We asked our Operations Assistant Kerrie to drawn on her wealth of experience as a mountain leader and work in the outdoor retail industry to give us a guide to layers from base to outer, for your next trekking and walking  holiday.

The best way of regulating your temperature whilst walking is by wearing layers. A base layer will sit next to your skin, a mid layer will go on top of that, and an outer layer could a down jacket or windproof jacket.

Base layer

This can be made from either merino wool or a synthetic material. Both have pros and cons.

Merino wool base layers and t-shirts will be more expensive than synthetics, but you will buy fewer. With merino wool’s natural antibacterial properties, it is less prone to pong with continuous wear. Synthetic t-shirts sometimes come treated with an antibacterial agent but usually you can tell you have been walking for 8 hours a day quite quickly, if you know what I mean…

You can buy base layers for top and bottom, to keep you toasty!

Mid layers

These come in a variety of styles, with fleece being the most popular. The fleece can a full zip heavy weight style with pockets, or a slight lighter quarter zip type. Polartec fleece is warmer still, and you can use lightweight synthetic jackets as a mid-layer. Big and bulky doesn’t necessarily mean warmer – so stay away from hoodies or cotton sweaters as these take up a lot of room in your rucksack and aren’t as effective at keeping you warm.

Outer layer

Depending on conditions, these could be a windproof softshell jacket or an insulating down jacket. Your waterproof jacket needs to be big enough to accommodate all of these layers. (side note – some brands will oversize their waterproof jackets as they know people will layer underneath so it’s worth trying both jackets on at the same time)