Cross country ski clothing

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In article ,
William Claspy wrote:
On 11/15/04 2:31 PM, in article , "Booker C.
Bense" bbense+rec.skiing.backcountry.Nov.15.04@telemark. slac.stanford.edu
wrote:


_ Schoeller works much better than it looks in the store. It's
probably expensive overkill just for an afternoon's XC ski but
if you're out all day in all weather, it's well worth the $$$
IMHO. The REI pant is probably the best deal out there, most
of the other makes go for double that price.

I got the REI Schoeller (Mistral) pants that were on sale a few weeks back.
Obviously I haven't worn them skiing yet (it is still oddly warm here in
Cleveland, not even a passing thought of snow yet) but they seem different
than I was led to believe reading about them here and elsewhere. In
particular, I'd understood that they are fairly warm on their own, but in
reality they seem to have very little insulating quality. I can't imagine
wearing them without a layer of capilene underneath them in anything below
45 degrees or so. Am I missing something, or is that correct?


_ I don't have the REI ones, but the older BD Alpine pants. If
I'm riding the lifts then I do need one layer of insulation
underneath. However if I'm "earning my turns", I find that
just the pants are good to about 20 degrees. (i.e. as cold as
5:30 am ever gets in most of the Sierra ). Most people aren't
as furnace like as me though, so insulation may be required.
In general if you aren't moving and generating heat these pants
won't be "warm". They work best for people that are active
enough to swamp out goretex.

_ There are also several difference variations on the same
material, some with a more "fleeced" lining than others.
Some early versions of the Schoeller garments came with
coolmax liners as well. ( Kind of like 2ply goretex jackets).
Newer versions seem to have a less fleeced interior than
the older stuff. IMHO, this is good as it makes them more
usable in the summer months.

_ You can't judge the merit of this stuff in the store or
wearing it around the house. It does take some experimentation
to find exactly how much insulation you'll need underneath.
However, once you get it dialed in, you'll be impressed by
the range of the stuff. You can go from 25 deg F to 50 deg F
without "layering". Go for a run on a cold rainy day to
really understand what it can and cannot do. It doesn't
work for everybody, but if you've been unsatisfied with
goretex, it's well worth looking at.

_ Booker C. Bense

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"William Claspy" wrote in message
...
....

I got the REI Schoeller (Mistral) pants that were on sale a few weeks
back.
Obviously I haven't worn them skiing yet (it is still oddly warm here in
Cleveland, not even a passing thought of snow yet) but they seem different
than I was led to believe reading about them here and elsewhere. In
particular, I'd understood that they are fairly warm on their own, but in
reality they seem to have very little insulating quality. I can't imagine
wearing them without a layer of capilene underneath them in anything below
45 degrees or so. Am I missing something, or is that correct?

Schoeller make a lot of different fabrics. The Mistral pants are made of
the fairly lightweight "Dynamic". I would say that it's their "Dryskin"
fabric (which is thicker) that is most frequently thought of when the term
"Schoeller" is used. I bought the Mistral pants thinking they were made of
Dryskin (since the Mistral jacket is or was at the time) and returned them.
Dynamic is a great fabric for warmer weather, but not IMHO for winter
activities. Other popular Scholler fabrics are Climawool (fka Skifans) and
WB-400.

On 11/19/04 2:35 PM, in article
, "Mappicus"
wrote:


"William Claspy" wrote in message
...
...


I got the REI Schoeller (Mistral) pants that were on sale a few weeks
back.
Obviously I haven't worn them skiing yet (it is still oddly warm here in
Cleveland, not even a passing thought of snow yet) but they seem different
than I was led to believe reading about them here and elsewhere. In
particular, I'd understood that they are fairly warm on their own, but in
reality they seem to have very little insulating quality. I can't imagine
wearing them without a layer of capilene underneath them in anything below
45 degrees or so. Am I missing something, or is that correct?

Schoeller make a lot of different fabrics. The Mistral pants are made of
the fairly lightweight "Dynamic". I would say that it's their "Dryskin"
fabric (which is thicker) that is most frequently thought of when the term
"Schoeller" is used. I bought the Mistral pants thinking they were made of
Dryskin (since the Mistral jacket is or was at the time) and returned them.
Dynamic is a great fabric for warmer weather, but not IMHO for winter
activities. Other popular Scholler fabrics are Climawool (fka Skifans) and
WB-400.

Ah, that's what I was thinking.

I'm actually thinking the pants will work out well- Capilene underneath for
skiing and on their own for 45-65 degrees.

Thanks to both you and Booker for replies.

Bill