Name: The ULTIMATE winter layering guide
Uploaded: 2026-01-07T14:26:45.000Z
Duration: 8 min 21 s
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if you're looking for the clothing to handle cold weather, this is the video to help you.

Adverbs of manner

This setup will handle most winter activities, and you most likely already have some items in your closet.

The base layer wicks sweat away from your skin to minimize the chilling effects of sweat.

The active thermal layer is a highly breathable material that also provides some warmth.

This can be worn safely during strenuous activity.

The insulation layer is an optional layer to provide extra warmth on a colder day or if you're resting.

This layer is, surprisingly, the most important.

It traps a blanket of warm air inside of your jacket while also letting moisture pass through.

It's a windbreaker, it's snow protection, and it also does general waterproofing.

Your body warms the air around you, which is wasted energy if it just blows away.

Once you have trapped this air, your body continually adds warmth into this air.

The moisture can easily travel through the base layer and active layer, but

And moisture will also build up on the inside of the shell layer.

So down should not be worn as an active layer and your shell layer should be breathable.

The layering system is as much about warmth management as it is about moisture management.

Try not to sweat and slow down if your body gets.

If you're unable to slow down your heart rate, then be extra careful with your active layers.

And you should never ever wear cotton anywhere.

Cotton holds on to sweat and dries out very slowly, so it just saps all your energy.

So never wear any cotton during winter activities since your life could depend on it.

All said, let's do a deep dive into each layer.

The base layer is usually a thin or medium weight material made out of synthetic or wool.

Usually this layer should be close to your skin and not loose or baggy.

That way it's able to wick sweat away from your skin and move it to the outer layers.

I prefer slightly loose material like this so that I can move around better whenever I'm doing activities like skiing or hiking.

The main materials you can get for a base layer are synthetic or wool.

However, it will smell after a day or two.

Wool and especially merino wool will be more expensive, but it won't smell as bad.

And it's all natural fibers, so that could be a benefit to you too.

The active thermal layer is typically a fleece jacket made out of Midweight or lightweight material.

The purpose of this jacket is to create some warmth while also venting out moisture effectively.

For this reason, it's usually very breathable.

Depending how active you'll be during your winter activity will determine how thick your material will need to be.

For me, I find that thin fleece jackets work really well for things like skiing and hiking.

And if I'm just like walking around the neighborhood, then a thicker fleece jacket will do just fine.

Thin or mid weight fleeces are well established as active thermal layers, and they are the gold standard.

I prefer a jacket with a zipper so I can vent out heat more effectively if I get too hot.

The difference in materials for this active layer is much the same as the base layer, with your synthetic material smelling after a day or two.

And again with wool and especially merino wool, they'll be much more expensive.

This layer is optional depending on how cold it is, how warm you run, and

how strenuous of an activity you're doing.

For this reason, it's one of the trickiest layers to get right, and

you may have to experiment to see what works best for you.

This layer is usually a down jacket like mine, or a synthetic jacket.

The insulation layer can be thin or it can be thick.

The thicker the jacket is, the warmer you'll be.

The more air you'll trap and create a bigger blanket around you.

But it's a trade off between warmth and moisture management.

This layer should only be used if you're not sweating.

Untreated down jackets will lose all of their insulation when they get wet, and

they won't get it back again until they dry out.

Most down jackets that are created today use treated down, and that largely avoids this problem.

However, you can also get synthetic jackets, and this will avoid the problem completely.

Be prepared to take this layer on and off if you're still learning what works best for you.

If I'm doing something strenuous, like skiing or snowshoeing, I'll throw this layer in my backpack just in case I need it.

Ski jackets are basically just synthetic insulation with a shell layer on top of.

The shell layer is the most important layer.

It's what traps all the heat inside and protects you from the elements.

It's doing a lot of things, and for this reason, it's really important to get this layer right.

You can use any rain jacket or ski jacket for this layer.

However, some jackets will be better than others.

First of all, you want a jacket that has very breathable material.

Some of the best ski jackets are made out of Gore Tex and it's for this reason.

Gore Tex vents moisture extremely well and it's waterproof.

Since the shell layer has to trap all this warm air, you want elastic around the wrists and around your waist that will help trap all the warm air inside.

Keep you nice and cozy if you get too hot.

Pit zips are extremely nice to have because you can vent all this warm moist air and that can easily regulate your moisture levels and your temperature as well as pit zips are probably one of the best features to have on a shell layer.

I also prefer a jacket with zippered pockets.

That way I can put things like keys in my wallet and phone inside the jacket and know that it's not going to get lost in the snow somewhere.

For materials, I would say the biggest difference is hard shell versus soft shell.

Soft shell is more like a wind jacket that's water resistant.

They perform really well in snow unless you're doing something like sitting or laying in it.

And a hardshell is more like a rain jacket.

And breathable hard shells will perform much better than non breathable.

In fact, I would avoid non breathable rain jackets if you can.

Alright, let's quickly go through the leg layers.

My legs are normally warmer than the rest of my body, so I usually just wear a base layer and my shell layer.

Sometimes if it's colder, I also put on an active layer.

My active layer is just a pair of synthetic sweatpants.

These work really well and I typically wear them when it gets down to like 15 to 10 degrees.

These are soft shell ski pants that have no insulation.

I did this because I thought it would be way more versatile than just getting ski pants with like fluffy insulation.

My legs typically run warm anyways, so I think it's way better doing it without any insulation.