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online exclusives: the trail rider
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| Layer With Care |
| Story by Rene E. Riley |
| Here's how to stay warm in the saddle this winter. |
Proper layering maximizes your outerwear’s efficiency and
allows you to adjust to climate changes; here’s a recommended system. Base layer.
Against your skin, wear something soft, comfortable, breathable, and absorbent,
such as silk, polypropylene, Capliene polyester (from Patagonia), or Thermax
(from DuPont). Mid-layer.
The mid-layer consists of cotton jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Cotton is
comfortable and breathes, ushering body moisture away from your skin. Any
moisture held against the skin will chill you. Insulation.
In cold weather, layer insulation atop the cotton. Insulation provides loft or
“dead air,” which holds in body heat. Insulation can be worn as a separate
garment, sewn inside the outerwear, or as outerwear itself. Insulating materials
include down, synthetic down, wool, synthetic wool, and polarfleece. Weather
conditions, activity level, and personal preference determine which of these
options you choose. Wind
protection. In windy conditions, you’ll also need wind protection, such as a
layer of breathable, wind-resistant nylon. (Keep in mind that if even one layer
isn’t breathable, you’ve negated the breathability of all the other layers.)
Outerwear.
The final layer is, of course, outerwear. Besides a coat to cover your torso and
thigh, you may also need leg protection, such as waterproof chinks and gaiters.
Smooth leather chaps ward off cold, wind, and some moisture, but aren't
completely waterproof. (For more on outerwear, see "Trail-Tested Outerwear," The Trail Rider, January/February
’10.)
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