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Affordable Thermal Underwear Recommendation?

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thermal underwear thermals winter underwear
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tug

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
hello gentlemen, wondering if i can get some of your expert advice.

i recently received an email from a reader asking if i could offer up any thermal underwear recommendations.

he asked about what i thought the rocky's thermal underwear from walmart. here's a bit more from his question:
I need some thermal underwear to work in the dead of winter for places like North and South Dakota and Minnesota. Usually it goes down to -40 degrees easily.
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while i'm well versed on variety of undershirts out there, i haven't worn thermals in about 10+ years and as such, can't be of much help.

immediately i thought folks here would have some valuable insight that i could offer up to this reader.

does anyone here have any [affordable] thermal underwear recommendations?? thanks in advance!
 
#8 ·
I like Duofold union suits over a silk base layer. It keeps me nice and warm during late season morning duck hunts. It's basically a wool outer layer and cotton inner layer and a similar product is made by several companies. I'd go with the one that has the highest wool content.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I swear up and down by Under Armor's thermal underwear, but the cheapest option for your friend is probably to wait until he gets to where he is going and then head to the army/navy store. This is not a fashion question so much as a utility question, so if you want the best advice I recommend going to the City Data forums and searching for thermal underwear in the the Alaska forums. You'll find all you ever wanted to learn about what sort of fabrics to wear.

Last February I was dogsledding through the Alaskan interior north of Fairbanks at -40. I camped in a snow cave that warmed up to -7 and spent probably 20 hours straight outside taking photographs with the warmest it ever getting to as -30. I was nearly overheating the entire time because of my layers and at times was sweating so much I wanted to take off everything just to relax and cool down. The only major rule you need to know is do not under any circumstances wear cotton as your base layer (you will sweat and then freeze). Your bottom layer needs to be something moisture wicking.

At -40 I was wearing Under Armor thermal for a long sleeved shirt, then a nike dri fit t-shirt, then a cotton t-shirt, then a hoodie, then a cabelas parka and finally a Marmot lightweight rain shell. For pants it was the Under Armor long underwear then jeans, then soft cargo pants, and then down snowpants. That combination was easily much warmer than a $1,000 military parka and has the added benefit of each individual piece being able to be used throughout the year for various purposes.
 
#12 ·
I own a couple sets of Rocky long underwear. The black fleece-like stuff is the warmest. It's biggest drawback is that is has a somewhat "tacky" feel to it, and pulls the hair on your legs the wrong way. This makes them itch if you're wearing them for long periods. The dark blue long underwear are less warm than the black. The brown ones are lightest. I bought them a few years ago, they may have changed the colors on me since then, tell him to be governed by weight outside of the fleece looking stuff. NONE of them are suitable for outdoor work in January up there, worn under a suit. Under a set of Carhartts, yes. Tell him to cheer up, it only gets down around -30 every couple years. Mostly it gets down around -10 to -20 for a week or so then warms back up to a low of 0 to -10.
 
#14 ·
hardline_42 said:
I like Duofold union suits over a silk base layer. It keeps me nice and warm during late season morning duck hunts. It's basically a wool outer layer and cotton inner layer and a similar product is made by several companies. I'd go with the one that has the highest wool content.
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I hope you have the charcoal and not red!

I second the recommendation for military surplus stores. They usually have a decent selection of polypropylene and rochelle or waffle knit thermal underwear. Try to find a store in your area instead of going online -- when you consider shipping cost, immediate availability, and supporting local business, it ends up being a win-win situation in all regards.
 
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#15 ·
It is my understanding that the problem with cotton has less to do with wicking than with what happens to cotton fibers when they get wet. They lose their puffiness and sort of collapse, making them denser. Cotton fabric thus becomes hard and no longer retains body heat. I have very sweaty feet; they are just as damp regardless of the material my socks are made of. But on my feet even the softest cotton socks become abrasive (blisters!) and do nothing to keeps feet warm. If I wear synthetics or wool, my feet are damp, but the socks stay soft, and my feet stay warm.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Yes that is correct. Cotton gets soaked and loses its ability to insulate. But it's a good idea to wear a wicking layer on your skin to move body moisture on out the line of layers instead of having it collect and sit on your skin where it can then freeze when you're not active.

This is an important issue with sleeping bags, where you can lose a pint of moisture each night. In extremely cold places like where I was camping at -29 the moisture will move on out through the layers until it hits the freeze point, where it then freezes in place in your bag. It isn't unusual to have a sleeping bag gain 30 pounds or up to 50 pounds of weight from the ice trapped in its layers during polar expeditions. One can correct that by using a vapor barrier liner that stops the moisture from wicking out any further. One can also wear vapor barrier clothing such as socks, but I enjoy using multiple layers as I described earlier, with wicking base layers, soft middle layers, and tough/waterproof external layers. A bikini this is not!
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
wow! this is all great information gentlemen and incredibly helpful.

WBuffettJr & Jovan - thanks for the military surplus store idea - that's a real good one.
Bluegrass Man - appreciate you providing the feedback on the rocky long underwear.
tocqueville - great lesson on cotton's behavior when wet! (fibers collapsing makes sense)

upnorth - yeah, i thought about uniqlo too, the heattech line actually. a friend of mine recently went to nyc and picked some up for me because you can't get them anywhere else - not even online. i discovered that the heattech undershirts (short and long sleeve) are made with 40% acrylic fabric, 21% rayon, 33% poly, and 6% spandex. from my prior research i learned that acrylic fabric is warm and used as a wool replacement in some garments. i didn't recommend it to the reader primarily because you can only buy them in uniqlo's nyc stores.

again, thanks a lot for all the great info. i'm going to make an article out this thread in the near future and credit back the ask andy community.
 
#20 ·
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Sir Royston
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