Creature Comforts

[eleveneightnate]

on the grid fleece topic, i’d recommend folks check out the blooming cottage industry around handmade Polartech Alpha layering pieces. most of it is marketed towards ultralight backpackers/thru hikers, but I love my Senchi for splitting.

Those look coooozy. There's an "appointment only" company in Leadville that makes some similar pieces called Melanzana.

[G.D.]

Fun discussion. Now that I'm thinking of it, don't really have too many that I can think of right now. Like Spenser said earlier, mainly having my balaclava with me is my main one. The Burton Ember fleece to be specific. Love the fit, feel, and warmth it gives. Best thing is the ability to slide the lower part up and down easily depending on the temp and/or preference.

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[eleveneightnate]

Fun discussion. Now that I'm thinking of it, don't really have too many that I can think of right now. Like Spenser said earlier, mainly having my balaclava with me is my main one. The Burton Ember fleece to be specific. Love the fit, feel, and warmth it gives. Best thing is the ability to slide the lower part up and down easily depending on the temp and/or preference.

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That thing looks nice! Side note, I really regret not getting that colorway in the Cyclic. It's impossible to find now.

[kimchi]

on the grid fleece topic, i’d recommend folks check out the blooming cottage industry around handmade Polartech Alpha layering pieces. most of it is marketed towards ultralight backpackers/thru hikers, but I love my Senchi for splitting.

Those look coooozy. There's an "appointment only" company in Leadville that makes some similar pieces called Melanzana.

Melanzana has a fanatical following in the through hiking community. Honestly my suspicion is they’re probably overmarketed and overhyped, but maybe they’re really that damn good.

I have a Mountain Hardware Monkey Man grid fleece similar to the Senchis… furry high loft fleece on a grid. They’re indeed cozy as hell but don’t really perform in the conditions I usually deal with. Comfy and light but packs really bulky and runs little warm for me in most Sierra temps. If I was in the Continental interior I’d probably use it more. As is I usually just wear it around the house for warmth on colder days. And my wife loves cuddling me in that thing because its very soft lol.

The Senchi stuff looks nice though and not too pricy. I’d grab a set of I wasn’t more than set on kit.

[kimchi]

Weird one but.. Stance X Injiji X Scotty Wittlake socks. Yeah, they’re weird toe socks. I could never get my feet to stop being clammy and would end up being freezing cold in a variety of conditions. Those thin, stick-on toe warmers were a band aid fix for awhile. Different boots, plenty of different socks, anti-sweat lotion, etc. Found a random pair at my local shop in 2014, no one was buying them. Owner gave me a pair for free, changed my life! I think I have 6-7 pairs in rotation now and will seek them out once a season or so for back ups.

Might be something to do this. This post inspired me to bust out my dormant Injinjis for an hour at the skate park. My feet cramped less and maybe all in my head, but I had a really good session... I was just feeling it today. Gonna keep them in rotation for a bit and see how I feel.

I've never tried them on snow, might give it a shot. I've talked at length about my boot fit / foot pain issues. Most of those are resolved with Adidas but my feet still cramp up occasionally. Maybe "weird toe socks" get me a little bit closer to 100% painfree.

[Vanni]

I didn't find Stance X Injiji socks, online. Do you have a link?

[michaelangelo]

I don’t think they’ve made them for quite awhile. I stocked up a few years back on the wittlake ones. Injinji makes their own snow socks now if I remember correctly.

[coleslawed]

I loved my Wittlake socks, too.

I have since migrated to Stance's light merino socks, but I'd love to find a fresh pair of those.

[coleslawed]

I didn't find Stance X Injiji socks, online. Do you have a link?

https://www.evo.com/outlet/socks/stance-wittlake-snow

[kimchi]

This UK brand called TOETOE appears to make some snow-specific toe socks: https://toetoesocks.com/ski-black-blue.html

Injinji hasn't made snow socks in a few years... the Wittlake ones are from 2013-2014, the last snow-specific ones I'm able to find are from ~2016. I might try Injinji lightweight liner socks underneath snow socks. Double layered socks with a thin liner is a common tactic in hiking. Would also let me keep using my extensive roundtoe sock quiver... I got too many goddamn socks.

Amazon has a bunch of cheap Chinese knockoffs, but I wouldn't gamble on that garbage. Too many bad experiences and basically why I stopped using Amazon unless I know exactly what I want or I don't care at all about product longevity.