I wouldn't give up on cotton to quickly. Thin cotton and majority cotton blend banana hammocks are just not large or thick enough to seriously compromise cold weather performance.

back in the 70 the Navy saw flight crews showing up with burns from nylon and polyester underwear that melted into their skin. Their recommendation was to shift to majority natural fiber shorts. Silk works pretty well and it absorbs less moisture than cotton but most fliers went with cotton or cotton/poly blend shorts.

The reason is they are easily available, cheap, don't melt and while they do absorb some amount of moisture the thin cotton briefs, not to be confused with the thick white kids briefs, are so thin and small that the moisture held just isn't significant. They are also comfortable, don't chafe and don't get funky and permanently absorb the smell like many of the man made fibers do.

Quite a few mountaineers campers and soldiers have stuck with thin stretch cotton and cotton/poly blends even as are something of a compromise.

Hi all. I'm giving this thread a bump.

Anybody have hands-on experience with the Cordura® brand Baselayer clothing? Breathability, comfort, durability? I just came across it at a store that has lots of mil-type gear (I've been buying great stuff there for years even though I haven't taken the Queen's Shilling myself).

I mostly live in synthetic baselayers (being aware and careful of course; melting synthetic is a worst nightmare).

But this spring we're in a massive, freaky drought. I could find myself jumping on a wind-fed grassfire at any time, armed with a long-handled shovel and the clothes on my back. 'Cause a small grassfire can get really big, really fast, right now.

So my gear needs a little tweaking. Merino is okay, but too expensive and high-maintenance.

Ideas?

Can you get your hands on any Nomex? That's what we wear on fire lines down south of you...

I tend to go to http://www.massif.com/massif-gear/underwear.html for this app.

It's not cheap but it does the job, holds up well and doesn't require a lot of care. Wash cold and dry like any polyester. I wash cold and let it air dry cause it dries easily.

Doug:

Take a look online for Safety Supply Canada.
They have Nomex overalls for $170.00.
Not sure if this outside your budget range or not...

Thanks for the comments. It's only the base layer I'm worried about. Other than that, my cotton coveralls and heavy boots are adequate for this job.

I'll stop into a few safety supply shops and see what they have for Nomex T-shirts.