I need a base layer that will wick moisture away quickly during high activity levels, not melt on to my skin if I get to close to the campfire, and not stink to terribly bad if worn for long periods of time. Any suggestions?

Currently on my list is silk and a fire retardant Viscose/Wool Blend base layer from a company called Wickers. However I know nothing and have not owned either of these.

I like wickers stuff.

Silk. Warm, strong, light, wicks, doesn't melt, doesn't burn very well. Combine it with wool, and you are set.

Merino wool is sort of the gold standard, but it's expensive. Most people find it comfortable, although I have heard to some find even Merino wool to be uncomfortable. Wool is not only warm when wet and more odor resistant than synthetics, bit also more durable.

On the down side, wool, Merino wool in particular is more expensive and heavier, particularly when wet.

Thank you one and all for your post so far. So far all I need is someone to post who has worn this for several days without washing to know if it stinks, I will be in close proximity to other people so I don't want to be too offensive.

I agree on the wool for certain, outside the summer season, and off the trail that is almost all I wear. I am bushwacking a lot doing search and rescue training so ANYTHING thin and expensive will be ripped to shreds, I wear the thickest clothes so I always get sent to search the thorn patches. I have been hunting the thrift stores, very successfully :D, around here for old wool shirts and thick milsurp wool cargo pants from European countrys, those Europeans know what they're doing. People toss them because they wear them without a baselayer which is not what they were intended for. My layers right now are wool socks, Wool cargo pants, a wool button up shirt over a smartwool sweater and a wool baclava, leather boots and leather gloves over wool liner. Lot of wool but there is also a lot of rain here, if the rain gets to bad I'll throw on my milsurp poncho over this.
The US poly/nylon/cotton BDU/ACU's I just don't trust.

We'll call you the sheepman from now on. Welcome to the forum.

Laugh all you want I don't see sheep getting cold and wet. Honestly I don't know what else to wear that I can trust, wool is all know that will keep me warm, not give me cancer in 20 years and won't melt onto me.

Thanks, this is a great forum full of people with lots of good info.

Wool is the real deal. You're right, wool uniforms from European armies are good stuff.

Merino wool long underwear is good stuff and doesn't hold the scent the way most synthetics will.

HOWEVER, if you were looking for an odor resistant synthetic, Patagonia's Capilene is the best I've seen, based on personal experience. My dad went for a hike in Jan. 2004. Unfortunately, during the process of caching food, he slipped on some ice, struck his head, and died. His gear cache wasn't found until July 2007, about 3.5 years later. When I opened his bearproof food cannister, inside was some food that smelled so gadawful you could barely stand it, wrapped in clothes, including some Patagonia capilene long johns. Now, usually with a stench like that, any synthetic clothing is a total loss. I washed the capilene long johns, normal cycle, nothing special, air dried them a day or two, and voila they were as good as new, stench gone. My wife wore them last Saturday when we went on our church's annual retreat. I didn't tell her what they were, I just handed them to her. If my picky, persnickety wife wore 'em, then they didn't smell!!!

They however are not to my knowledge melt resistant. I think you'll have to rely on silk and wool for that. Wool would definitely outlast silk.

Patagonia's Capilene rocks, but it also melts... from experience it melts (and melts TO you). It is my favorite cold weather base layer, it works as advertised, is light weight, drys really fast, and as long as you aren't wearing it under a hardshell, it is stink resistant.




As far as the drifire stuff, it is significantly more durable than silk and lighter then wool making it a better choice for winter. I don't know how stink resistant it is, as I have only ever worn it with my wildland PPE which normal sticks after a day on a fire.

I like the Merino Wool stuff, especially Smartwool stuff. It may be the best natural material for being stink resistant, but it is far for good. One run in my Smartwool gloves and beanie hat and it needs to be rinsed at a minimum. They are still more comfortable and usable in a wider range of low temperatures then most of my synthetic stuff.