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Reviews > Clothing > Underwear > Duofold Varitherm Midweight > Jim Hatch > Field ReportDuofold Varitherm Midweight
Base Layer
Personal Information
PRODUCT INFORMATION Manufacturer: Duofold
Long Sleeve Crew (style 470A):
Men's Ankle Length Bottom (style 470B):
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION The Duofold Varitherm Midweight Base Layer is designed for comfort in cold weather when undergoing high activity levels (e.g. hiking, skiing, ice climbing, etc.). According to Duofold, the Varitherm line "represent the ultimate standard for products that combine thermal protection and moisture management". Unlike some thermal layers, these combine moisture management with thermal protection. Varitherm fabrics are supposed to wick moisture away from the skin for "quick evaporation, keeping you warm, dry, and comfortable". According to the hang tag that was attached to the bottoms (the top had no hang tag), Varitherm is a hollow core polyester fabric that moves water vapor while also trapping air to create the wicking thermal barrier. Further details can be found in my Initial Report. Overall Impression As I noted in my Initial Report, I found the fit snugly comfortable. The arms and legs do not bag or ride up. Nor does the bottom of the top (revealing the dreaded "plumber's crack"). I wear these over a pair of micro-fiber snug fit boxer short type underwear tucking the Duofold tops into the bottoms. This has kept everything from moving around. I expect it's possible to "go commando" in these but then again, that might be an oxymoron when talking about a base layer that is at its fundamental, long underwear. I've worn these both backpacking & camping and in daily comings & goings since December. I've found them comfortable and warm regardless of the activity and the wicking feature really does keep me dry. While I may sweat, the Varitherms wick that moisture away quickly and leave me comfortable -- not experiencing that cold feeling I often get when I stop exercising in the cold and my sweating stops. Washing the Varitherms regularly has not resulted in any loose threads, pilling, stretched fabric, or color bleeding (or fading either for that matter). I am more than satisfied with their performance and will continue to wear them with varying additional layers through the rest of the season (typically through the month of May). TESTING CONDITIONS The backpacking component of my testing occurred on various camping trips in the western Connecticut foothills (elevations to 2500 ft/762 m) and the southern Massachusetts Berkshires at elevations to 3000 ft/914 m. Temperatures have ranged from a low of 8 F/-13 C to highs of 38 F/3 C. (Use in non-backpacking endeavors has occurred in temps as high as 50 F/10 C.) Over the course of 11 camping days, 4 days experienced either snow or freezing rain (or both) with 3 of the nights seeing snow. Activities during those trips consisted mostly of backpacking over changing terrain (vigorous hiking) with normal camp setup chores but also included some "playtime" including broom hockey on a snowfield and snow "tubing" using the poly framesheet from my pack. I found that I ended up with two clothing "styles" during this test. For sub-freezing weather I would start with the Varitherm base layer over which I would wear woolen Swedish Army pants (surplus gear) and a CoolMax long-sleeved tee. Over the t-shirt I'd start with a fleece vest or sweatshirt all under a Marmot down sweater. For the really rainy days I switched out the down sweater and wore a Scott e-Vest with its fleece lining and waterproof outer jacket. This combination worked in keeping me comfortable all the way to the lowest temps I experienced. Since I wasn't even chilly at those temps, I would not hesitate to use this for all of the normal temperature ranges I would expect over the course of a New England winter. I had started testing wearing a woolen shirt over the Varitherms but found that made me overheat too quickly while hiking so I switched to the CoolMax shirt instead and was much more comfortable. The second layering "style" I found myself favoring was one that eliminated the CoolMax shirt and outer jacket layer for any temperatures above freezing. As long as I remained active this layering allowed me to stay comfortably warm without overheating but did not leave me feeling chilly either. In effect the Varitherm top became both the base & mid-layer at temps above freezing. This also held true for non-backpacking activities like snow shoveling (snow blowing really), motorcycle riding, and general playing outside activities over the past couple of months. A note about the weather is warranted here -- the northeastern portion of New England experienced a pretty warm winter this year. Connecticut was about 7 degrees F (4 C) above normal on average in January. At the same time, we had nearly twice the snow - almost 30" (76 cm). As a result, normal sub-zero (-18 C) camping wasn't in the cards for me this year. February and now March are following this pattern (including some big snowstorms followed by equally big temperatures). This made layering much more important this year as any trip could see sub-freezing temps and 50 F (10 C) on the same outing. The Varitherms were ideal in handling this weather. Basically, I looked for the following four characteristics to evaluate the Varitherm's suitability and performance as a middleweight base layer: Comfort Briefly, the Varitherms are very comfortable. They don't ride up, aren't too snug, but also aren't baggy and floppy. The fabric is smooth and soft. I often wore the top as my top or even outer layer and it looked as good as it felt. No one could tell I was wearing underwear tops when I skipped an overshirt. I was especially appreciative of the comfort at night--a time when I often find other long underwear (like silk long johns) bunching up causing discomfort as I sleep on lumpy clothes. The Varitherms did not bunch up even if I rolled & tossed around at night. The Varitherms resulted in more comfortable sleeping than I have encountered at times in the past. Performance As I noted above, the Varitherms performed well in a variety of conditions. At no time was I chilled by drying perspiration or left too cold when I wasn't aggressively exercising either. It was common for me to wear the Varitherms during the day and still find them dry and comfortable at night so I would sleep in them as well. This sometimes left me wearing the Varitherms non-stop for three days running but I was never uncomfortable (and no one I was with complained of any particular stinkiness). These work so well that I wear them almost every time I'm doing something outside regardless of whether I'm backpacking or not. Washing I never paid particular attention to washing these. I would drop them in with the other laundry and experienced no issues. The Varitherms were color-fast with no bleeding of the dye even on the initial washing. Often these fabrics will tend to pill after several washings and now that mine have had about two dozen washings (front loading washer) and a mix of electric dryer and hanging in the sun, the fabric is nearly the same as when I first pulled them out of the package. I really appreciate not having the fabric pill since I often wear the top as an outer (and only) shirt. Washing also appears to take care of any residual odors from over wearing and sweating. There is no noticeable "off" smell to them now - just the fragrance left by the laundry soap. Durability This is another area that is often an issue for these types of lightweight "underlayers" - not so much due to abrasions, etc., but due to seams and threads pulling. No threads have wandered loose from the underlying fabric. Nor have I found any holes forming or the stretchiness loosening up. They are still snug and stretchy, seams tight, and without any visible defect. Even though I often wear the top as an outer layer, there are no fabric pulls or snags either. They really look pretty much like they did a couple of months and a lot of day's wear ago. In my Initial Report I listed several things I would be looking for while testing the Varitherms. Here's a recap of my observations: What I'll be watching for
Likes/Dislikes So Far I still like these. They've become a "must wear" component of my winter gear whether backpacking or simply going about my business in the outside world. They're comfortable and warm - the two big things for me when looking at thermal underwear. As I mentioned in my Initial Report the right hand dressing style still is somewhat irritating when I dwell on it (which to be honest is pretty much never). However, now that the Field Testing phase is over I'm going to try wearing the bottoms inside-out which should result in a left-hand friendly fly opening. I'll see if there are any comfort issues relative to seams, etc. in this mode. I'd like to thank BackpackGearTest and Duofold for the opportunity to test these base layer garments. Backpacking Background Read more reviews of Duofold gear Read more gear reviews by Jim Hatch Reviews > Clothing > Underwear > Duofold Varitherm Midweight > Jim Hatch > Field Report | |||
