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- Feb 28, 2007
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- 9,786
Not just any underwear. I want to talk about long johns. Long johns are one my most potent (in all manner of speaking) arsenals (yeah, I going on a limb with that word choice too) to combat the chill of winter. I wouldnt be caught dead without my long johns on and will go so far to say that I even wear them in the late fall and spring when there isnt snow on the ground. Long underwear provides several functions. The first is insulation and the second is moisture control. Good long johns will not only keep you warm they will help wick away moisture and function as part of a breathable layering system.
I wear my long johns over normal underwear. On top of the long johns can go various layering garments, whether it be mid-weight fleece, wool, vests or jackets. Because long johns are often next to skin and around joints like your elbows and knees you want the material to be skin friendly. Also, as an integral layering garment, you want your long johns to be skin tight but also flexible so as not to encumber movement. Long tops and pants shouldnt be loose or baggy like your city pants. They should hug your body nicely. If you have love handles, then you should be able to see those love handles through the long johns, otherwise they are too big!
There are all kinds of long underwear and I dont want to get into brands so much, but to talk about types and options. The first is the old 70s waffle cotton. These are typically a 50% cotton/50% polyester blend. This is the kind you got when you were 6 and are still available in the local wallmart. They must be good for something because theyve been around for 50 years, but I cant quite figure out what they are good for. Maybe it is because every pair I ever owned was a cheap pair and like most cheap clothing they just dont get the job done.
The bads on these are: 50% cotton. The cotton holds water despite the polyester content and wicking is very marginal and slow. As a test I just poured 3 drops of water onto the pair pictured below. The three drops of water spread into a quarter sized blob and just stayed there. On my high tech underwear, the same three drops were quickly dispersed over an area the size of my palm. Other bads are the thick seems. They claim they are flat but you can feel them when you are wearing them. They do provide pretty good insulation value when kept dry. So these are perhaps good for what they are intended to do. Wear them under a pair of blue jeans and keep you warm during your 15 minute recess at middle school. Aside from the price point, I really recommend not going with waffle cotton long johns.
A few years back, a family member asked me about a Christmas gift and I told them I wanted long underwear and a union suit. They went out a got me a nice Duofold union suit. First, I have to say that I love a union suit. With regards to long johns, having one piece is always better than having two pieces. The only exception to the above rule is when you gotta poop. Other than that, and hey you only poop once per day, I recommend going with a union suit if you have the choice. This duofold suit came of 50% cotton, 40% merino wool and 10% nylon. Like the waffle cotton, the duofold compromises on wicking/moisture retention on account of the cotton content. It actually did worse compared to the waffle cotton at wicking moisture from the sink drip test. However, this is a very warm combination. That warmth does come at a weight cost though. If you are layering this these things under a snowmobile suite and will not be engaging in high aerobic activity, then this is a good garment choice. I like to wear them for activities like ice fishing where Im pretty sedentary and have all my warm weather gear on. For warmth they are just great and the price is just slightly higher then what you will pay for a set of the waffle cotton ones. Itll keep you warm, just try not to sweat too much in it. Lets also hope you dont fall through the ice eh?
Now going to my first set of high tech underwear. This set of long johns was made of 100% polyester. This is a set of underwear with different objectives in mind. In this case, the goal was to have something that was optimized for its wicking performance rather than insulation qualities. This pair is the one I referred to as wicking the 3 drops of water over an area the size of your palm. These long johns are a great system for high output activities and by distributing sweat over your body you allow that moisture to be evaporated into your outer layers or completely away from you body faster. Just try and get into a habit of shaking that weasel before putting it away during your little boys room breaks! Another good use for this is wearing set up is in your sleeping bag, especially if you are using a vapour barrier. This will help keep puddles of water from building up. Also makes your sleeping bag just generally more comfy.
Next set was a union suit made of similar materials. This one is 93% polyester and 7% spandex. Yes, now you know for sure, real men do wear spandex! As per my comments above, long johns that come in a union suit just work better for everything...Well everything except for that one thing...This union suit is my go to garment for most of my activities. This one is a bit heavier weight than the two piece suit and provides a good deal of warmth on top of moisture wicking. Since it is a single suit garment, I find the moisture wicking capability better then the two piece as you dont get moisture collecting at the waistband areas of the garment.
My last piece of traditional long johns is the newest member of my growing underwear drawer. This is a set of merino wool underwear. Man this stuff feels like heaven on the skin. Moisture wicking appears about as efficient as the polyester and the warmth for weight is much better. This is the crème de la crème of underwear in my books. Ive used it a few times over the past week and really enjoy the comfort. They seem warm, but I really havent used them in as diverse of conditions as I have my other long johns so Ill reserve judgement on that later. As for price, these puppies go for about double what the polyester ones do. Are they worth it? I cant honestly say they fully are. If you are looking for the best pair out their then I think they come close. At this point, I not fully sold on wheather a $130 is really a good deal for this set when the polyester set can be had for about 60% of the cost.
Still, its probably only a matter of time before I get myself one of the full woolpower union suits!
Last item, is really not long underwear but a layering garment. This is a fleece bib set up made of 200 wt. fleece and sports an outer flat polyester lining. This is an excellent warm weather garment to be worn over top of the long johns above. The flat, slightly slippery outer surface does not encumber layering other pants or shirts on top of this. The inside fleece is toasty warm and provides great surface area to wick away the vapour coming off your long underwear.
Ive use a combination of long underwear (polyester union suit), the fleece bibs and mid 200 wt. fleece jacket under gortex jacket and shell pants in -30oC and have been perfectly happy with this combination. I've also used this same combination under a dry suit and found it to work well for that application and immune to the little trickle of water that inevitably finds it way inside your suit.
For this particular set up, the bulkiness of the fleece is tempered by the lack of arms which helps maximize movement under additional layers. The one piece pants/back also minimize cold spots in your lower back and guarantees sparring your friends and families the view of your hair plumber's butt. This piece sadly is no longer sold by the original manufacturer but one of my favorite outdoor winter layering items.
Now when you gotta poop with a union suit and a bib....Well, no getting around it...Its a pain. You gotta take off all your jackets and shirt and then the bib and union suit. Lets just say you dont want to be caught in one of those just in time situations.....Especially with all that wicking fibre about you!!!
Overall, Im pretty happy with this combination of underwear. As I said, if I were to do it again, I may or may not pull for the high end merino wool set up. Then again, I wouldnt start there, but Id probably eventually get there. I still see that woolpower union suit in my future! But perhaps that is just because I love long underwear so much! I still haven't tried silk underwear yet. I gotta draw a manly line somewhere and I decided to do it at silk undies....
So lets hear what the rest of you have to say about long underwear and your preferences. Rather than talk about your favorite brand, what are your favorite textiles or combination of textiles and how do you effectively layer them for different kinds of activities?
I wear my long johns over normal underwear. On top of the long johns can go various layering garments, whether it be mid-weight fleece, wool, vests or jackets. Because long johns are often next to skin and around joints like your elbows and knees you want the material to be skin friendly. Also, as an integral layering garment, you want your long johns to be skin tight but also flexible so as not to encumber movement. Long tops and pants shouldnt be loose or baggy like your city pants. They should hug your body nicely. If you have love handles, then you should be able to see those love handles through the long johns, otherwise they are too big!
There are all kinds of long underwear and I dont want to get into brands so much, but to talk about types and options. The first is the old 70s waffle cotton. These are typically a 50% cotton/50% polyester blend. This is the kind you got when you were 6 and are still available in the local wallmart. They must be good for something because theyve been around for 50 years, but I cant quite figure out what they are good for. Maybe it is because every pair I ever owned was a cheap pair and like most cheap clothing they just dont get the job done.
The bads on these are: 50% cotton. The cotton holds water despite the polyester content and wicking is very marginal and slow. As a test I just poured 3 drops of water onto the pair pictured below. The three drops of water spread into a quarter sized blob and just stayed there. On my high tech underwear, the same three drops were quickly dispersed over an area the size of my palm. Other bads are the thick seems. They claim they are flat but you can feel them when you are wearing them. They do provide pretty good insulation value when kept dry. So these are perhaps good for what they are intended to do. Wear them under a pair of blue jeans and keep you warm during your 15 minute recess at middle school. Aside from the price point, I really recommend not going with waffle cotton long johns.
A few years back, a family member asked me about a Christmas gift and I told them I wanted long underwear and a union suit. They went out a got me a nice Duofold union suit. First, I have to say that I love a union suit. With regards to long johns, having one piece is always better than having two pieces. The only exception to the above rule is when you gotta poop. Other than that, and hey you only poop once per day, I recommend going with a union suit if you have the choice. This duofold suit came of 50% cotton, 40% merino wool and 10% nylon. Like the waffle cotton, the duofold compromises on wicking/moisture retention on account of the cotton content. It actually did worse compared to the waffle cotton at wicking moisture from the sink drip test. However, this is a very warm combination. That warmth does come at a weight cost though. If you are layering this these things under a snowmobile suite and will not be engaging in high aerobic activity, then this is a good garment choice. I like to wear them for activities like ice fishing where Im pretty sedentary and have all my warm weather gear on. For warmth they are just great and the price is just slightly higher then what you will pay for a set of the waffle cotton ones. Itll keep you warm, just try not to sweat too much in it. Lets also hope you dont fall through the ice eh?
Now going to my first set of high tech underwear. This set of long johns was made of 100% polyester. This is a set of underwear with different objectives in mind. In this case, the goal was to have something that was optimized for its wicking performance rather than insulation qualities. This pair is the one I referred to as wicking the 3 drops of water over an area the size of your palm. These long johns are a great system for high output activities and by distributing sweat over your body you allow that moisture to be evaporated into your outer layers or completely away from you body faster. Just try and get into a habit of shaking that weasel before putting it away during your little boys room breaks! Another good use for this is wearing set up is in your sleeping bag, especially if you are using a vapour barrier. This will help keep puddles of water from building up. Also makes your sleeping bag just generally more comfy.
Next set was a union suit made of similar materials. This one is 93% polyester and 7% spandex. Yes, now you know for sure, real men do wear spandex! As per my comments above, long johns that come in a union suit just work better for everything...Well everything except for that one thing...This union suit is my go to garment for most of my activities. This one is a bit heavier weight than the two piece suit and provides a good deal of warmth on top of moisture wicking. Since it is a single suit garment, I find the moisture wicking capability better then the two piece as you dont get moisture collecting at the waistband areas of the garment.
My last piece of traditional long johns is the newest member of my growing underwear drawer. This is a set of merino wool underwear. Man this stuff feels like heaven on the skin. Moisture wicking appears about as efficient as the polyester and the warmth for weight is much better. This is the crème de la crème of underwear in my books. Ive used it a few times over the past week and really enjoy the comfort. They seem warm, but I really havent used them in as diverse of conditions as I have my other long johns so Ill reserve judgement on that later. As for price, these puppies go for about double what the polyester ones do. Are they worth it? I cant honestly say they fully are. If you are looking for the best pair out their then I think they come close. At this point, I not fully sold on wheather a $130 is really a good deal for this set when the polyester set can be had for about 60% of the cost.
Still, its probably only a matter of time before I get myself one of the full woolpower union suits!
Last item, is really not long underwear but a layering garment. This is a fleece bib set up made of 200 wt. fleece and sports an outer flat polyester lining. This is an excellent warm weather garment to be worn over top of the long johns above. The flat, slightly slippery outer surface does not encumber layering other pants or shirts on top of this. The inside fleece is toasty warm and provides great surface area to wick away the vapour coming off your long underwear.
Ive use a combination of long underwear (polyester union suit), the fleece bibs and mid 200 wt. fleece jacket under gortex jacket and shell pants in -30oC and have been perfectly happy with this combination. I've also used this same combination under a dry suit and found it to work well for that application and immune to the little trickle of water that inevitably finds it way inside your suit.
For this particular set up, the bulkiness of the fleece is tempered by the lack of arms which helps maximize movement under additional layers. The one piece pants/back also minimize cold spots in your lower back and guarantees sparring your friends and families the view of your hair plumber's butt. This piece sadly is no longer sold by the original manufacturer but one of my favorite outdoor winter layering items.
Now when you gotta poop with a union suit and a bib....Well, no getting around it...Its a pain. You gotta take off all your jackets and shirt and then the bib and union suit. Lets just say you dont want to be caught in one of those just in time situations.....Especially with all that wicking fibre about you!!!
Overall, Im pretty happy with this combination of underwear. As I said, if I were to do it again, I may or may not pull for the high end merino wool set up. Then again, I wouldnt start there, but Id probably eventually get there. I still see that woolpower union suit in my future! But perhaps that is just because I love long underwear so much! I still haven't tried silk underwear yet. I gotta draw a manly line somewhere and I decided to do it at silk undies....
So lets hear what the rest of you have to say about long underwear and your preferences. Rather than talk about your favorite brand, what are your favorite textiles or combination of textiles and how do you effectively layer them for different kinds of activities?
