Layering for Comfort
Like your fly rod, reel, and flies, your clothing is a tool; it should keep you comfortable in changing weather conditions and protect you from the threat of hypothermia, whether you fish icy steelhead streams, trout streams near your home, or saltwater beaches.
Unfortunately, many fly fishers continue to believe that cotton jeans and shirts can get the job done. There has been a quiet hi-tech revolution in the way we dress to keep ourselves warm in severe weather. The modern way of dressing is called layering. It is a relatively simple way of arming yourself against the cold, but it can mean the difference between comfort and misery, and in some cases it can save your life.
The key to staying comfortable is staying dry, and the key to staying dry is properly layering your clothes to wick moisture away from your body.
In recent years, clothing manufacturers have refined their fabric technologies to make new, relatively thin fabrics and clothes that efficiently wick moisture away from your body. They have also developed a simple three-layer approach to dressing for outdoor activities ranging from only slightly active sports, such as fishing, to highly aerobic activities, such as cross-country skiing. This approach can prepare you for fishing in cool to cold conditions without bulky clothes that restrict your movements, so you stay comfortable regardless of your activity level. Staying comfortable is the key to staying out longer for more fishing.
If you want to get the most benefit out of your breathable waders, don’t wear cotton or denim pants under the waders. Layer your clothes to move perspiration to the waders, where it can pass to the outside.
Layering Three Garments
In an outdoor sport such as fly-fishing, it’s important to wear the right combination of fabrics and garments so you can add or remove layers to regulate the temperature around your body as the weather or your activity level changes.
For all but the most extreme conditions, three layers are all you need a base or next-to-skin layer that fits snugly and wicks moisture (perspiration) away from your skin quickly; an insulation or thermal layer to provide the necessary degree of warmth; and an outer shell to protect you from the elements—wind, rain, snow, or whatever Mother Nature throws at you.
In the outdoors, your body loses heat in three ways. Heat radiates outward from your body, moisture conducts heat away from your body, and wind carries heat away from your body. Lose enough body heat—even in warm air temperatures—and you’ll get hypothermia, a dangerous condition in which your body temperature goes below 95 degrees (F.). Common causes of hypothermia include prolonged exposure to cold, wearing wet clothing in windy weather, heavy exertion (perspiration makes you wet), and lack of food or fluids.
Properly layering your clothes keeps you dry and allows you to combat the loss of heat, so you can fish comfortably while others are retreating to their vehicles, or sitting home afraid to go out because of the weather. Each layer performs a specific function to maintain a comfortable climate under your clothes. Good layering garments are available from many manufacturers. The brands you are most likely to see in fly shops include Patagonia, Simms, Orvis, Redington, Hodgman, Fly Tech/Stearns, Filson, Wind River, Exofficio, Tarponwear, Glacier Glove, and Sealskinz. Expect to pay from $40 to $150 for base layers, $40 to $150 for thermal layers, and $125 to $400 for outer shells. Products with higher quality and more design features usually cost more. They are worth the extra expense.
Base or next-to-skin layer. This layer has the primary function of keeping you dry and preventing you from becoming wet and chilled. It moves moisture away from your skin before the moisture cools. In order to achieve this, a base-layer garment must have good wicking capabilities to actively pull sweat off of your skin and dry quickly. It should fit tightly and make contact with as much of your skin surface area as possible. It should stretch to provide mobility, be made from a nonpilling fabric, and have an anti-odor treatment so it won’t retain odors after prolonged use. Base-layer pants (bottoms) should have stirrups to prevent the legs from riding up when you put on your waders.
Base-layer garments come in a variety of weights. Lightweight garments are preferred for most conditions because they are thin, wash easily, and dry quickly. Heavier garments, which provide more warmth, are for colder conditions.
Do not wear cotton briefs or any other garment made with hydrophilic (water-loving) fabric next to your skin. Those garments absorb moisture and defeat the base layer’s purpose. If you wear briefs under your base layer, choose ones that wick at least as well as the main base layer. These are now widely available in different styles from several manufacturers.
Insulating or thermal layer. This layer keeps you warm and should be matched to the weather and conditions—light for cool temperatures, heavier for colder weather. It should be lightweight and highly breathable. Wicking capabilities are also important in this layer to prevent moisture from being trapped between the base and outer layers. In mild conditions, this layer can be worn as an outer layer, especially if the garment’s outer surface is abrasion-resistant. Fleece garments with a soft, fuzzy inner surface and a smooth, tight outer surface can be worn as a base layer.
Fleece is the most common synthetic insulating fabric for this layer, although wool and other fabrics also work. Fleece comes in different weights with different insulation values, and each manufacturer has its own designation of light to heavy weights.
The most important thing to consider is that the heavier the fleece, the warmer it will be and the less it will breathe. Choose a balance between warmth, wicking ability, and breathability based on your activity level and your personal body type—whether you become cold easily, how much you perspire, how active you are. If you chill easily, a warmer (heavier) fleece is best. If you are usually warm, a mid- or lightweight fleece that wicks perspiration more efficiently than a heavier garment may be best. If you cover a lot of water when you fish, you will generate more body heat, so you can use a lighter fleece than a nonactive person who fishes one or two pools.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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