Thinsulate <\/a>is a 3M product used by a number of clothing companies. I mention this not as a way to compare brands, but just to clear any confusion as various names are often casually tossed around in the outdoor community without much explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThinner Base Layer vs. Thicker Base Layer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Generally speaking, one thin base layer should be all you need<\/strong> (along with the mid-layer insulation and shell layers) unless the temperature drops below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. At that point, you will want to consider either a thicker base layer or two thinner ones. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nBecause base layers are tight, you may find that wearing two is a slight impediment to your flexibility and movement. For more relaxed outdoor activities like hiking or sightseeing, that might be OK, but for higher intensity activities like running, snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, two layers might not work. In that case, try a thicker layer to stay warmer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nIf neither of these options seems to be working, you may just need to add more to the insulating layer. This is where the real warmth is going to come from whereas base layers are mostly about getting moisture away from your skin. Insulating layers can be as thick and as numerous as you can manage, and if it\u2019s really cold (like Minnesota cold), the more the merrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How Many Base Layers Do I Need?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A single base layer is all that is necessary to stay warm as long as you combine your layering with a bulky mid-layer and a waterproof outer shell. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nAlthough an additional base layer isn’t likely to affect your layering negatively, strictly speaking, you’ll get all the benefits of a base layer from just having a single base layer. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The base layer is quite possibly the most important component of the layering system when dressing for being outdoors in cold weather for an extended time. Does it hurt or<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5033,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":3,"label":"Hiking"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/base-layer-couple-1024x683.jpg",640,427,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Peter","author_link":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/author\/outsidedecider\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":3,"name":"Hiking","slug":"hiking","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":3,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":55,"filter":"raw","term_order":"0","cat_ID":3,"category_count":55,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Hiking","category_nicename":"hiking","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5032"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7896,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5032\/revisions\/7896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/decideoutside.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}