Clothing Review
I'm back to the states and busy with my normal life. However, there are a couple of things I'd like to follow up on in my blog. One of which is a clothing review.
Base Layers
I loved my wool long underwear. It was comfortable and didn't smell too badly even after more than 6 weeks of wear. I had two shirts and two bottoms that I alternated every day, allowing the other pair to air out hanging in my tent. My silk long underwear was also nice, but I didn't wear them as much. When it was really cold, I wore my silk bottoms under my wool bottoms. However, they didn't hold up as well. One pair ripped. The stitching in the waste band of the other pair broke, and I had to sew them up. Both pairs were old so that might have been part of the problem. The silk tops had normal sleeves whereas the wool tops had baseball-type sleeves. I found the baseball-type sleeves much more comfortable. The wool tops also had a closer fit, which was great for a bottom layer. NSF provided some polypro long underwear bottoms and tops. I didn't wear them since I liked my own much better.
My pile hoodies were great. I liked having the hoods to keep cold air from going down the back of my neck. They were plenty big so they didn't restrict my movement. However, my pink, wind proof Patagonia sweater was too small. Although it fits in normal conditions, when wearing enough clothes to be warm, it felt too restrictive. I also had a heavy pile zip-front sweater supplied by NSF. I hadn't brought my own zip-front sweater, and it was nice to have one when moving from outside to inside a lot.
My pile pants were not a hit. They don't have enough ventilation. Unless it was very cold, I found wearing them made me feel damp and clammy, especially if I was walking or otherwise active. I'll write more about them and what I would do differently in another post.
Outer Layers
I wore my wind shirt quite often, particularly once the weather became warmer. It blocked the cold wind very well, and didn't provide too much warmth when in the tent. It was easy to put a warm coat on over it when necessary.
NSF provided two coats, one light weight anorack and one very warm down parka. Both were red. The anorack was fine, except the zipper always got caught on the fabric flap designed to keep wind from blowing through the zipper. Once I sewed the flap out of the way, it was a fine coat. The down parka was supper warm and had a strip of coyote fur around the hood. I heard there were 20 pockets, and that certainly seemed to be true. The parka was great when the weather was cold, but I didn't wear it too much because it was too warm much of the time.
NSF also provided wind proof, water resistant, lightly insulated overalls. They fit horribly. The waist was too tight and has stiff Velcro that dug into my side. The crotch was too low. I wore them when I was doing things that could get me wet or required a lot of standing out in cold weather, but only because I didn't have a good alternative. When it was reasonable, I wore my ski pants instead. They were much more comfortable, but the outer fabric was too soft, and I ripped them and wore through the knees. Also, they were not overalls, and the waist would sometimes slip down. Ian and Dale both had sturdy, water proof/resistant mountaineering overalls. I will get some similar ones for my next trip. Having well fitting lower layers is a great increase in comfort.
Gloves and Hats
My dad's fingerless wool gloves were fantastic. They are soft and warm, and I could take nuts off bolts, etc. while wearing them. When it was cold and I had outside work, I'd wear them under leather gloves (provided by NSF). I could pull off the leather gloves, change a bolt, and put the leather gloves back on without my fingers getting too cold. I also wore the fingerless gloves under insulated, waterproof rubber gloves when helping with the dive lines.
I also really liked my light weight Outdoor Research gloves. I wore them every day, sometimes under the leather gloves. The leather gloves were essential for much of the hard outdoor work. NSF issued two pairs, and I wore one out. I didn't wear any of my mittens very much. Sometimes I wore my water proof outer mitts over gloves, but I much preferred gloves to mittens.
My light weight wool hat was essential. I wore it every night, pulled down over my eyes to make it dark. It was really comfortable, so I ended up wearing it most days, too. My other hats were okay, but I didn't wear them often. I didn't need the separate hood nor a balaclava because I rarely was out when it was both very cold and windy. I used my scarf to cover my mouth and chin when necessary. I will probably bring a neck gaiter next time. I used the NSF issued one sometimes, but it was too thick; I felt like a traditional Ndebele woman while wearing it. Also, I didn't like wearing hats with bills because they cut down my visibility. I love being able to see the tops of the mountains without tilting my head back!
Boots
I really liked my Sorrels. They were comfortable and warm. I usually wore them with a pair of sports socks under a pair of thick wool socks, issued by NSF. I took the liners out almost every night to dry out - before I started doing this I'd notice my feet were cold and the liners were damp. NSF issued a pair of "bunny boots", white rubber boots insulated with air. It was impossible to wear them they were so uncomfortable. There were two other choices: FDX and Baffin boots. I might try one of those next time, but I'm bringing Sorrels again, this time with two liners.
Base Layers
I loved my wool long underwear. It was comfortable and didn't smell too badly even after more than 6 weeks of wear. I had two shirts and two bottoms that I alternated every day, allowing the other pair to air out hanging in my tent. My silk long underwear was also nice, but I didn't wear them as much. When it was really cold, I wore my silk bottoms under my wool bottoms. However, they didn't hold up as well. One pair ripped. The stitching in the waste band of the other pair broke, and I had to sew them up. Both pairs were old so that might have been part of the problem. The silk tops had normal sleeves whereas the wool tops had baseball-type sleeves. I found the baseball-type sleeves much more comfortable. The wool tops also had a closer fit, which was great for a bottom layer. NSF provided some polypro long underwear bottoms and tops. I didn't wear them since I liked my own much better.
My pile hoodies were great. I liked having the hoods to keep cold air from going down the back of my neck. They were plenty big so they didn't restrict my movement. However, my pink, wind proof Patagonia sweater was too small. Although it fits in normal conditions, when wearing enough clothes to be warm, it felt too restrictive. I also had a heavy pile zip-front sweater supplied by NSF. I hadn't brought my own zip-front sweater, and it was nice to have one when moving from outside to inside a lot.
On a warm day, with a pile hoodie as an outer layer.
My pile pants were not a hit. They don't have enough ventilation. Unless it was very cold, I found wearing them made me feel damp and clammy, especially if I was walking or otherwise active. I'll write more about them and what I would do differently in another post.
Outer Layers
I wore my wind shirt quite often, particularly once the weather became warmer. It blocked the cold wind very well, and didn't provide too much warmth when in the tent. It was easy to put a warm coat on over it when necessary.
Recording dive notes, wearing my wind shirt and ski pants. I had both a hat and hood on even though I was inside the tent. I was taking notes with gloves on. It was a cold day.
NSF provided two coats, one light weight anorack and one very warm down parka. Both were red. The anorack was fine, except the zipper always got caught on the fabric flap designed to keep wind from blowing through the zipper. Once I sewed the flap out of the way, it was a fine coat. The down parka was supper warm and had a strip of coyote fur around the hood. I heard there were 20 pockets, and that certainly seemed to be true. The parka was great when the weather was cold, but I didn't wear it too much because it was too warm much of the time.
Coyote fur on the parka was great on a cold night in McMurdo
NSF also provided wind proof, water resistant, lightly insulated overalls. They fit horribly. The waist was too tight and has stiff Velcro that dug into my side. The crotch was too low. I wore them when I was doing things that could get me wet or required a lot of standing out in cold weather, but only because I didn't have a good alternative. When it was reasonable, I wore my ski pants instead. They were much more comfortable, but the outer fabric was too soft, and I ripped them and wore through the knees. Also, they were not overalls, and the waist would sometimes slip down. Ian and Dale both had sturdy, water proof/resistant mountaineering overalls. I will get some similar ones for my next trip. Having well fitting lower layers is a great increase in comfort.
Gloves and Hats
My dad's fingerless wool gloves were fantastic. They are soft and warm, and I could take nuts off bolts, etc. while wearing them. When it was cold and I had outside work, I'd wear them under leather gloves (provided by NSF). I could pull off the leather gloves, change a bolt, and put the leather gloves back on without my fingers getting too cold. I also wore the fingerless gloves under insulated, waterproof rubber gloves when helping with the dive lines.
Wearing my anorak, ski pants, fingerless gloves, and leather gloves to add a flight to the Jiffy Drill.
I also really liked my light weight Outdoor Research gloves. I wore them every day, sometimes under the leather gloves. The leather gloves were essential for much of the hard outdoor work. NSF issued two pairs, and I wore one out. I didn't wear any of my mittens very much. Sometimes I wore my water proof outer mitts over gloves, but I much preferred gloves to mittens.
My light weight wool hat was essential. I wore it every night, pulled down over my eyes to make it dark. It was really comfortable, so I ended up wearing it most days, too. My other hats were okay, but I didn't wear them often. I didn't need the separate hood nor a balaclava because I rarely was out when it was both very cold and windy. I used my scarf to cover my mouth and chin when necessary. I will probably bring a neck gaiter next time. I used the NSF issued one sometimes, but it was too thick; I felt like a traditional Ndebele woman while wearing it. Also, I didn't like wearing hats with bills because they cut down my visibility. I love being able to see the tops of the mountains without tilting my head back!
Yet another picture with my wool hat and wind shirt...
Boots
I really liked my Sorrels. They were comfortable and warm. I usually wore them with a pair of sports socks under a pair of thick wool socks, issued by NSF. I took the liners out almost every night to dry out - before I started doing this I'd notice my feet were cold and the liners were damp. NSF issued a pair of "bunny boots", white rubber boots insulated with air. It was impossible to wear them they were so uncomfortable. There were two other choices: FDX and Baffin boots. I might try one of those next time, but I'm bringing Sorrels again, this time with two liners.
