What I Wear

This is me, Stuart, principle buyer for facewest.co.uk. Keen skier, fell runner and adventure racer. Most of the clothes I select to sell are a particular favourite garment of me or somebody facewest knows and have been tested to be functional, durable and good value. Below I have listed the clothes that I wear for different actvities to help those of you struggling to decide on what you need. You will see some garments that crop up in several categories, this is the sign of a great piece of clothing. Everyone is different but this is what works for me. I generate a lot of heat when I am exercising so I value breathability above all else. I do feel the cold but not as badly as some. I hate to be too hot so choose to be a little chilly when I set off knowing that I will warm up. If after reading this and the Clothing Guide you still cannot decide what to buy then you'd better give me a ring.

Ski Touring

For base layer I use a Mammut All Year Long Sleeve Zip, which blends wool and synthetic fibres in different panels, & Smartwool Lightweight Zip T. Generally I wear the Mammut thermal, unless its really cold and keep the other as a dry spare when I reach the hut. I always use long sleeves to protect my arms from UV and a light coloured thermal is much cooler to wear in strong sun than a black one. I won't normally wear thermal leggings but carry the Mammut All Year ¾ length ones as a back up. I do sometimes take compression tights instead of thermal leggings. For my mid layer I use a Marmot Ether Driclime, a brilliant and light windshirt with hand warmer pockets and a hood. On my legs I wear softshell trousers, ME Liskamm Pants are my preferred choice. I prefer the windproof rather than the waterproof softshell trousers. They are cool enough to climb in but warm enough for the descents. I carry a lightweight waterproof jacket and full zip waterproof Pants, Mountain Equipment Firefox Jacket and ME Paclite Pants at the moment, but I hardly ever wear them. On cold days and at night I have a synthetic insulated jacket, the Rab Generator Pull On. I did have a down jacket but found the synthetic one to be generally more versatile. Just for ski touring the packability and size of the down would be better but I only have one insulated jacket and synthetic suits my usage better.

Mountaineering

Summer alpine to Scottish winter climbing can put pretty varied demands on your clothing but this is just a guide to what normally works for me. As discussed in 'Ski Touring' I would use a light coloured top for summer stuff and a merino one for winter. Lightweight softshell trousers for summer and either membrane softshell ones for winter or the summer ones with thermal leggings underneath. I would use either a lined windshirt like the Marmot Driclime Windshirt (Photo circa 1999 only replaced last year) as my midlayer or use my softshell Astron hooded jacket. If it was really cold I might even slip a Powerstretch vest in there somewhere. Depending on the season and my choice of midlayer I would either pack my Rab Generator Pull On for some lightweight synthetic insulation or my ME Fitzroy jacket which has a very water resistant outer shell and a hood. It is more of a belay jacket than the Generator. For winter climbing lighweight waterproofs are just not tough enough, they are OK for some summer stuff but generally high mountains and winter deserve tough waterproofs. Tough does not have to mean heavy as the ME ProShell Kongur Jacket is a great all round jacket for mountaineering with the performance of Gore ProShell at only 595g. I don't really like full bib salopettes as they are a bit sweaty for me but a high waisted full zip pant with a tough outer fabric and some sort of membrane is just the ticket. I have some Marmot Climbers Pants at the moment that are so old I can't even remember when I got them but they are still going strong.

Rock Climbing

My general set up for multi pitch summer climbing is a base layer and a windshirt plus some light softshell trousers. Depending on where I am and the weather I may use a short sleeve technical T (Rab Aeon T) or long sleeve technical T (ME Crus LS Crew) combined with an unlined windshirt. My unlined windshirt is a Marmot Trail Wind Hoody. My trousers are ME Ibex Pants. These are one of the lighter weights of softshell trousers. For 3 season trad climbing and general cragging I swap my windshirt for a softshell jacket. The ME Astron has been a stalwart for me but I am now leaning more towards non membrane softshells and particularly like the ME Trident Jacket. ME Firefox waterproof jacket in my bag for more remote climbs, just in case.

Cycling

For biking, and we are talking off road biking here, I use 'proper' bike shorts from someone like Endura or Pearl Izumi but am generally disappointed in the other technical garments on offer to the bike world but it seems difficult to promote an 'outdoor' brand in a cycle market even if the products are better. In general I use my Mammut All Year Base Layer and either my Marmot Trail Wind Hoody or Marmot Ether Driclime Windshirt depending on the weather for most of the year. For winter night riding I switch to a Rab Vapour-ise Lite Tour Jacket. The Lite Tour is a heavyweight windshirt with pit zips and a hood. If it's not as cold as expected you can either remove your base layer and wear it next to your skin or open the front zip half way and open the pit zips and this channels loads of air around your core when riding. The lightweight ME Firefox jacket for when it chucks it down. Winter MTB is particulary tough on your hands and feet and I have found Sealskinz gloves and socks really make a difference by keeping the water out. If it's really cold I squeeze a thin pair of liner socks inside my Sealskinz to boost the warmth but you need roomy shoes to benefit from this.

Running and Adventure Racing

As always the Mammut All Year baselayer is my first choice even if it's really cold. Midlayer is an ME astron jacket, not a very insulating combination as I will be generating heat but protective enough to cope with wind and even persistant showers. By wearing this and using the full zip on my astron I am hoping to not change layers at all. However if I thought it would be constantly raining I would wear a thicker Smartwool merino baselayer and my ME Firefox waterproof jacket without any midlayer at all. The wool top and waterproof will keep me warm, I'm going to get wet for sure either from neckline leakage or perspiration but the wool will help with that. If the weather is good then just the Mammut baselayer on it's own will do. For legwear I like a reasonably compressive tight like the OMM Flash Tight. Socks are always the Smartwool PhD Outdoor, for cushioning and warmth.

General Clothing Advice

Don't underestimate the part your underwear plays in your layering system. I don't wear underwear for cycling and running but for other activities I use proper synthetic briefs from Odlo. Cotton ones trap moisture and will rub on a long day. Wool underwear has better antimicrobial properties but I find it too warm, even in winter. I always carry a Buff, no matter the season (2 in winter), as they are so versatile and light. In winter I always use a windstopper hat as the protection they offer is so much better than anything else, combined with the buff you can make a great balaclava. I have 3 main pairs of gloves, Marmot Ultimate Guide Gloves which are 2 piece full winter gaunlets, SealSkinz All Weather Cycles Gloves for winter biking and Smartwool Training Gloves for running. These feel like powerstretch but are actually wool with great grips. For my feet I generally use wool socks and have several pairs of Smartwool PhD Outdoor socks in short and medium lengths. In winter it's amazing how quickly your feet warm up in good wool socks even after a complete submersion in an icy puddle. I use Sealskinz for biking but only use them for running if it's a multi hour winter run where my feet will be constantly in and out of water.

There are a lot of good clothes out there and used in the right way most of them seem to work, sometimes it just takes some experimentation to get the right combination. Use low endeavour trips to test gear combinations for those big days out and you're less likely to have problems.