy...You can always cruise on back and get what you want easily!!!
Now next place is The-House.com's snowboard shop They carry only Bakoda and Bonfire lines ...The Bonfire stuff has been hot lately, they seem to have really picked up the pace with their expanded line of snowboard and winter clothing and gear of all types...
Ok...NOW check out two other places... SierraTradingPost.com and THE SNOWSHACK.com... SierraTradingPost.com has a good selection of base layers and thermals...For the women they got the MEDIMA angora/merino wool mix thermals and also TERRAMAR SILK tops and bottoms...I really like to wear silk thermals for the soft feel,but it makes me sleepy cause I always think of silk sheets and then I wanna take a nap...Guys you're in luck cause they got em for you too...If you can't relate to silk, check out the Outdoor Research polartec thermals...
OK now I saved the One of the Best for Next to Last... THE SNOWSHACK.com is one of the best places to shop for thermals due to their killer selection...They also know how to treat a lady...Check out the SnowAngel thermals, made with Cybersilk, Doeskin and Veluxe microvelvet...If I ever need extra points with my lady, I know where I can go to pick up something she's gonna love...Something I'm gonna love to run my fingers through as I pull em off of her after a full day of shredding the pow ...
OK OK back to REALITY... THE SNOWSHACK.com also offers a bunch of HOT Chilly's in all sizes and types... Now for the real good news , they also have the Hot Chilly top and bottom combo deals ....Ok I almost forgot!!! they got Burton, Marmot and Rossignol thermals as well...Check em all out before you decide...
Lets see what Backcountry.com andDogfunk.comhave in thermal wear for the coming winter.
One thing to note is BC.com and the DOG's have both got a women's and mens section for snowboarding and winter clothing. So check them both out...
DOGFUNK has almost the exact same product line, So I am only showing
the BC.com thermals...If you want, you can click over toDogfunk.com
and get the same thermals there too !
MEN'S THERMALS Heavy and Medium weight...
WOMEN'S THERMALS ...
KID'S THERMALS ...
Well if you were patient and scrolled down this far, you should know a whole lot more about thermal base layers used under winter clothing than when you started at the top of this VERY long section...
Good luck shopping and stay warm this winter...
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Altrec Outdoors.com. They have mainly Patagonia Capilene and silk thermals along with a few thermals by Outdoor Research and one or two others for women AND men...You can pick what works best for your area...You can see just about everything they have in stock right here, but do not forget to check out all their other winter clothing too...
