Women's Base and mid layer clothing
Women’s base layers and mid layers for hiking and winter sports
A well-fitting base layer does its job
A base layer should fit close to the skin. Only through skin contact can the base layer material do its work, namely moving moisture away from you. Intermediate and mid layers usually fit a little looser. The base layer is also the first layer that adds insulation.
Merino wool
In hiking and outdoor use, merino wool has recently become very popular as a base layer material — it evens out temperature swings well and needs less washing than synthetics. It feels comfortable to wear even when damp, which is wool’s party trick. When you’re on the move in a merino base layer, stopping for a break doesn’t leave you shivering straight away, unlike with many synthetics. A merino base layer is also a comfortable choice as sleepwear on trips.
Merino wool’s (and wool’s in general) odour-resistant properties are a real plus, especially on longer treks. The best guide to whether merino needs washing is how it feels: a merino garment that needs a wash feels cold when you put it on, whereas a clean merino garment is pleasantly warm the moment it touches your skin. Often just airing it out is enough. When you wash wool garments, always use only a wool detergent and follow the care instructions for that particular item. Wool detergent treats the lanolin in the wool gently, so the wool keeps its properties.
The difference between ordinary wool and merino wool is clear, at least under a microscope: ordinary sheep’s wool looks fairly coarse and scaly when magnified. Merino fibres are finer and considerably smoother. You can feel this easily on your skin too, as a merino garment is soft against the skin, whereas ordinary wool garments cause itching and scratching for many people. Merino wool can be worn without any problem by almost everyone, including those for whom sheep’s wool worn directly against the skin is little short of a nightmare. Merino wool comes from — you guessed it — merino sheep. All the merino wool garment makers we carry have disavowed the merino industry’s notorious mulesing method, which is painful for the sheep.
Finnsvala – the Finnish alternative
Among the base layers, the Stretchmesh fabric from the Finnish brand Finnsvala deserves a special mention. This fully synthetic mesh fabric is an absolute favourite for many. Made from polypropylene, the mesh moves moisture extremely well, and its structure also insulates well. Because it lets air circulate freely unless you put a mid layer over it, the mesh material is also very breathable. Washing polypropylene is straightforward and it dries very quickly.
Technical base layers for sport
On a fitness run, a synthetic base layer is often the right choice for the active exerciser. Synthetic fibres absorb extremely little sweat, and they move moisture to the outer layers at a fast pace. When you’re heading out for a proper sweaty run, it’s worth putting a base layer made from Helly Hansen’s Lifa material closest to your skin. Even if you sweat heavily, a synthetic base layer absorbs very little moisture during the run, as a good proportion of it passes on to the next layers. Synthetic garments also dry very quickly after washing, and on the washing line they are often ready to wear hours before other clothes.
The mid layer insulates
A mid layer adds warmth to your layering. You pull on a mid-layer top and trousers, for example, on a cool evening at camp or when the daytime temperature calls for more insulation than a base layer can provide. Mid-layer tops and jackets often work well on their own too, as loungewear or to take the edge off a cool summer evening. Mid-layer trousers are more of a cold-weather item. They add insulation and help prevent cold spots from forming. In mid layers, such as the men’s fleece base layer set, Polartec Power Stretch has long been a very popular material. It’s a stretchy fleece material that’s soft on the inside and glossier and hard-wearing on the surface. Thanks to the stretch, Power Stretch can be made into very close-fitting garments that still give excellent freedom of movement.
Order now from a Finnish specialist store!
The Finnish company Scandinavian Outdoor delivers quality women’s base and mid layers with decades of experience.
