Hi all,
I am trying to understand what the appropriate clothes are to wear under full gear. There are several synthetic fabrics out there and more brands. What do you usually wear for either winter and summer. Separate kind of fabrics or the same overall? It should also be something that should not smell too bad if worn in hot climate and at the same time dries quickly if washed.
The question is for both jersey and jackets, if also better packed very small.
Cheers!

dumped all my synthetic under ware and replaced it for the woolly one from Woolpover, keeps warm, no smelly sweaty any more.
OK may drying a bit slower but gives a better body feeling than all this high-tec synthetic crap.
Woolpower 1x T-shirt 200, 1x long-shirt 200, 1x Polo-shirt 400, 1x West 400 and socks in 2x 200 and 2x 400 will do.. additional 2x thin underpants, may add a pair of longjohns in 200.. that's all you need in onion style under a smock type waterproof, windproof jacket or leather

well not the cheapest option to go, compare it to cotton under ware... well this are bad, soggy, smelly, heavy

Compare the woolly stuff with synthetics, well they are not cheap either, and you gonna smell and sweat like a codfish in no time.

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The trouble is that he was talking in philosophy, but they were listening in gibberish.

A lot of this is personal preference, like the above post. The principle of layering is often advocated as a good method of regulating your temperature. So, basically just add layers in the winter.

In the summer, I just wear a cotton t shirt and will wear it for a couple of days. In winter I tend to use either a synthetic thermal top or tops (depending on how cold it is), or merino wool, or tops that combine synthetics with merino.

You can get tops in different weights and materials to suit different kinds of activity. Plenty of choice in outdoor shops/online. If you really feel the cold try looking for thermal tops that divers wear under their drysuits as they tend to offer more insulation than the lifa stuff for walkers/climbers. Merino wool is excellent but pricey, and it may be cheaper to buy internationally.

I tried everything, Goretex, Goresomething, this and that. From my childhood I always hated wool, till I came accross Merino. Layerd in Merino from 40°C to -35°C, no problem. Doesnt stink, doesnt scatch, cools superfast, keeps warm and cool...


For our RTW we will take Merino back to New Zealand, I guess its better to buy it there but why to buy it new if we already got it? I guess the guys at the border controll will tell us we are crazy... but who cares.

There are several brands, we took Icebreaker...

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Round the world by bike. www.RTWbyBIKE.com

Hei Emiraff,
You don't mention what sort of temperatures you expect. Without doubt wool will serve you better for riding. The technical fibres are for athletes who sweat and don't stop to get cold. They want to transport sweat away from their skin, if they have to stop then they soon get much colder.
I have worked with mountain rescue, some custommers might have survived had they used wool and improvised shelter before hypothermia - which sneaks up on you, some actually start to take layers off. You don't want to go down that road.
On a bike you have to factor in the wind-chill, you can find more info on Wikipedia or google it. Leather is good for sliding down the road, but it is cold when it's cold out, and hot when it's hot.
Hope this helps.
Peter, in Oslo

We are using totally Icebreaker www.icebreaker.com

Doesn't stink like cotton and is very nice to wear, you can layer up or down to suit.

I am a sweaty bugger and these work a treat for me.

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Cheers Andi & Ellen .... https://twomotokiwis.blogspot.com/ Two Moto Kiwis Alaska - Argentina - April 2012 -> Somewhere

Thanks all for the inputs.
However, I think I didn't express myself in a clear way. Some of you replied with what they use specifically, and that is what I am expecting and why you use a specific fabric/brand.
In regard to what I am expecting, I would like to understand better if there is a specific fabric that would smell less than others, keep the body temperature (so useful in warmer and cooler temp. but being aware that for extreme temp. something else may be necessary), pack small and light and dry quickly so I would need to carry only a couple of jerseys for example. I haven't cared much in the past since I always went for relatively short rides but now that I am starting to drive longer and ride for more than just a weekend clothes need to adjust to these conditions. An example is the Exofficio underwear. I read many good reviews about it that I ended up buying a pair and I will start trying them from this weekend. But what do I know about the Exofficio clothing?
Besides what is in direct contact with the skin I would also like to know what material has the same characteristics as above but for colder environments, especially that would pack light (when I wouldn't need to use it), for both body and legs. Again, I am relatively new to longer rides so in this case I don't know much besides the so called "fleece" and it's hard to trust more one or the other brand, especially when buying on line to save money.
Thanks to all. Any specific opinion is greatly appreciated, being aware that opinion is a personal! Just curious to hear from you.

This topic was beaten to death in many forums on the Internet. Google for "clothing layering principles".

From mammut.ch:

Five basic rules for an effective layering system

Several thin layers work better than one thick layer.
The most important layers are worn on the skin: the faster moisture is transported away from the skin, the better body temperature regulation works.
Never wear clothing that is too warm, this will make you sweat too much.
Wet clothing is uncomfortable and you will soon start to feel cold when the physical activity slows down. Materials such as cotton should therefore be avoided, because they absorb moisture which they are very slow to release and dry again.

And, my tip, id you jacket doesnt have an "waterproof" membrane that could be used as an windblocker, use this (again, from mamut.ch):

Soft shell revolution

Soft shells are revolutionising the classic "onion layering" or multiple layer principle by combining the second and third layers - creating a garment that offers both temperature regulation and weather protection. Soft shell garments are highly abrasion-resistant, elastic and wind-resistant, as well as offering enduring water and dirt repellent properties. They provide sufficient protection from wind and weather to cope with around 90% of all weather conditions.

It is up to you what do you prefer, wool or synthetics. I am a synthetic guy so my packing list looks like this:

2 pcs. Coolmax t-shirts
1 pc. coolmax shirt, long sleeves
1 pc. Odlo warm longsleeve
2 pcs. coolmax underpants
1 pc. softshell jacket
1 pc. windbreaker longjohns
1 pc trousers for walking/sightseeing
2 pcs. socks
1 pc. silk underglowes
waterproof oversuit.

This packs minimal, it will dry during night if you wash it and doesnt stink for seweral days if you dont wash it.
For me, this will be good for temperatures from 0 to 40 degrees C.

Emiraff:

Here's how I have done it over 150,000 km of riding:

I own three different complete riding outfits, each of which consists of a jacket, pants, gloves, and boots. All are considered 'protective clothing', in other words, if I fall off the bike, they minimize the abrasions. I bought the clothing (all BMW brand) primarily for abrasion protection, then secondarily for weather protection.

One set is for very cold weather, from +15°C down to -5°C. Another set is for intermediate weather, from 15°C up to +25°C. The third set is for hot weather, temperatures above +25°C. I don't ride if the temperature is above +35°C.

I only take ONE of the sets of outer garments with me on a ride, I always leave the other two at home.

I rely on the outer clothing (motorcycle clothing) to provide me with appropriate weather protection. I then wear "normal street clothes" - a polo shirt and a pair of jeans (plus cotton undergarments) under the riding outfit.

I like cotton because it is easy to care for on the road and dries pretty quickly, allowing me to wash it overnight in a hotel if I need to. I particularly like the idea of wearing "normal street clothes" under my riding gear - this means that when I finish riding for the day, I just take off the riding gear and voila, I can wander around the town.

This strategy also greatly reduces the amount of clothing that I have to bring with me, which is always a concern on long tours. I recently finished a 3 week tour of Eastern Europe - in addition to the ONE riding outfit that I selected, I brought 3 polo shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 sets of underwear and socks, and one pair of Topsider deck shoes to wear when not on the bike. All of the above folded up into a very tiny package.

I've tried all the "high tech" stuff, but the problem with "high tech" clothing (underneath the riding suit) is that unless you are prepared to carry two or more of each item, the stuff starts to stink after a few days, plus, you can't wear it once you get off the bike for the day without looking like a space alien when you are wandering around the town or going to a restaurant.

Michael