Layering

If there is one time when the phrase ‘less is more’ is not at all true it is when it comes to the subject of wearing clothing in the great outdoors…

Obviously, clothing needs to be tailored to the environment and ambient conditions, but more thought needs to be out into it than that.

Wearing the incorrect clothing can lead to either hyperthermia – above normal body temperature, or hypothermia – below normal internal body temperate. Both of which can be life threatening…

The theory of layering…

When you get dressed to go out to the shops you first select your underwear – y-fronts, boxers, g-string or whatever your personal choice may be, then trousers, shorts or a skirt over those. Similarly you put on a t-shirt, a fleece and a jacket if it’s cold. This is the basic principle of layering, however, when you’re out camping on Dartmoor in middle of January you have to give it a bit more thought.

You could just put on some warm underwear, a thick pair of cords, a shirt, and a warm thick jacket, but this is not going to do a very good job of keeping you warm if it rains. Say the weather takes a turn for the worse – you have nothing more to put on…

Say you start working up some heat and so want to undo your jacket or even take it off altogether, you’ve only got a thin shirt on and the wind whistles through it…

It is better to plan your clothing properly – in this case, more is better. If you have a jumper or fleece under your jacket, you can still keep warm, but not overheat.

It’s far better to be able to take a layer off than complain that you don’t have an extra layer to put on…

Environmental factors

Let’s take a look at different environmental conditions that will affect your choice of clothing.

Wind

It doesn’t matter whether the whether be hot or whether the weather be not, wind has a dramatic effect on the temperature. It can be just as important to wear a windproof layer in supposedly warm and sunny conditions as in cold conditions.

In the lea of a rock face, you may find the temperature is say +4C, still cold but not especially life threatening, but moving around the face and climbing the coll, the wind gets up to about 20m.p.h., add the temperature plummets to –4C, now ‘Huston, we have a problem…’.

Moisture

By this I mean anything from just dampness to chucking it down with rain…

Even in summer, if you get wet and then a breeze comes up, this can REALLY chill you, literally to the bone. As moisture evaporates from the skin, it draws heat away from the body, this is why we sweat – to reduce out temperature, but back this up with a wind as well and you end up miserable and cold.

Sharps

This is a factor that most books and schools conveniently forget when considering clothing and can mean a variety of things – thorns, slate, etc.

It could also mean insects and creatures that have stings…

When moving through grassland that contains snakes for example, an old fashioned pair of canvas gaiters is a very useful commodity…

Layering ‘systems’

Temperate warm dry weather

Shoes/sandals/boots

Socks

(Gaiters)

Shorts/trousers/skirt

Underwear

Shirt/t-shirt/blouse

Light jacket

Hat

Temperate warm wet weather

Shoes/boots

Socks

Gaiters

Shorts/trousers

Waterproof trousers

Underwear

Shirt/t-shirt/blouse

Waterproof jacket

Hat

Temperate cool dry weather

Shoes/boots

Socks

Trousers

Underwear

Shirt/t-shirt

Fleece/jumper

Warm jacket

Hat

Gloves

Temperate cool wet weather

Shoes/boots

Socks

Gaiters

Trousers

Waterproofs

Underwear

Shirt/t-shirt

Fleece/jumper

Warm jacket

Waterproof jacket

Hat

Gloves

Temperate cold dry weather

Shoes/boots

Socks

Trousers

Underwear

Thermal layer

Shirt

Fleece/jumper

Warm jacket

Hat

Gloves/mittens

Temperate cold wet weather

Boots

Socks

Gaiters

Trousers

Waterproofs

Underwear

Thermal layer

Shirt

Fleece/jumper

Warm jacket

Waterproof jacket

Hat

Gloves/mittens