WoolWeenies Club

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I don't know about xcountry skiing, but I get way colder when biking in the cold than I do when snowshoeing in the cold. With biking, my feet and hands stick out pretty isolated, and I am heading into a constant wind of my own making on my bike, going much faster than on foot.

[Crankin]

Hey Trisk,
You know, I do dress for x country skiing like I do for cycling. I don't ride when it gets below 40 (or 30 for very slow hybrid rides), but I just heat up so much when I ski. I wish I could tell you the style of my pants. My DH ordered them for me a few years ago, when we got back into skiing. They are like tights, in that they are "tight," and have ankle zips. The backs of the thighs are wool and the rest of the tights are a pretty good windproof type of material. These were my first piece of Ibex, although I had no idea where it would lead me!
What I usually wear for skiing: base layer, like a Craft LS top, or silk long underwear top. Once in awhile I wear a Smart Wool base layer, but it has to be pretty cold (like in the single digits). I find the Craft base layers keep me soooo warm. My mid layer is either a mid-weight wool piece or a mid-weight fleece piece. Most of them are cycling tops, although I have a couple non-cycling fleeces, along with my Shak hoodies I have worn. My jacket is a Go-Light. It's pretty thin and windproof. It is not a soft shell and not waterproof, but it's pretty water resistant. I have also worn it for winter riding. On the bottom I wear Ibex boy shorts and the above pants, or a pair of wool Jones Ware hiking pants. They are pull ups and have flared legs. If it's below 30, I wear a pair of thin silk long underwear, too. If it's super cold, like below 18 or so, I have another pair of long underwear that are mid weight, but are synthetic something. I wear wool ski socks, sometimes with a silk or polypro sock liner. That's it.
I add headwear according to the temperature, and often take my headband to switch to, because I sweat like crazy. I have a pair of Cabela mittens that are super warm. It has to be in the twenties to wear them. Otherwise, I wear my Pearl Izumi Am-Fibs. Yesterday I had my glove liners on, too. They have a nice little pocket for chemical handwarmers! I use those and foot warmers, when it's really cold. I had them on yesterday, because it was very windy, although not that cold. I start with a fleece neck gaiter on, so I don't inhale the cold air, but it drives me nuts after 20 minutes or so and I usually take it off, unless it's frigid.
I find the key to being comfortable is to dress in very thin layers, and for me, it has to be thin enough so that if I stop skiing for a few minutes, I feel cool. I just heat up so much, and then that makes me tired, uncomfortable, which makes me lose my form. I see a lot of people wearing way too much.

[GLC1968]

I think I just saw in another thread that LPH mentioned that dressing for winter cycling is similiar to dressing for cross-country skiing. Potentially the same level of exertion and generated wind. If the conditions were the same, I would think you could wear slightly less with cross-country skiing, but that would probably depend on how long you were going to be out there and how much stopping you might be doing.

[blackhillsbiker]

I'm looking forward to trying out my new merino balaclava. It finally arrived today (clearance from Sierra Trading Post). I hate the microfiber/bamboo one I have been using, as well as the polar fleece one I tried. They get really wet, really quickly and don't ever dry out. This one is much thinner. It seemed easier to breathe through when I tried it on this evening. I think it will protect my face without being so hot and uncomfortable. I hope so, anyway.

[Selkie]

A minor rant: people who have facilities crank up the heat in an already warm office. I've been boiling all week and have had to blast my fan.

As a result, I really can't wear my wool to work. Yesterday, I wore a lightweight cashmere cardigan and I was sweating.

It's hot and stuffy (the bathroom is the worst---don't ask!). It's like a breeding ground for germs and the woman who sits behind me has had a "snotty cough" for at least two months. They all claim it's a sick building but they fail to realize that insisting on having it overly warm makes the air quality worse.

None of them work out, by the way. I have the least "natural insulation" in the office, which is pretty ironic!!

I pretty much keep my mouth shut about it, since I'm apparently the only person who is too warm. I might ask the males if they find it too hot....

[kmehrzad]

It's hot and stuffy (the bathroom is the worst---don't ask!). It's like a breeding ground for germs and the woman who sits behind me has had a "snotty cough" for at least two months. They all claim it's a sick building but they fail to realize that insisting on having it overly warm makes the air quality worse.

Oh yes, truly a breeding ground.

Thinking back when I worked in downtown DC, a woman who sat behind me was a chainsmoker (yes when smoking was allowed in the office) and I'd be literally dying from her smoke. She was coughing up a storm and I had to breathe in her secondhand smoke. My complaints fell on deaf ears. That was a sick building - when smoking was allowed indoors. And it really wasn't that long ago or so it seems to me (1970s).

[OakLeaf]

it really wasn't that long ago or so it seems to me (1970s).

Oh, it was allowed in Ohio into the '80s... and building owners-landlords smoked in their offices well into the 90s when I retired. For all I know, they still do. Cleaning my office windows when there were smokers in the building was just DISGUSTING. I could wipe the brown-black film off the windows (with a LOT of solvent), but I didn't even want to think about what was inside my lungs.

But on topic - my sister's a musician in a state where smoking is still allowed in bars and nightclubs, and she didn't want to wear the Zepher zip-T I gave her when she plays a gig. I didn't know what to tell her about how well that sort of odor will wash out of merino. Anyone have any idea?

[Eden]

A minor rant: people who have facilities crank up the heat in an already warm office. I've been boiling all week and have had to blast my fan.

As a result, I really can't wear my wool to work. Yesterday, I wore a lightweight cashmere cardigan and I was sweating.

Different folks, different tolerances.... I'm one of those people who is almost always cold. When everyone else is fine, I can happily run a heater under my desk....(while wearing wool socks and a wool sweater)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I remember when I was young and clueless and smoking was accepted as totally normal....
I remember walking up and down the aisles of the supermarket with my cigarette going. And smoking on crowded Greyhound buses...and on AIRPLANES! LOL!!