Wet cotton will freeze someone to death, wet wool will still keep you warm.
Can’t you / shouldn’t you be wearing a rain coat or outer shell if you think you might get wet?
I get there are some situations where its impossible to keep underlayers dry, like if your on a boat or Backcountry camping, but for the majority of people and situations some layers of cotton or synthetic under a shell should be fine.
Rule #1 of cold weather survival: You sweat, you die.
Wool isn’t going to save you. Taking off layers will. If it’s raining, wool won’t protect you any more than cotton will because neither are water-resistant. Lol.
So sad this needs to be spelled out for ya’ll, but the voting snowball effect has already taken hold.
Now we have like 10+ who legitimately believe wool will save you in a cold, wet environment where cotton wouldn’t.
Laughable.
If you’re outside in cold weather, yes, you should wear a shell layer. However, it’s not just water coming in from the outside, it’s sweat from your body. You can’t avoid sweating; it’s how your body regulates temperature. But compare, say, a polypropylene sports jersey to a cotton t-shirt on a hot day; the cotton gets wet with sweat, and then stays wet longer. In really cold weather, that’s bad. (And if you’ve ever gone snowshoeing, you know that you’ll work up a sweat fast.)
There’s a lot of contradictory-seeming things happening, but it’s pretty easy to test results for yourself. Get comparable long underwear in both cotton and Merino wool, comparative outer garments in wool v. cotton (say, German or Swiss wool milsurp field pants and shirt v. heavy cotton duck pants and heavy cotton flannel shirt), go outside on a cold winter day and do the same activities wearing different fibers, and see which ends up feeling warmer.
Yes, you should.
The idea that wool will “keep you warm when it’s wet and cold” is such a crock of shit I’m surprised it’s getting upvoted like it does.
Wool will keep you warmer than cotton when it’s wet and cold. As usual, shades of grey get lost in the discussion.
Bullshit, 100%.
If it’s cold and wet enough that you’re going to freeze wearing cotton, you will also freeze wearing wool.
Wool doesn’t repel water. Water passes right through it onto, guess what, you.
It’s ok to not know something. You don’t have to share an opinion that has no basis.
If you’ve ever done multi-day outside activities in the cold, you learn really quick to not wear cotton socks or under layers. Your sweat is what makes you cold because cotton will no longer provide a warm layer. Wool still has air pockets and will keep you warmer and may save your life or limbs.
Are you going to be comfortable in wet wool? No, but you have a better chance of surviving and not getting frostbite.
If it’s cold and wet enough that you’re going to freeze wearing cotton, you will also freeze wearing wool.
Wool doesn’t repel water. Water passes right through it onto, guess what, you.
You don’t have to share an opinion that has no basis.
Identify the opinion or admit you don’t know what an opinion is.
These are the people who think wool will keep you from freezing in the wet and cold while cotton will not.
All I can say is, lol. Make your own decisions and don’t let strangers on the internet put your life at risk.
I’m not going to argue with them anymore because I’ve come across their type before and no matter what, they will believe contrarian bullshit and fight tooth and nail to defend it.
