- Saturday
- REI Revelcloud synthetic jacket
- 11deg, slight breeze, sunny
- Water bladder empty
- Darn tough crew socks
- Sunday
- REI Magma down jacket
- 14deg, slight breeze, cloudy
- 2L bladder
- Smartwool over-the-calf socks
- Common clothing
- Patagonia tech t-shirt
- REI fleece midweight hoodie
- Wool Buff
- Puffy jacket
- Motorcycle goggles
- Hat
- EMS gloves (not including liner)
- Under Armour lined wind pants
- Asolo boots
Synthetic puffy results: surprisingly I was completely comfortable and warm. I should get a hood or shower cap to fight the wind, but overall I was good. I was even more surprised when I got all done and there was no sweat on any layer except my t-shirt - the fleece & puffy were completely dry.
Down puffy results: I wouldn't say I was any warmer or colder, but I also feel the wind cut through the jacket a bit more. I didn't use the hood, but it would have been handy had it been any windier. There was a little sweat that got though the fleece & onto the jacket, but not enough to make the jacket ineffective.
All-in-all, it was a solid, effective test. Nearly an hour outside in sub-freezing temperatures and I was warm enough. I might benefit from some leggings, but it certainly wasn't needed for this, and in the woods the wind would be less, right? The Smartwool socks were fine on the hike, but they were way too warm when I tried to wear them in the house. The Darn Tough socks were also long enough to keep the boots from irritating my ankles and fine in the house. The goggles were sort of useless - I had to be so careful breathing or they got foggy in moments. Maybe real ski goggles would be better?
I'm also rethinking footwear. With the boots I feel so much more protected from everything. One concern is whether or not they affect my Achilles negatively, but for the moment things are okay. I know they're heavier, and if they get wet inside it will take longer to dry, but they also feel so bulletproof when I'm wearing them. Certainly, during cold weather, they're much better than trail shoes.
