Layers for those of us who get very cold very easily? I'm looking for extremely warm, but not constricting.

I've gotten some advice from my guy friends on merino wool and Smartwool products or even secondhand Arc'teryx puffys, but what do women here recommend and find super warm? I don't ice climb but I'd love to still go out on dry 40 degree days, 35 degree days, days just above or at freezing. I get very cold very easily though. But I also obviously don't want to layer so much that I feel constricted or weighted down while trying to climb. Any recommendations? I still don't quite understand the base layer numbering systems and how many degrees each adds. Are heavyweight base layers the warmest, are they actually heavy to climb in and wear? Do they effect mobility? 

Anyone have favorite "light" feeling but super hot (almost too hot, that's what I want, lol) base layer and/or mid layer recommendations?

To add some info, my current "layering system" is Women's UA Base 3.0 Crew and an Eddie Bauer 650-fill lightweight down jacket. Have tried some fleece sweatshirts in the middle. This isn't nearly warm enough for below 45 and out of the sun.

Don’t forget to insulate your legs it makes a big difference. Long underwear is key.

Alaina G wrote:

To add some info, my current "layering system" is Women's UA Base 3.0 Crew and an Eddie Bauer 650-fill lightweight down jacket. Have tried some fleece sweatshirts in the middle. This isn't nearly warm enough for below 45 and out of the sun.

Maybe vests are worth a try. They can be much thicker than a down jacket before they start messing with your freedom of movement. They will be able to keep your core warm, which is key in keeping your extremities warm. 

Just some thoughts: 

1) many people have a tendency to 'over-layer', ie. to up the number of midlayers, instead of changing the midlayer. This is counterproductive because at some point the midlayers will get squashed together meaning less air can be trapped, and also sweat evaporation will be limited. Generally speaking, one baselayer, one midlayer, a shell plus one reinforcement layer for standing still should be all you need. This also makes sure your freedom of movement is not too limited. 

2) it's very hard to actually put a number on comfort temperature of each individual garment and even harder to do that for combinations. This is because it is extremely dependent on personality and circumstances. How much have you eaten? How did you sleep? How long is your trip? What are you doing? Are you belaying or climbing? What is the wind doing? Precip?

3) Trapped air is warmth and therefore thickness is warmth. Even the best thin down jacket has its limits when it's not even a centimeter thick.

4) The temperatures you describe (just above freezing, or just below) are extremely tricky because  it can mean that the air is moist, limiting the insulating capabilities of down. For those temperatures, it's worth it to look at synthetics or wool. 

5) Always bring a reinforcement layer. 

Here’s what I climb in when it’s 40 out. 

• Ridge merino base layer (top and bottom)
• Ridge merino sun hoodie
• EMS Ascent series fleece zip up
• Patagonia puffy (if it’s sunny this will end up being for belaying only)

I also run cold and here are the things I find key:

• Fleece lined beanie
• Hand warmers in my chalk bag
• Gloves for belaying
• Hot tea
• Good socks to wear when belaying 
• Hand warmers in your approach shoes while climbing. Nice and warm for when it’s time to belay. 

I find wool garments to be warmer than synthetic, but YMMV. I'm also a big fan of hats, beanies, and hooded garments. There are wool hats that are thin enough to fit under helmets, and there are base layers around with hoods that are thin enough to fit under helmets. Hoods are nice because they're harder to lose than hats or beanies, and you can take them off and put them on as needed very easily.

As a female climber, 45 deg and shade are really tough conditions to stay warm and have a productive climbing session.  I usually push it to low 50s and shade. If climbing in the sun, 25 deg F can be great conditions if the wind is not too bad. 

While climbing

• Fleece-lined pants
• Leg warmers (prevents cold air on the ankles, which is key for me)
• Long sleeve base layer (Smartwool or Ibex), Arcteryx vest (LT Atom) and a light weight down jacket (Montbell Superior Down Parka)
• Fleece lined hat
• Handwarmers in chalk bag

Belaying

• Add an extra layer over legs (Down pants or heavy fleece)
• Add a buff or scarf to cover neck
• Add a 2nd down puffy 
• Place handwarmers in climbing shoes to keep them warm 
• Gloves (I have a thin merino pair I wear under belay gloves)

My gloves are large enough, I can stuff another pair of handwarmers into my gloves while belaying (placed on the back of my hand). 

I experimented with climbing in a down puffy and a lot of jackets were too restrictive.  The Montbell one is light weight and I sized up, so it didn't restrict shoulder movement.  Layering it with the vest was a great combination for me.  I wear two down puffy jackets while belaying. I have a heavier Marmot one that layers over the Montbell. Both have hoods. 

I would recommend experimenting with wearing a Buff while climbing.  I am doing this now (the original model) and it works. On the ground, I change to a thicker scarf or SmartWool neck gaiter.  I drink hot tea and try to do something aerobic to warm back up before climbing. 

Physical stuff to consider:

• Monthly cycles, and daily cycles. There are times you'll be colder.
• Hydrate! And eat. Take some cues from ice climbers. My hardcore ice guys carb load like mad, the day before. At the least, bring something hot to drink, and snacks
• You'll be colder when you're tired.

For bouldering, I took along a belay parka, some old zip up fleece lined snow boots, and a handwarmer. The boots skipped shoes and socks, just get the climbing shoes off (I wear velcro for fast on/off) and stuff bare feet into boots. Done. I had a pullover hoody with a single pocket on the front, which is where the hand warmer lived. We were out in low 30s, on sunny days with zero wind. 

Honestly, the deal breaker for me is hands. Bouldering, sure, low temps, even around freezing. But roped? Too much time to have bare hands. Cold frozen hands just make it pointless. So roped, 40s, sun, no wind.

I've not done it but once, but some people swear by taping hand warmers on their wrists, or back of hand. Heated socks have been around for a long time, and heated vests, jackets, etc are out there now too.

Oh! I also have an old pair of full zip snow pants, too. I can slap those babies on top of anything I'm wearing (even just jeans, lol), without messing with shoes. Again, that was bouldering, but also at a very cold climbing festival. Woke up to snow on the tents. More than one person commented "wish I'd thought of that".   

Good luck! Helen

Old lady H wrote:

Physical stuff to consider:

• Hydrate! And eat. Take some cues from ice climbers. My hardcore ice guys carb load like mad, the day before. At the least, bring something hot to drink, and snacks
• You'll be colder when you're tired.

These two tie into each other as well. It's not unheard of to double your caloric intake during cold-weather activities. I spent some time in the military and we had an ongoing expression during cold-weather training: you have to keep the furnace burning. 

You don’t mention if you have any conditions such as Reynaud’s, so I’m assuming not… but maybe it’s something you are unaware of?

also, what kind of climbing? Some things are easy to do while bouldering, but not practical on multipitch. And there’s a reason why more people switch to bouldering when it’s really cold!

Here what I do (climbed single-pitch sport last weekend with the worst day being high 30s and cloudy, planning on more of the same this weekend, though, fingers crossed, it would be sunny)

Bottom: heavier leggings, thick wool socks, leg warmers to protect the ankles/slide over the tops of climbing shoes; and fleece pants that pull over on top of the harness. (Some people go even further and have quilted down pants). You take the top layer off for climbing, and put it right back on as soon as you find back down.

Top: tank top, short-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve shirt (such as OR Echo tee), full-zip fleece, and a heavy down jacket (Rab Neutrino, in my case).

I do not ever hike in a down jacket, even when it’s cold. Yes, I feel quite chilly when I start the hike, but by the end of it I’m warm, and then I put on the down jacket as soon as I stop.

i sometimes climb in my fleece, but mostly I take it off and climb in the long-sleeved tee. Again, it is cold when I start, but usually by the end of the pitch I’m warm.

I had two pairs of gloves. Really heavy insulated skiing gloves, and double-layer fleece gloves with leather palms. I can belay wearing either. I don’t wear both at once, it’s just so I have a choice. I DIDN’t have a hat. This is silly. While the hood of my down jacket is quite warm, a hat makes 10000% sense! But I forgot it, lol  

I also had extra help in the form of hand warmers. I have rechargeable hand warmers that I put into my climbing shoes at the start of the hike. Putting on warm shoes for climbing makes a huge difference to me! And while I’m climbing, the hand warmers are sitting in my approach shoes, warming up the socks that are tucked in. Putting on warm socks after climbing makes another little moment of happiness.

You might need more of those kinds of external helpers. There are electrical heated socks. I haven’t tried, bc I don’t need to, but you might. You can also put those single-use chemical toe warmers into your approach shoes, they are thin enough to keep inside the shoes while wearing them. You can put hand warmers into your chalk bag, and/or into the back of your gloves (skiing gloves have a special pocket for it, but just sliding them into the backs of your regular gloves works, too.

A friend of mine has a portable propane heater. This can make a huge difference for someone who spends a lot of time not-climbing, like, if your partner is taking an hour on a climb… 

Also little things like: what are you sitting on? Sitting on the cold rock/ground can leach the heat out of you fast! Have a scrap of an old thermarest, or something else insulated.

And bring hot beverages in thermoses! Even if you don’t like coffee/tea, or in addition to a thermos of tea, I put hot water into my hydro flask, it keeps the liquids warm surprisingly long, and makes my day so much better.

Another friend of mine brings a jetboil to the crag.. 

Re-reading your post, it seems like you are looking for recommendations on actual brand/models? In which case I would say Smartwool, icebreaker, Patagonia, OR, Rab…

but honestly, most of the stuff I wear are just random TJMaxx finds. The only three “climbing”-related brand items that I wore last weekend, described above, were Echo tee, Rab neutrino jacket, and REI gloves. Everything else was random stuff, or even homemade, like leg warmers  (aka sleeves of an old hand-knit sweater)

following with interest, I’m in RR right now and even when it’s 65 in the city it’s COLD up in the canyons and in the shade/wind. I’ve had multiple days now where I was shaking and brain-numb from long belays on multipitch climbs and couldn’t climb fast enough to warm up.

Thighs that seem promising to help -

- merino everything, including a merino crop top for a bra. Synthetics next to the skin feel cold with the slightest moisture.

- leg warmers (really just cut off wool boot socks) that I pull down over my shoes at belays and even wear while climbing; you really just need a little bit of your forefoot for edging/smearing/jamming

- a good under-helmet wool hat that covers your ears; cycling beanies are good for this

- hand warmers in my shirt

- layers - mid to heavyweight wool base layer, a thickish fleece, an active insulated jacket like an Atom, a thin puffy for belays. I add a super thin wind shirt (MH Kor preshell is sort of magical) over the fleece and/or puffy depending.

Still kinda struggling though and am interested jn other peoples’ recs.

Lena chita wrote:

You don’t mention if you have any conditions such as Reynaud’s, so I’m assuming not… but maybe it’s something you are unaware of?

also, what kind of climbing? Some things are easy to do while bouldering, but not practical on multipitch. And there’s a reason why more people switch to bouldering when it’s really cold!

Here what I do (climbed single-pitch sport last weekend with the worst day being high 30s and cloudy, planning on more of the same this weekend, though, fingers crossed, it would be sunny)

Bottom: heavier leggings, thick wool socks, leg warmers to protect the ankles/slide over the tops of climbing shoes; and fleece pants that pull over on top of the harness. (Some people go even further and have quilted down pants). You take the top layer off for climbing, and put it right back on as soon as you find back down.

Top: tank top, short-sleeve shirt, long-sleeve shirt (such as OR Echo tee), full-zip fleece, and a heavy down jacket (Rab Neutrino, in my case).

I do not ever hike in a down jacket, even when it’s cold. Yes, I feel quite chilly when I start the hike, but by the end of it I’m warm, and then I put on the down jacket as soon as I stop.

i sometimes climb in my fleece, but mostly I take it off and climb in the long-sleeved tee. Again, it is cold when I start, but usually by the end of the pitch I’m warm.

I had two pairs of gloves. Really heavy insulated skiing gloves, and double-layer fleece gloves with leather palms. I can belay wearing either. I don’t wear both at once, it’s just so I have a choice. I DIDN’t have a hat. This is silly. While the hood of my down jacket is quite warm, a hat makes 10000% sense! But I forgot it, lol  

I also had extra help in the form of hand warmers. I have rechargeable hand warmers that I put into my climbing shoes at the start of the hike. Putting on warm shoes for climbing makes a huge difference to me! And while I’m climbing, the hand warmers are sitting in my approach shoes, warming up the socks that are tucked in. Putting on warm socks after climbing makes another little moment of happiness.

You might need more of those kinds of external helpers. There are electrical heated socks. I haven’t tried, bc I don’t need to, but you might. You can also put those single-use chemical toe warmers into your approach shoes, they are thin enough to keep inside the shoes while wearing them. You can put hand warmers into your chalk bag, and/or into the back of your gloves (skiing gloves have a special pocket for it, but just sliding them into the backs of your regular gloves works, too.

A friend of mine has a portable propane heater. This can make a huge difference for someone who spends a lot of time not-climbing, like, if your partner is taking an hour on a climb… 

Also little things like: what are you sitting on? Sitting on the cold rock/ground can leach the heat out of you fast! Have a scrap of an old thermarest, or something else insulated.

And bring hot beverages in thermoses! Even if you don’t like coffee/tea, or in addition to a thermos of tea, I put hot water into my hydro flask, it keeps the liquids warm surprisingly long, and makes my day so much better.

Another friend of mine brings a jetboil to the crag.. 

I actually do have Raynaud's! The primary form. Mine's worsened by humidity, so damp and a little cold is worse than even colder but dry. That makes sense about bouldering! I'm thinking single-pitch sport. Thanks for the heavy down jacket recommendation! I definitely need a puffy, either a light one for while climbing or a heavy one for in between climbs. I should probably pick up another rechargeable hand warmer. When it's really cold, they seem to run out of a charge faster. Thanks for the tips!!!

Alaina G wrote:

I actually do have Raynaud's! The primary form. Mine's worsened by humidity, so damp and a little cold is worse than even colder but dry. That makes sense about bouldering! I'm thinking single-pitch sport. Thanks for the heavy down jacket recommendation! I definitely need a puffy, either a light one for while climbing or a heavy one for in between climbs. I should probably pick up another rechargeable hand warmer. When it's really cold, they seem to run out of a charge faster. Thanks for the tips!!!

Belay jacket is longer, and will go over your hips. Way back before climbing, when I commuted via bus? I had an ancient long (mid calf) wool coat. Wore that thing until it died, and it spent it's last years behind the seat for "emergencies". It was basically like walking around in a sleeping bag. In fact, I probably did sleep in it, once or twice, lol! 

Anything with batteries of any sort dies faster in the cold, so bring two hand warmers. Rechargable is great, make sure a cord for that lives in your car.

Most of what I listed in this thread is from my ice/alpine friends, or my bouldering buddy. The other thing my badass boulder friend did, was to put his climbing shoes on the car dash, to get toasty on the drive. Then he'd stuff them in his jacket for the short walk to our boulder field. For him, at his level, cold temps were sending temps, so he had his strategies dialed.

Best of luck! H.

Thanks H! I've done the shoes on the heated vents before climbing in the gym even, haha. It seemed to help them mold better to my feet. Do you have Raynaud's? I ask because I've also slept in a coat before. Something maybe only those of us with Raynaud's relate to? It seems so hard to warm back up once I catch a chill. Better to prevent it. Good idea to wear the longer down jacket belaying!

Alaina G wrote:

Thanks H! I've done the shoes on the heated vents before climbing in the gym even, haha. It seemed to help them mold better to my feet. Do you have Raynaud's? I ask because I've also slept in a coat before. Something maybe only those of us with Raynaud's relate to? It seems so hard to warm back up once I catch a chill. Better to prevent it. Good idea to wear the longer down jacket belaying!

No, no issues with cold. That coat was always there, though, and I'd bet money it got added on when I underestimated how cold a camping trip would be, stuff like that. I've had snow on tents, more than once, in what's supposed to be summer here.

Really, you're asking for fixes similar to what others have done, but most of us are operating in a different range of temps for what's cold to us. It still applies, the strategies I mean.

Best, H.

Polartec Power Stretch - I personally feel that this fabric was made for me, it is fantastic. Many different brands make tights and tops (and gloves, balaclavas, etc.) out of this material, and it is worth whatever you pay. It is fleecy inside and smooth outside so you can layer. Depending on temp, I wear my powerstretch tights on their own, or put thin wool baselayers underneath. The powerstretch tops I have I use as a mid-layer, meaning I typically wear a tight baselayer underneath. 

I also have a pair of wool shorts that fit like bike shorts (Ibex Wool Runner shorts, if they still make them)  - these little things are clutch to keep my rear a bit warmer with whatever else I wear. 

Eunny Jang wrote:

following with interest, I’m in RR right now and even when it’s 65 in the city it’s COLD up in the canyons and in the shade/wind. I’ve had multiple days now where I was shaking and brain-numb from long belays on multipitch climbs and couldn’t climb fast enough to warm up.

Thighs that seem promising to help -

- merino everything, including a merino crop top for a bra. Synthetics next to the skin feel cold with the slightest moisture.

- leg warmers (really just cut off wool boot socks) that I pull down over my shoes at belays and even wear while climbing; you really just need a little bit of your forefoot for edging/smearing/jamming

- a good under-helmet wool hat that covers your ears; cycling beanies are good for this

- hand warmers in my shirt

- layers - mid to heavyweight wool base layer, a thickish fleece, an active insulated jacket like an Atom, a thin puffy for belays. I add a super thin wind shirt (MH Kor preshell is sort of magical) over the fleece and/or puffy depending.

Still kinda struggling though and am interested jn other peoples’ recs.

Thanks for the tips! What ended up working for me is layering two down puffys over a warm base layer. It sounds weird but one's a jacket and one's a vest, so it doesn't constrict movement to wear both. They're also lightweight despite the jacket being 800 fill power and the vest being 600fp. My mom found an amazing sale at Land's End, about $20 each because it was an additional 75% off the sale price. I know some brands are probably better but I love that these were cheap because I don't have to worry about roughing them up. Then I wear my snowboarding hat and put a heat pack in each pocket and glove which I switch to my shoes when I alternate belaying and climbing. I just always have a heat pack in each pocket when I go up the wall incase my fingers start to get numb on the rock. Having an extra layer pants helped a lot too. And thin socks so I can just keep them on in the climbing shoes. Before I was trying really warm socks and taking them off to climb, but that was worse.

I will swear by the Airblaster Ninja Suit as a base layer, as someone else who gets really cold really fast. It’s eally light but super warm, wicking, and stretchy enough to climb in no problem. Also it’s a onesie so (1) it doesn’t ride up/down or bunch up in other layers and (2) style points. I’m now climbing in New England year-round, and definitely wouldn’t be out in the 20°s/ 30°s without it.

⭐️ Ninja suit > thermal tank top to keep your core extra toasty > long sleeve shirt & fleece leggings >  light (R1-ish) pullover > puffy & fleece-lined pants. Buff neck warmer, turtle fur headband, double socks ⭐

Non-clothing-related, but the Mr.Heater Portable Buddy is a lifesaver. It’s just a lightweight heater that uses 1lb propane cylinders (and they have refillable ones now!) 

Good luck to ya, and I love reading everyone else’s thoughts!

I have to admit if I am climbing in the 30’s and 40’s, I am out in the dessert and sun. I also don’t have Raynaud’s, but I run very cold.  This set up works well for me. For actually climbing, I have climbing pants, long sleeve shirt, and a medium weight jacket that has windbreaker function. They tend to be tougher material than down which I need because I climb trad a lot where I am rubbing my body on the rock and down isn’t tough enough for it. I also second leg warmers so that pretty much all of my feet and ankle except the sole is covered. Nice hat is of course a must. When I am belaying, I wear a heavy duty down jack with hood over the helmet with fleece pants over the climbing pants. I may have hand warmers around which helps. And also warm fluids. 

Swiped from the great online deals thread: Spread the word if there is a better spot for this.

Women's, $107, 800 fill down jacket with 40% off coupon code, in purple, red & green.

https://www.eddiebauer.com/p/38925402/women's-microtherm(r)-2.0-down-jacket