[Nickel Arse]

I normally just do with cheap and cheerful cotton long john's and long sleeve vests, over the years I've collected a fair few and they all seem to work.
Has anyone got top notch modern thermals, the type that make you cringe when you see the price tag and are they really worth it.
Stuff like
Performance Thermal Underwear, Thermal Baselayers, Thermal Midlayers, Fleece and Waterproof Jackets
Rukka - Functional Midlayer & underwear
EDZ Base Layers / thermals

 

[tramp]

hi snapphappy,
went to my local Aldi/lidl a couple weeks ago and bought a set for a £10 brilliant stuff. no more sweaty bitz just warm and toasty and wash/dry really quick.

That base layer stuff is great , try ebay for some cheap deals or see if your local Aldi has some?

something like this:
MENS BLACK SKI BOARD CLIMB WALK THERMALS BASELAYER - L on eBay (end time 31-Dec-09 11:24:42 GMT)

 

[winxp-master]

Ive never bought the expensive stuf but i did try the cheap aldi/lidl crap they knock out for £5 and £10 and i thought it was crap. The thermals did nothing really and the socks just make my feet sweat so bad i can't use them.

I'm thinking of the rukka base layer stuff myself.



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[j]

buy a lekky jacket and just wear a Tshirt.

 

[Austin]

Woolpower stuff under the brand Ullfrotte. Made in Sweden or Finland for serious cold weather. Ray Mears recommends and that was good enough for me. I have a 200gsm Tee shirt and a 200gsm long sleeve polo. Definitely worth it and as its mostly merino wool you can wear it for ages before it goes pongy and I mean ages. (most other nylon based thermals absolutely stink after just a day - or they do on me)

I get mine from Tamarack Outdoors which is near me and I usually get some discount or get it from the sale rail. I am sure it will be available in germany and probably cheaper than UK. I am going to get some long johns soon

 

[RodYork]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merino

Aldi sell standard thermals and then for the discerning biker/skier they sell Merino Thermals. They are out of the price range of many at a staggering £24.00, but you aught to read the write up about merino wool

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=merino+wool+wiki

hope that helps!...p.s they came out this sunday, so get a move on!

 

[Yeti]

Got a set of merino wool ones from NZ when my old dear went on her jollies there and they are the best I've ever had. Everything else...... you will never get the stink out of them no matter how many times you wash them.....

........but gotta agree with J! Just get ya hands in ya pocket and buy a good leccy jacket! :thumbleft: Lets face it even if you break down and have no power a good set of winter gear for a bike will let you sleep comfortably in a ditch!! or just push the bike around a bit to keep warm! :thumbleft:

 

[jamie92j]

hi have some icebreaker 100% merino long johns and long sleeve top, very very good check them out

Snow+Rock: Icebreaker - the largest range of Icebreaker Clothing outside of New Zealand.


:thumbup:

 

[pete h]

I'm lucky enough to get this sort of thing bought for me, so I've tried a few different brands over the years, I'm currently using EDZ undershirts and its good enough for cold autumn days, once the weather goes proper cold I put a berghaus undershirt over the top of that

- and when it starts frosting up in the mornings and you know the wind chills going to be bad, I use a Klan heated jacket over the EDZ - that is an excellent piece of kit. I managed to hold off on using the Klan heated socks until mid december, but they are magic!

I've also used knox cold killer thermals for a few years and they're pretty good too, I still use a cold killer balaclava with neck protection as well when the temp gets sub zero, gives just that bit more warmth than just a neck warmer over the face.

Tried rukka four or five years ago - nothing wrong with it at all, but wouldn't pay the money they wanted for the kit myself, I couldn't sense any great advantage to it over the edz or knox stuff.

 

[StumpyFingers]

I use Thermal long johns from Primark, they work when I am on the bus and under my leathers.
For the top I wear a thermal long sleeve top with a Norwegian shirt ( you know what I mean) and a heated waist coat or a fleece under the jacket.

 

[Nickel Arse]

Thanks for all your answers, I've got the leccy insert for my jacket but was more after finding out if thermals for £50 are worth their money. Why are they so expensive?

I really want base underwear that can be washed out in the evening and dry in the tent overnight to wear the next day

I've suffered in the past when I could not afford the best so settled for cheap then had to graft at something got up a sweat and sweaty cotton thermals are not worth wearing.

Having to wear to same clothes for a longer period of time than the average dude was also part of the job so I know how much a person can stink after wearing the same grundies for a few days.

I'll buy some merino wool jobbies and test them out but I still like the sound of the adverts for Rukka EDZ and the like,

 

[StumpyFingers]

I don't know if there is a DAMART in your area but their kit is perfect.
One thing that helps keep warm is the removal of gaps, If the clothing can be overlapped at the joins then there is less chance of cold penetrating.

 

[Austin]

I really want base underwear that can be washed out in the evening and dry in the tent overnight to wear the next day

I've suffered in the past when I could not afford the best so settled for cheap then had to graft at something got up a sweat and sweaty cotton thermals are not worth wearing.

I'll buy some merino wool jobbies and test them out but I still like the sound of the adverts for Rukka EDZ and the like,

In my humble experience the quick drying capability of "technical" clothing is greatly overstated and seems to me to be mostly marketing hyperbole. Sure technical clothing dries a bit faster than cotton or wool equivelants but I can't see anything drying overnight in a tent or even pegged onto a guy rope unless it is a really warm balmy night in the Med. Any other time as the temp drops at night the relative humidity rises and nothing dries out. That's why there's dew all over the place in the morning.

When I travel by bike I always wear Merino wool tops - the Ullfrotte stuff when its cold or a thinner long sleeve a bit like the Icebreaker stuff (can't remember the brand, but they all do 'em now) when its warmer. I never wash it and even after my 4 week tour of Morocco and Spain it was still as fresh as a daisy (well fresh enough).

I think EDZ do merino base layer now as well. Other cheaper brands to look at include Marks and Spencer and Smartwool. If anyone spots a proper white short sleeved T shirt in lightweight Merino (that doesn't look like a vest) let me know coz I want one.

 

[StumpyFingers]

Thanks for all your answers, I've got the leccy insert for my jacket but was more after finding out if thermals for £50 are worth their money. Why are they so expensive?

I really want base underwear that can be washed out in the evening and dry in the tent overnight to wear the next day

I've suffered in the past when I could not afford the best so settled for cheap then had to graft at something got up a sweat and sweaty cotton thermals are not worth wearing.

Having to wear to same clothes for a longer period of time than the average dude was also part of the job so I know how much a person can stink after wearing the same grundies for a few days.

I'll buy some merino wool jobbies and test them out but I still like the sound of the adverts for Rukka EDZ and the like,

Just buy a couple of pairs of undergarments so there is always a fresh pair, then if they do not dry overnight you have a dry set.

 

[francis_geoff]

I found that the Rukka thermals were very "itchy". All thermal stuff sold as for use on bikes is a bit of a rip off - Go to M & S, they do good thermal stuff that dries quickly.

 

[StumpyFingers]

I found that the Rukka thermals were very "itchy". All thermal stuff sold as for use on bikes is a bit of a rip off - Go to M & S, they do good thermal stuff that dries quickly.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have bought a lot of pairs from Primark Long Johns £2.50p per pair, same for the thermal TEE Shirts, together with thermal sox they are ideal for the bike.

 

[Nickel Arse]

Austin - Francis thank you

Stumpy I have loads of thermals from all kinds of shops and have been using them for well over twenty years (not the same ones I have bought fresh) on the bike and tactical camping.
My question was more if the "new" technical synthetic clothing was worth the money, £50 plus for a pair a grundies is not something I want to try, unless someone here can say with hand on heart they are worth it