[at-l] Re: Re Warming up after hiking

[krk@speakeasy.org (Kenneth Knight)]

While this is correct quote from the article it isn't clear what the authors consider demanding. If
they consider the winter hiking they normally do as demanding conditions then the condtions are
generally much more demanding than what you are likely to find in most places on the AT south of the
Whites.

I'm not suggesting that wool is a panecea for all condtions. That would be foolish, but it would be
a mistake to dismiss such products out of hand.

For me, if it is raining, I'll put on some sort of rain gear. Cold and raining conditions generally
get something like Frogg Toggs. I'm going to experiment this year with a couple other products. Warm
conditions see me using a poncho. In the winter I'll use either an Ibex Icefall or MEC Ferreta
Jacket over the Smartwool top.

That article is suggesting an alternative to synthetic fabric as a base layer in many, though not
all (notably warm weather - and my experience mirrors the authors), conditions. For what it is worth
I am not sure there are much more than anecodtal reports on synthetic fabrics either (just many more
of them).

  ** Ken **
  
On 1/6/02 at 3:04 PM, Daniel Berlinger <daniel@circumtech.com> wrote:

> > http://www.backpackinglight.com/index/4/index.htm#Part
> 
> and from that very article: 
> 
> "The primary disadvantage of Merino wool as a base layer in today's market is the lack of high 
> quality, reliable reports of its performance in demanding conditions."
>
> So when I said "push", I meant it. I haven't used this product under *any* trying conditions yet.

**  Kenneth Knight    Web Design, IT Consultant, Software Engineer  **
**       krk@speakeasy.org        http://www.speakeasy.org/~krk     **