Of course you want underwear, something nice, warm and moisture-wicking close to the body. What works here, like so much else, depends on everything possible, for example how prone to sweat you are, how frozen you are, how fast/slow/wide/narrow/high/low you paddle, etc...
We've used quite a few mixed unders over the years; Craft, Houdini, Lundhags, Smartwool, Ullmax, IceBreaker, Haglöfs, Ruskovilla, Aclima, Woolpower and probably a couple more. A little mixed plastic (synthetic) and wool and various mixtures.
In recent years, we have drifted more and more towards wool for several reasons:
- it usually feels nicer against the body
- feels as if the material adapts better to prevailing temperatures
- always nicer with natural materials than plastic ditto
- does not feel sticky on the skin
- doesn't smell crazy after a short use
For our part, undergarments are used, in addition to paddling, also for forest adventures, walks, cycling, mtb, hiking, a little forest skiing, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing (slow jogging) and other activities when we need something underneath.
We basically use the following variants at the moment:
Smartwool microweight, very thin and comfortable. i use shorts, long shorts, long sleeve shirt and short sleeve t-shirt from them. Pia about the same set. Compared to e.g. Woolpower, they are not as durable, but they still last a decent amount of time. If they get wet, you have to be extra careful as they are extra sensitive. Smartwool also has other thicknesses where we used lightweight, which is also very comfortable.
Woolpower (wool terry). Has a mixture of wool and "plastic". They are very nice and extremely durable. Here we run long underwear, t-shirt, long-sleeved shirt, thick 400/600g "jacket", buff, waistcoat and socks. Can be washed at 60 degrees, which is a bit unusual. I wish they came with briefs. As I said, very durable and very comfortable. The terry knitting makes them very airy and comfortable directly against the skin. In addition, everything is knitted and sewn in Östersund, which makes the whole thing even more pleasant. Woolpower is now also available in a plain knit version (LITE) which is very comfortable and durable. A little worse at keeping in shape though.
We also have wool racks from Ruskovilla, which we've had right for so long. Thick wool in them, feels a little rougher to wear directly against the skin, but very warm and they seem very durable.
I bought a Aclima hoodie a couple of years ago, a very nice garment with a multifunctional hood. A little coarser (Warmwool) means that I like to take a thin wool shirt closest to the body. We have also used quite a few garments (t-shirts, long underpants and short underpants) in Aclima's Lightwool series and think they are very comfortable. In addition, we have used Aclima's Woolnet quite a bit, really nice and very good at moisture transport, although more sensitive than normal garments. Nice to look like a cassler 🙂
Icebreaker also makes very nice woolen underwear. They have several different thicknesses, where their thinnest is very comfortable. Icebreaker has slightly more designed clothes with fun prints, etc.
These are the ones we have the most experience with. The summer semester and during e.g. the dry suit is the thin Woolpower Lite, Smartwool Microweight & Aclima Woolnet great. If there is too much sitting still during cooler seasons, they become a bit cool, so you have to supplement with something more.
However, a Smartwool microweight, Icebreaker thinnest and Aclimas Lightwool t-shirt or equivalent can always be useful. Works under most conditions for everyday life, parties, outdoor life and more.
But plastic undergarments then? Well, they certainly have their place, we have some left, but as we wear them out, I don't think we will get new ones, there will be more and more wool in the future. But if you think plastic is nicer or if you like to wash often or simply like when synthetic undergarments smell bad, they are probably still the model...
Buy undergarments and underwear at out north, The outdoor expert.