Preferred clothing?

[bauerb]

if you are not sure between the best of LL Bean and full on suits from Dynafit, why not split the difference? btw, thats Killian Jornets race partner in Europe...

[dhdaines]

It's probably a bad idea, and I have heard and heeded all the warnings about cotton, but for tooling around in the woods for a few hours in Blue Extra weather I'm often in jeans, a long-sleeve wool base layer, and a wool button-down shirt. The jeans in question fit snugly over Alpina Alaskas so no gaiters are necessary, they block the wind, and they seem to breathe well enough. If it's colder I'll wear wool long johns.

I have some MEC winter bike tights with a windblocking front which obviously I wear for more serious (longer or faster) outings. Wool surplus pants would be ideal but I haven't found any in a long time...

[CwmRaider]

It's probably a bad idea, and I have heard and heeded all the warnings about cotton, but for tooling around in the woods for a few hours in Blue Extra weather I'm often in jeans, a long-sleeve wool base layer, and a wool button-down shirt.

Actually cotton and polyester/ cotton mixes are good alternatives to softshell outer layers for sub freezing temperatures. They block the wind and let humidity out much better than anything waterproof. I dont use jeans when skiing however, I feel my movement is impeded.
When it rains their range of use is however more limited.
Wool on the other hand is always my main base and intermediate layer.

I use Woolpower(tm) zip sweaters and vests. Rugged, warm and highly functional. Hand sewn in Sweden with the name of the seamster or seamstress on the label.

[fisheater]

@dhdaines
If you fit a medium these are very nice quality
https://colemans.com/east-german-military-wool-trousers

[johnnycanuck]

I recently picked up some of those Merino / synthetic mix Kirkland brand socks from Costco that fisheater recommended and I'm impressed. Haven't been on skis yet, only our cold house but they feel great so far. Warm, good breathability. I have sweaty feet, can't do most synthetic socks. These are a good, very affordable option. They are also thicker, so maybe not great as an alpine sock (I prefer a thin merino sock for alpine), but I can see them being a great XC sock.

I'll compare them to my smartwool once we get some snow

[Luttevlal]

I get cold very quickly, even in warm weather, so I prefer to wear all the warm clothes in my closet when I go out skiing. Of the outerwear, I like Columbia.

[Luttevlal]

I get cold very quickly, even in warm weather, so I prefer to wear all the warm clothes in my closet when I go out skiing. Of the outerwear, I like Columbia.

[randoskier]

Three words: wool, cotton, fur. Cotton does not kill (with a caveat: unless you are stupid). We ski mostly in the arctic in Norway/Sweden but also at high altitude here in Italy, in France, and used to ski in the USA when we lived in Estes Park and Leavenworth WA (aka Plywood Bavaria). The best thing to ski in is the Norrona Cotton anoraks, they are tight weave and block the strongest winds effectively, super breathable, comfortable, and have a built in velcro inside the hood to take a fur ruff. They used to sell the fur ruffs themselves until they got pressured by flower eaters to stop (curiously they still sell a full line of hunting outerwear). We wear them 90% of the time in northern Scandinavia. We also carry a very light Goretex pac-lite shell from Mountain Hardwear in case it rains or the snow is abnormally wet. XXL fits over everything including a big down jacket if need be. The cotton is fine in even moderate snow, we are more careful with it if tenting because in the cabins the woodstove cures all. The Fur ruff makes warmth around your face and cuts sidewind, wind is a huge problem in Scandi. We use Coyote fur because coyotes are at pest level throughout their range and need to be culled anyway (also ate my cat a long time ago. I will never forget). Synthetic wool is totally useless we had it on our long parkas in USAF when I was based at Pease afb in NH and worked out on the flight-line and only at night (my Cold War was freakin cold), Soggy mess, no loft. Everything that touches my skin is wool except a thin silk undershirt. I wear a Norwegian wool sweater that replaced my Denali 300 wt fleece- performs better and does not stink on long trips. Wool Lovikka mittens from Sweden are the warmest ever, mine were hand knit there, hard to get real ones these days so try the boiled wool ones from Orthovox and other Austrian suppliers. The Lowe Alpine cap is de rigeur in Scandinavia; even the Sami herders wear them as does the Norwegian army. My ski pants are 10 year-old Arcterex stretch pants designed for alpine touring, fairly light. I carry army surplus insulated pants liners for camp/hut pants and could use them as a layer too, but never have. I carry synthetic booties and Helsport Footbags, great in camp. I wear Berghaus Yeti (over-boot) gaiters while skiing, my wife uses the Yeti Extrem insulated (over-boot) gaiter (they work for both 75mm and NNNBC). I have a warm down jacket and hood from Montane for breaks and camping- the total weight of the down fill matters WAY more than the "fill power" as long as the down is => 650 to begin with- fill power is marketing BS. I am always dry and mostly warm unless I do something stupid (which naturally I always do).

[emma999]

I'm curious what you folks tend to wear out when backcountry cross country skiing.

Obviously the environment and weather is different for everyone. Do you dress in Alpine wear or maybe something closer to what classic skiers wear or even go minimal like skate skiers? Or can you just go out there just wearing a jacket from oz poncho?

Reason I ask is last year I wore Swix XC pants with Patagonia down jacket and Merino under layers (smartwool) but often found myself overheating even in cold conditions (-10C and below). Looking for a better combination this year.

Curious if there are companies that make gear specifically for backcountry skiing? Or maybe Alpine gear without the insulation is the way to go.

It definitely sounds like you were getting a bit too warm while out skiing last year. It's definitely a tricky balance to find the right combination of clothing that will keep you comfortable in the backcountry. For me, I tend to dress more like a classic skier, but with a few tweaks. I layer merino wool base layers, a lightweight waterproof shell, and a mid-weight fleece or insulated jacket depending on the temperature. This setup has worked well for me in a variety of conditions.

There are a few companies that make gear specifically for backcountry skiing. Brands like Arc'teryx and Patagonia make great products that are designed for maximum performance and comfort in the outdoors. I also like to use Alpine-style gear without the insulation for when I'm expecting to be out in colder temperatures. This helps me stay warm without having to worry about overheating.

[randoskier]

It's probably a bad idea, and I have heard and heeded all the warnings about cotton, but for tooling around in the woods for a few hours in Blue Extra weather I'm often in jeans, a long-sleeve wool base layer, and a wool button-down shirt. The jeans in question fit snugly over Alpina Alaskas so no gaiters are necessary, they block the wind, and they seem to breathe well enough. If it's colder I'll wear wool long johns.

I have some MEC winter bike tights with a windblocking front which obviously I wear for more serious (longer or faster) outings. Wool surplus pants would be ideal but I haven't found any in a long time...

You can get mil-surp wool pants from 17 bucks on the Sportsmans Guide website

I ski 90% of the time during multi-day Norwegian tours in a Norrona cotton anorak and many other people do as well (Bergans and Norrona cotton anoraks have always been popular there). It blocks the wind and it breaths about 1000 % better than Gore Tex. If it is super wet snow I will put on a GTX pac-light parka over it. It has a coyote-fur rough to keep side-wind off the face.

I prefer wool sweaters, never use fleece.

Jim Detterline who used to be the Climbing Ranger for Long's Peak (summited Long's over 400x) was famous for climbing in jeans.