Fleece vs Smartwool

This isn't a review of a particular product, but rather a comparison of two insulating products--Smartwool vs Fleece.

In my quest to find the perfect insulator for my upcoming PCT hike, I've been hiking in the rain and cold trying out different clothing combinations.

My main concern, as with most people who hike in the cold and wet, is how do you keep yourself warm (and deal with moisture) after hiking up a big hill. The general scenario is it's warm (er) at the bottom, and as you hike up, you run into snow, colder temps, and on top of that, you're a sweaty mess. Here's what I've found out--

 I've always believed that wool is a great insulator when wet.  I believe this to be true, if the wool is heavy and has a certain amount of loft to it. Armed with this belief, I bought several different weights of smartwool, put them on, and then off I went into the wet and crappy weather of the pacific northwest in the winter time.

 The ultralight weight smartwool is great, as long as you keep moving. Even when sweaty and wet, I was pretty warm (not totally). I tried it under fleece, a light wind jacket, a rain jacket, and it performed "OK." I then moved up to mid-weight smartwool, and as expected, it was a little warmer. What I did notice is that when I stopped at the top of the mountain or some place to take a break, I had to immediately take off the sweaty smartwool or get chilled. It didn't really feel much different than when I used to hike in COTTON!

 Next I tried just wearing my medium weight Cabela's fleece pullover next to my skin. Luxurious! Not really. Fleece next to skin, when sweating, is a little weird. As I hiked with the fleece on, I noticed that it regulated my temperature very well, and never felt cold. Even when I stopped! I'm not sure where the moisture ends up, but the material insulates very well. After stopping for several minutes, the fleece continued to keep me warm. Here's the really cool part about fleece--I took it off for a minute, let the moisture inside cool, and then put it back on. The fleece was only about 1/10 as cold as putting on a soaking wet wool or cotton shirt.

 So the winner is fleece. Cheaper, warmer, and you get the added bonus of smelling like an old goat after a day on the trail. Ok, the last part isn't really a bonus, but fleece does soak up stink. Smartwool wins in that category.

 Next, I'll continue testing lightweight performance shirts. I'm considering taking a couple along on my PCT hike next year and swapping them out as I reach various summits so I'll have something warmer to wear down the other side. They'll have to be super quick drying, ultra lightweight etc...