Base Layer Facts
What are base layers for?
Next-to-skin apparel
A base layer is the clothing next to your skin and acts as a performance layer throughout the day. Base layers give a layer of warmth and comfort by wicking sweat away from your skin and with some materials channel air for temperature control.
Versatile and comfortable, base layers come in many styles and materials. Corbeaux's base layers provide a soft feel to our uniquely designed styles. Quick-drying, fast-wicking, temperature-regulating base layer fabrics, OUR BASE LAYERS AND MID LAYERS are athlete tested and built rugged for any season or outdoor condition.
Benifits of wearing base layers
Moisture-Wicking
We can’t always reduce sweating. However, we can assist our body’s natural cooling mechanism to transport the moisture away from our skin so that it evaporates more readily. Certain fabrics help facilitate this more effectively than others.
Fit
This depends on the activity. If you are engaging in an active pursuit, you will want to have a fabric that comes into closer contact with the skin. This will allow the fabric to perform its role in moving moisture away from the skin. If you’re spending the time pursuing a more leisurely activity, choosing a looser fitting option is ideal.
Fabric Weight
Fabrics designed for warmer weather are created using a looser weave pattern and tend to be much lighter than those used for creating more warmth.
Color
Choosing lighter colors can also affect how warm or cool you stay while outdoors. Wearing colors that reflect light versus those that absorb the sun can be instrumental in keeping your cool.
Additional Features
Some of the features that are often added to warm weather apparel include pit zips, mesh panels, and vents.
DO BASE LAYERS KEEP YOU WARM?
THE BEST BASE LAYERS FOR WARMTH
Base layers are designed to sit next to the skin and wick moisture away from your body by absorbing moisture from the surface of your skin and allowing it to evaporate. By wicking sweat away from the body and drying quickly, a base layer keeps your body dry and therefore warm. Thicker base layers also work to trap an insulating layer of warm air around the skin.
Base layer + mid layer layering system
Two thin layers can be warmer yet lighter than one thick layer, because the air trapped between layers serves as thermal insulation.
The mid layer is needed in cold weather to provide additional insulation. The mid layer should be more loose-fitting than the inner layer, as this leaves insulating air between the layers.
However, if best possible moisture transfer is desired, too great a gap between any adjacent layers of clothing may reduce the moisture transfer by capillary action from one piece of clothing to another. On the other hand, very loose-fitting layers can allow more removal of moisture (and heat) via air circulation.
FEATURED Cold weather base layers
Denali Crew
Base layer shirt
We used our heaviest-weight base layer fabric EXPEDITIONweight to make the Denali Crew and it's our warmest long-sleeved base layer shirt yet. When the mercury drops and the chill is heavy, our Ribbed Fleece construction creates a protective warmth on your skin. If you tend to run cold or just want a thick, warm layer next-to-skin, then the Denali Crew is for you. As Always, this shirt was designed by athletes and made in the USA.
- Ribbed Fleece enhances wicking efficiency and breathability
- Brushed interior, wicking exterior
- Anti-pilling face fabric
- 2-way stretch provides unrestricted movement
Denali 3/4 Pant
Base layer pant
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We built the Denali Pant from our heavy EXPEDITIONweight fabric to make our warmest 3/4-length base layer pant. When the mercury drops and the chill is heavy, a Ribbed Fleece construction creates a protective warmth on your skin. If you run cold or want a thick, warm layer next-to-skin, the Denali Pant is for you.
EXPEDITIONweight base layer fabric
When the mercury drops and the chill is heavy, our Ribbed Fleece construction creates a protective warmth on your skin. This enhances both wicking efficiency and breathability by generating channels of contact points on your skin to absorb moisture and pull it to the surface of the fabric; speeding up evaporation & the quick-drying process. With an impressive warmth-to-weight ratio you can perfect your layering system by wearing our SILKweight products underneath.
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