The very best way for a Young Marine to stay comfortable camping or hiking in the winter is by layering their clothing. By doing this you will trap air for insulation against the cold.

The innermost layer should be manufactured with a man-made fabric such as flannel or poly pro. This layer should be worn tight to the body creating friction on the skin surface. It should not trap moisture, but pass it out to layers and eventually out to the open atmosphere.

The middle layers should not be as tight as the innermost one, but still body hugging. They need to be loftier than the rest. Fleece is a good choice here. It has a layer with a weave for body and strength but also a lofty layer to trap more air. Middle layers do not need to be windproof. You will want to be able to separate the windproof outer layer from these.

Another middle layer might be made of wool. Just make sure it doesn’t compress layers beneath it. Keep it loose. Wool will draw moisture out of the lower layers and trap it while still retaining warmth.

The outermost layer must be windproof and waterproof if possible. It should work like human skin. Your skin helps you regulate body temperature by perspiring. Modern fabrics have micro layers within them that act a lot like your skin does. They let tiny droplets of moisture pass through on the way out, but at the same time prevent moisture from coming back in. Good choices here are Gore-Tex and some other new fabrics that are presently out on the market.

So, now that you have all these layers on, what do you do? Just make sure that you arrange the layers so you don’t perspire and trap moisture within the layers. The best thing a Young Marine wants to remember is that you never want to sweat with all these layers on. Remove layers with every increase in your activity. It is better to be a little chilly and have to increase your activity to stay warm than risk getting overheated and then become cold because your clothes are soaked from sweat.