What exactly is "too damn cold", in North Carolina?
I do travel quite a bit, you know.
What other 20 bits and pieces? You talking about fleece, and microfiber long underwear? How is it different than wearing cotton long underwear, a wool sweater, and a canvas jacket?
I mentioned that I'm not above using a synthetic base layer. I'm talking about these clothing systems. They cost an absolute fortune, and they don't last like the old stuff when pushed to high limits.
I do have quite a bit of this stuff, I just don't use it. I understand the purpose, but while I do layer, I don't require all of that. I will, in extreme cold environments, use the amount of layers you mentioned, but I almost never bother with the technical stuff.
Maybe. But you still can't DO anything outdoors for any length of time in leather.
I can. I've got two leather jackets. They were made for me by the same fellow that made the original Indiana Jones jackets. They largely follow the same pattern, but I asked for certain modifications when I was there. One is cow hide. It features a satin liner. That's what it is. Leather and Satin.
I've used that jacket in most of my travels. When it's hot, but I need a bit of extra protection, it's perfect when left unzipped. I always wear sevaral things. I wear a T-shirt, and on top of that I wear an overshirt, generally only buttoned halfway, with the sleeves rolled to just below my elbows. In more annoying environments, I tuck it in.
When my jacket is worn over those things, zipped with the storm flap closed and the collar raised, I am perfectly comfortable down to thirty degrees performing any task, no matter how strenuous it may be.
When the weather dips below thirty degrees, I will indeed wear single layer MSR rain jacket, the kind that ball up and stuff in a sack, as a windbreaker. If it hits twenty outside, or if the wind is just too much, I'll wear a base layer, cotton or polymer. I don't wear a sweater unless I want added protection.
When the weather rises above ninety degrees, I will remove the jacket if I have been using it, as any activity performed above that temperature with solar loading can cause you to constantly overheat. When it hits one hundred, I'll ditch the over-shirt unless the solar loading is extreme.
Leather has served me very well. My other jacket is dark lambskin, and silk-lined. That's my dress jacket for around town. It's collar is smaller, and it is shorter. The bellows at the sides are more shallow as well, as I don't need as much agility.
Yes, and a great many of them died. You only read about the ones who lived. Back then, nobody went outside in bad weather just for fun. They went out because they HAD to. Modern performance materials allow us the luxury of actually going outside just for fun.
I do those things as a combination of necessity and addiction to risk. Old materials have served me well. People die in those situations. Shit happens. If it's not risky it's not adventure, it's simply a fun trip. I will suffer equal risks wearing either form of clothing. Plastic isn't going to save my life. I've dealt with weather extremes below -60 and above 120 at long length with no shelter during shifts.
I'm not dead yet. I've got a lot of health problems now, but I'm not fucking dead. Now, I've come very close, but only a few of those times was that related at all to weather. I don't let this planet dictate the century in which clothing was designed. I've got the new stuff, and it's great for tight packing. Beyond that, it's just another option.
More power to you if you like them, though. I think they are overpriced and made in China.
Cheers,
Kennith
However, in the North of Sweden, we did stay in the Ice Hotel, where it never got above -1C in our room...
