One of the nicest gifts I received last fall was a high performance base layer from Helly Hansen. The line is called, WARM. The description reads, Professional level warmth and moisture management. I am never interested in the fancy words, what matters is, will it survive Dee.
First day out on a snow shoe test run in early December and I fell through the ice of a large frozen wash out and ended up submerged in cold water up to my waist. It was sunny and 0 degrees with no wind and my old denim jeans were soaked right through but my base layer stayed and felt dry. I continued to snow shoe. Half an hour later lit a fire and wrung the water out of my socks and cooked them like a hotdog over the fire. Then snow shoed another hour back to the farmhouse. No chill. Since that day I have taken my base layer off only to wash them and myself.
The other gift I use every day is a neck warmer they call, polar tech neck. This is way better than a scarf for keeping neck and face warm. And it is soft like a beat up pair of flannel pj’s so it feels good. When it is cold and you are outside all the time what you love is what is making you feel good and feeling cold is not it, being warm is, everywhere. Nothing else matters. Life is very simple on the trail in winter.
And finally, in my backpack all four seasons, my Helly Hansen rain coat. Not a gift, I bought it after the one I had for 10 years died that I got second hand at a thrift store in downtown Mad Park on the Sunshine Coast. Best 2 bucks I ever spent.
So sending gratitude to the kind folk at Helly Hansen. www.hellyhansen.com/
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