Hunting Clothes - Questions on different materials
 

So I started going through my hunting clothes last night and I am completely confused and thee different types of materials. What I've found is the following:

1. Heavy-weight long underwear - The tag says they are made of 100% polyolefin.







2. Light-weight long underwear - The tag says they are made of 100% polypropylene.







3. Middle-weight long underwear - The tag says they are made of 96% polyester.







4. Heavy-weight long underwear. - The tag says they are made of 70% polyester and 30% wool.





5. Camo pants - Tag says they are made of 100% polyester and have Windstopper in them (they would be used as a middle layer).







6. Flannel shirt - 100% cotten - (it would be used as a middle layer)


Can someone please explain the difference between polyolefin, polypropylene, and polyester? If a piece of clothing is made from polyester, but is not fleece, is it still a good insulator? Why is cotton clothing bad as a middle layer? Which of the pieces of clothing listed above should I use this season and which should be replaced?

The difference in poly... materials is only in the plastic it's made from. Any fabric that is not fleece won't insulate well. But, it will not absorb moisture , dry quickly, and will wick moisture through to prevent you from getting chilled. It is good material to wear under fleece. Cotton is bad because it absorbs moisture rather than wicking it through and does allow you to get chilled. I never wear cotton in cold weather. Wool, poly, or fleece only.

I generally agree with Wingbone, although I don't think the plastic fabrics totally lack insulative power. I wore mid-weight polypropylene long underwear for years as an underlayer. It seems to me they made me warmer than if I didn't have them on at all.

I now wear merino wool as an underlayer. It also wicks away moisture and is warm.

Wool as an outer or middle layer has a lot of advantages. A mid-weight wool shirt and mid-weight wool pants are excellent. They are silent. They are warm even when wet. They have a wide temperature comfort range. They breath and let perspiration out. They dry quickly in a warm tent (don't dry them in a clothes dryer).