Silk vs. Other Warm Stuff

[Stash]

In keeping with the recent warm gear threads....

I've got a lightweight silk thermal top/bottom set that I use for cold weather camping. They add quite a bit of warmth to the bag with almost no added weight to carry as well as help keep the bag clean.

With this in mind I'm thinking about putting into hiking service some heavy silk sweaters. I've had them for nearly 20 years and wear them frequently in the winter for work and casual wear. They're quite warm and durable - they look like new. I'm wondering if I could use them to replace a fleece layer.

Questions are:

• How will they work if wet?
• What's their warmth-to-weight ratio as compared to fleece or other material? They're quite heavy for their size.

Any experts out there?

 

[DougPaul]

Silk is generally considered to have moisture handling properties and thermal properties when damp similar to those of cotton.

Doug

 

[TCD]

Another vote against silk. Silk has been oversold for years by junk catalogs (think "Early Winters") as a miracle fabric; the one shirt I had years ago was disappointing; stayed wet, not warm.

 

[nartreb]

Wets like cotton, stays wet like cotton, and has a hard-to-descrbie uncomfortable texture (regardless of temperature) when wet.

 

[tb69wemt]

Wets like cotton, stays wet like cotton, and has a hard-to-descrbie uncomfortable texture (regardless of temperature) when wet.

What? uncomfortable texture ? soft as silk is a lie ?


I have to both agree and DISagree with the above posters I would avoid the thicker silk sweaters (they will stay wet) to replace your fleece but I would have no fear in adding the thinner silk to my winter layering arsenal. I regularly use silk. I have a silk liner for my sleeping bag and will wear silk pajamas to sleep in(Yes, I am a bit of a princess while camping ) I usually start my layering system with silk longjohns and then Merino wool layer, on the really cold days or multiday hikes I will add fishnet tights between the wool and silk.....lol...try being a 185 lb guy and asking the store clerk if they have those tights in your size...... Then softshell pants and hard shells over those if really needed. I often wear
cheap , 5 dollar max.(salvtion army/second hand store) silk shirts as a layer on top as well. The loud Hawaiian prints a add warmth. The loud prints worn in winter help identify me on the trail too, so say Hi if you run into me. I find the silk to be self regulating much like wool and to dry really quickly.I have worn silk layers on three trips to Denali ,several trips to the Andes, along with multi week trips th the Brooks Range in Alaska with never a concern. Silk has long been a quality insulating layer. Check this link out.

http://www.trailspace.com/articles/2007/05/16/burberry-and-silk-climbing-everest-in-vintage-style.html

 

[Stan]

I don't buy silk sweaters but silk shirts and tees are comfortable in hot weather. In fact, cotton and silk is preferable in desert travel precisely because it does retain moisture and the evaporation helps you keep cool ... even if you don't look it.

 

[Guthook]

In fact, cotton and silk is preferable in desert travel precisely because it does retain moisture and the evaporation helps you keep cool.

Nice point. This may come in very handy when I head out to the desert this summer for a while.

I recently got a set of silk long underwear for sleepwear on the trail. I don't know how much truth there is to the "wearing clothes in your sleeping bag keeps the bag cleaner" philosophy, but I'm more than willing to test it out. The silk baselayers weigh less than half of what my normal cool weather baselayers do, so I hope they'll be good for minimizing weight as well as not adding too much warmth to the sleeping system. We'll see.

 

[Stash]

I recently got a set of silk long underwear for sleepwear on the trail. I don't know how much truth there is to the "wearing clothes in your sleeping bag keeps the bag cleaner" philosophy, but I'm more than willing to test it out. The silk baselayers weigh less than half of what my normal cool weather baselayers do, so I hope they'll be good for minimizing weight as well as not adding too much warmth to the sleeping system. We'll see.

I've had good luck with this sleeping system and that was the reason for my asking the question...

What I like about the silk long underwear is that it packs so small I can fit it in with my sleeping bag in the compression sack. Keeps the sleep stuff all in one place.