Superposition is not a complicated thing. This is the process of adding and eliminating layers of clothing to keep your body comfortable to change weather conditions and temperature conditions.
Billions of dollars have been spent trying to optimize this process (and sell you things), but it’s really very simple: put clothes when you are cold, remove the clothes when you are hot. What clothes? It is friction, as they say. But don’t worry. We will guide you through what every layer is, how to superimpose and when you want. Once you are done here, consult our guides to the best puffy jackets, the best merino wool and the best rain jackets to find out more.
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Superposition bases
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The key to the superposition is what the diapers are for and when adding and deleting them. The high level preview looks like this:
- Basic layer: The layer that touches your skin. These provide a certain warmth, but it is just as important as they evacuate the perspiration of your skin. Being wet means being cold.
- Intermediate layer: The layer that – waits for it – in the middle. This is the layer where you really start to isolate or trap body heat. This is the key to the whole system and can be more than a layer (for example, a light fleece and a puffy jacket).
- Outer layer: The upper layer is the waterproof and wind layer that ensures that nature does not steal all the precious warmth that you have kept in the intermediate layer. This is sometimes called “shell”.
Although you do not always wear it all, especially when you exercise while walking, running, and it will generally be worth carrying the three. If it is cold, you can start with the three and take them off as you warm up. When it’s hot, you can do the opposite, removing a shell when you stop on a windy ridge. Obviously, there are situations where you do not need to transport them all. Hiking on the Florida trail in July? Jump the intermediate layer, ya lunatic.
Basic layers
Let’s start with underwear. Whether boxers, memories, boxers or bras opt for materials that will help keep moisture away from your skin. I found that merino wool was ideal for underwear, but it is worth trying different fabrics to find what suits you best.
Then comes what we generally consider as basic layers: pants and a relatively tight but not too restrictive shirt in the double purpose of insulation in cold weather and hot perspiration in hot. Again, there is a wide range of fabrics. If you opt for merino wool here, you will benefit from the natural capacity of the wool to smooth the variation of the temperature through your skin, keeping you warmer / cool (I call this temperature modulation).
There are also other options for the fabric here, which includes Nuyarn. It has a large part of the advantage of merino (it is generally more than half of the merino) but adds nylon to provide additional strength and sustainability, as well as to accelerate drying times. The latter can be important in very humid climates. According to my experience, synthetic basic layers do not work as well in the insulation or elimination of humidity, although they often dry more quickly, last longer and are often cheaper.
