Lower Body Clothing


Lower body clothing is essential for keeping your legs and feet warm, particularly when standing around dive tending.  My innermost layers are Pategonia travel underwear, which are comfortable and easy to clean with little water (or alcohol cleaner).  I’m brining two pairs of thin silk long underwear and 4 pairs of SmartWool mid-weight wool long underwear.  I can wear the silk ones under the wool ones.  

As a mid layer, I’m brining several choices.  I have black pile pants, which I wasn’t very fond of the last two trips, a pair of pile ski pants with a grey wind proof shell, and a new pair of black Mont Blanc insulated pants.  These new pants are lightweight, silky and warm.  They have 3/4 length zippers.  My dad bought them for me in size extra large (the only size available), so they are too long, but they are soft and compressible enough that I can wear them under my Burton snowboarding pants, which I really like, or my bib overalls.  I’m also brining my blue wind pants.  This combination should keep my legs warm!

For my feet, I have 14 pairs of polyester socks and a bunch of wool socks.  I got the wool socks on e-Bay and they came as individual socks that don’t quite match each other.  I also have a nice pair of REI expedition weight wool socks, and Dale says that we have some clothing from Woolrich in a crate.  That probably contains socks, too.  Over my socks, I have an old pair of Sorel’s with two different weight liners.  I really like those boots.  My feet have plenty of room, and they stay warm!

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