View Poll Results: Wool or Polyester for Sleeping Baselayer?

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  • I prefer to sleep in a wool baselayer

    72 33.96%
  • I prefer to sleep in a polyester baselayer

    84 39.62%
  • I can go with either depending on the weather

    56 26.42%
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  1. #1
    New Member wildgene's Avatar
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    Sleeping Baselayer: Wool vs Polyester

    Does anybody who sleeps in a separate baselayer have a preference for wool top & bottom versus the same in polyester?

    I have got all three weights (silk - #1, light - #2 and medium - #3) in both wool (Smartwool) and polyester (Patagonia Capilene). But I tend to always go with the wool when I strip off my hiking clothes at night, freshen up a bit - either a wipe down with baby wipe or a sponge bath with some peppermint soap - throw on a baselayer top & bottom and slip under my quilt.

    Now if I had to actually hike in my baselayer top & bottom, I prefer polyester. I tend to burn hot and sweat more than most and the polyester seems to wick better and dry out faster than wool. But just sleeping, I find wool more comfortable and it's just a bit lighter in gear weight than the other.

    I think maybe wool feels warmer than polyester in a hammock because polyester can sure seem to "get cold" something like nylon in a tarp; though not as extreme. To me it seems like those synthetic materials tend to "capture" cold and "transfer" it right to your skin."
    Last edited by wildgene; 09-03-2010 at 11:33. Reason: grammar

  2. #2
    Senior Member ikemouser's Avatar
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    Its all about weather

  3. #3
    Senior Member Just Jeff's Avatar
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    Wool smells better, but it can be itchy. I don't like itchy. I have both and have started taking wool most of the time, but still use my poly now and then. Depends more on mood than weather, though.
    “Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall when the wise are banished from the public councils because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” ~Judge Joseph Story

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  4. #4
    New Member wildgene's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ikemouser View Post
    Its all about weather
    For those that have said, or will say, "it just depends of the weather", is it just the temp of the weather or other things like humidity that factor in?

    Having just switchback to hammocking permanently from one summer season six years ago and just one fair weather trip under my belt this year, I having to really understand insulation both top and bottom and overall for hammock camping.

  5. #5
    Senior Member Savage's Avatar
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    I personally like wool for base layer. I don't mind the occasional itch factor. I wear wool base layer year round when I am out. Even after a very humid day and I am soaked, I don't get any chills when the temps drop. The Smartwool shirt I wear also dries quite quickly.

    John

  6. #6
    Senior Member beep's Avatar
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    Boy, good question. I tend to sleep in the clothing I hike in so long as it has dried(!) so for me the question is what works best while hiking. I'm still experimenting with what is the ideal system. I like the moisture-moving qualities of synthetics next to my skin in winter, but find that wool is a bit warmer feeling, more so if I'm dry (not sweaty).
    Sometimes I mix it up...wool next to skin for top and synthetic on my legs...or vice versa.
    "The more I carry the happier I am in camp; the less I carry the happier I am getting there" - Sgt. Rock

  7. #7
    Senior Member MikeM's Avatar
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    I use wool for my sleep wear in cool weather, but for stupidly cold (as in -17F on that finger of land sticking out into Polliwog Pond in the Northern Adirondacks with ZS) I'm going with the synthetic stretch base layer from UA with the PCU level 7 Primaloft suit over it.

  8. #8
    Senior Member HappyCamper's Avatar
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    Wool in the cold/cool weather. Loose nylon shirt and shorts in hot weather.
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  9. #9
    Senior Member Raul Perez's Avatar
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    I'm not a big fan of the UA cold gear. I always feel cold when the sub-freezing wind hits it. I'm a big fan of smartwool.
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  10. #10
    Peter_pan's Avatar
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    Wool is the no funk answer,

    pan
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