Why have a wicking base layer? Simply this. Water conducts heat away from your body 25 times faster than air. Therefore you are more likely to put yourself in danger of hypothermia without one.

Due to its moisture absorbent nature, cotton is a big ‘no no’, making you feel cold and clammy. Once you use a technical base layer, you will never look back.

The middle layer of clothing is designed to keep you warm when on the trail.

This layer has to deal with the moisture transferred from the base layer, so it needs to wick that moisture away or absorb it without losing much of its insulation properties.

Unlike a mid layer, which you use when active, the insulation layer is more ‘camp wear’ or ‘warm wear’ in low activity times.

Time waiting at the crag, watching a clear starry night in Glen Feshie, or hoping for a bus in Cusco, is greatly improved when the wind is kept out and the warmth kept in.

Warm hats are great, some keep the weather out and have ear muffs to keep your neck warm and dry too but, they can be too warm!

A chilly day walking and all of a sudden you find your head sweating and cold water running down your neck. So what do you do? The newest item to catch on is the polyester neck tube, commonly known by their manufacturers name ‘Matt or Buff’, which do a variety of things.

They are made from high wicking technical fabric, so wick moisture away very well.

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This is the one occasion when you want to choose wisely and get the best value for money result.

There is nothing worse than being caught in foul weather and for the first line of defence to let in water, either by bad design or poor features.