What should you wear under your ski jacket ?

For the best skiing experience, it’s recommended to wear three layers of technical clothing. Each layer has its own specificity and role to play. With the third and last layer being the ski jacket, what other clothing should you wear underneath ?


Suitable underwear for skiing

As the first layer of clothing to be worn under your jacket, the role of underwear is to keep you warm and dry. In fact, this is your first barrier against the cold and as such must feature two main qualities. On the one hand, your underwear must be able to retain your body heat effectively. On the other hand, it must be breathable in order to evacuate perspiration during sport. You will often find two main groups of underwear on the market. There is underwear made from Merino wool and underwear made from synthetic materials. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of each group.


Merino wool technical underwear: advantages and disadvantages

Merino wool is renowned for its quality and is very popular with skiers. We will now explain its many other advantages, as well as some of its disadvantages.In terms of advantages, Merino wool is known to be lighter than conventional wool. It does not scratch. Also, it has the ability to retain heat without making you sweat. This quality makes it a material that you can wear no matter what the temperature. So, in very cold weather, a Merino wool undergarment will keep you warm. If the weather is fine, it will protect you. In this way, it is much more practical than synthetic underwear.Two other qualities make the use of Merino wool underwear very advantageous. These are odour and weight. As far as odour is concerned, it’s impressive as it does not smell. Regarding its weight, it has better breathability and is very light.Merino wool technical underwear does not only have its advantages. There are a few disadvantages. These mainly concern price and durability. Merino wool is very expensive and therefore underwear made using Merino wool is a luxury product. As far as durability is concerned, it wears out faster than its synthetic counterpart. This is due to the fact that Merino wool is finer than synthetic fibres.


Synthetic technical underwear: advantages and disadvantages

Underwear made using synthetic fibres has both advantages and disadvantages. First of all, it is important to know that there are several synthetic materials that can be used. Polyester, polyamide, elastane and polypropylene are some of them.Synthetic fibres offer a multitude of possibilities. They can be blended to produce products with better properties. Polyamide and polyester are known to be good at keeping warm and strong, while elastane has good elasticity. Therefore, underwear made from a mixture of polyester and elastane can be tight, stretchy, strong and warm.Another advantage of synthetic fibres is their excellent drying speed. Underwear made using synthetic fibres dries faster than underwear made with Merino wool.Just like Merino wool, underwear made of synthetic fibres also has some disadvantages. For example, this material is not as fine as Merino wool and therefore makes you sweat a lot if it’s not cold enough. This type of underwear has the disadvantage that it doesn’t fit your body as well. In contrast to Merino wool underwear, which does not smell, synthetic fibre underwear can smell a lot.It is important to note that you can now find underwear made from both materials. Underwear made using a mixture of wool and synthetic materials offers the skier the advantages of both materials.


The characteristics of second layer clothing

Also known as the mid-layer, the second layer of clothing to be worn under your jacket must feature good insulating potential. Its role is to keep the heat around your body and its thickness depends on the type of skier you are. Depending on the intensity of your sport and your resistance to the cold, you should choose a thicker or thinner garment. Also, the temperature outside influences the thickness of your second layer. The cooler it is outside, the thicker the second layer should be. Fleece garments are commonly used as a second layer, as they are both economical and effective.It’s therefore advisable to wear two layers of clothing under your ski jacket. The choice of clothing should be made carefully, as the enjoyment of your activity depends on it.Also discover our guide on how to choose a ski jacket.

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