WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So, do you go out in just the woolies/windpro tight for a hike, or do you put that under a pant or goretex shell? I thought I could put it under a goretex shell to ski.

I don't ski, but I do snowshoe and I fitness-walk for miles in the cold and snow.
I have a pair of rain pants (thin but waterproof) that I put on one time snowshoeing in heavy wet snow conditions, but they were pretty hot over my wool tights, didn't breathe, not sure if I'd choose them in any but the worst conditions or going out in a blizzard or a long cold woodland hike.
My layering depends totally on the weather conditions which of course vary tremendously, so it's hard to tell you what I do "in general"...i've used dozens of different layering combinations in all kinds of weather. I keep learning new tricks every day, or abandoning old ones.
Generally, one warm pair of warm tights are enough down to 40F, then between 40 and 30F maybe just the WindpPro tights OR a combo of 2 other tights (like maybe my underArmor tights and my Ibex wool tights over those for instance). Below 35F I'll pair two of my heavier tights, or the Craft Storm tights. Below 25 I'll put my underarmor tights under my Storm tights or under my WindPro tights.
The SheBeest Tech tights are fairly warm, so when I need a chamois for a long cold ride I'll wear those and maybe pull some Ibex wool tights over them.

Catriona- about all those holes...it seems like an awful lot of holes you are getting! You and i have many of the exact same items but you are getting way more holes than I am. Are you using regular detergent? Regular agitation cycle in the wash?
I use only Woolite (granted not everyone thinks Woolite is great but it works well for me) and I set the washer to the GENTLE cycle and WARM/COLD temp. I do this for ALL my laundry.
Somewhere I once read that regular laundry detergent slowly eats away at the delicate merino fibers and weakens them. Just a possibility to consider.