While clothes laying is an accepted practice for all those who explore the outdoors in all sorts of unforgiving weather, deep down, secretly, we all wish we could find a single garment that would provide all of the benefits of a base layer, an insulation layer, and an outer shell, no matter what Mother Natures throws at us. That perfect garment still hasn't been invented.

One of the garments that have come closest to achieving this goal is the Marmot Driclime Windshirt. This is not a brand new, high-tech garment. In fact, it has been around for over eleven years, providing world-class protection for those who have discovered its secret of all-around protection.

So exactly what is a windshirt? When I first heard the term windshirt, I was a little confused about what it meant. But once I heard a good explanation, it all made sense. A windshirt is just a fancy word for a windbreaker. But the Marmot Driclime Windshirt is much more than a simple windbreaker, it is a versatile garment that can be worn in almost every occasion when the temperature or wind chill is between 15 and 70 degrees.

The outside (shell) of the DriClime Windshirt is made of a tightly woven ripstop nylon that as been coated with a DWR to help it better repel water. For the most part, this shell provides superior wind resistance, while at the same time, allows it to breathe. The DWR helps the garment to repel light moisture and rain, although you will probably want a fully waterproof shell for hard and long downpours.

Lining the Driclime Windshirt is Marmot's DriClime fabric, a proprietary fabric with all the characteristics of an excellent base layer. Made of 100% polyester, the fabric is made of two separate layers, each with a distinct purpose. The inner layer, the layer closest to your skin, has a brushed surface that makes it easier to absorb any perspiration from your skin (or other inner layers). The outer layer (next to the nylon shell) is designed to pull moisture from the inner layer and to spread it out so that is evaporates as soon as possible, helping to keep your skin as dry as possible. This is the same material that Marmot uses for the base layers it sells.

Together, the outer shell and the inner base layer provide a very versatile garment that can be used as a base layer, an insulation layer, and a protective shell in a wide variety of cools climates.

Another great feature of the DriClime Windshirt is its built-in CoolMax mesh pitvents, which significantly increases breathability and helps to reduce moisture build up. The pitvents are permanent and cannot be opened and closed. I think this is a good thing as it increases ventilation without the need for a bulky zipper.

The Windshirt's collar can be folded down in warmer weather, or positioned to cover much of the neck for colder weather. When the collar is up, it also helps it to retain more warmth.

The sleeves have elastic around the cuffs, preventing cold air to enter inside the Windshirt, which is one of the reasons the Windshirt is much warmer than it appears to be from just looking at it.

The zipper is small, lightweight, snag-free and easy to use. Behind the zipper is a wind flap to preventing too much air from entering.

The Windshirt does not have any conventional pockets (to reduce weight and boost breathability), but it does have a vertical front chest pocket ("Napoleon-style") that can be used to store small items for quick access, or opened for additional breathability. Personally, I haven't stored anything in this pocket, but I do often open it to allow more moisture to escape.

The Windshirt has small tails, similar to a tailed shirt, making it possible for you to tuck the Windshirt inside your pants, if you so desire. Based on personal experience, the tails are really too small to be fully effective when wearing hiking pants, although they do come in handy when you want to tuck them into a rain or wind pants that have a high waist.

The DriClime Windshirt weighs a mere 10 ounces (medium size) and compresses down to about the size of a large apple, which means that it can be brought along on any trip that will have less than hot weather. This also means that there is no excuse for being cold on any of your travels.

Using the Marmot DriClime Windshirt in the Real World

After using the DriClime Windshirt for almost a year virtually every conceivable climate, here's how I found it can best be used.

When the weather gets cool and/or windy (below 70 degrees), and a light-weight base layer is not enough to keep me warm, I put the Windshirt over my base layer. (Some people wear the Windshirt as a base layer, but I prefer it over a light-weight base layer for maximum flexibility.) Generally speaking, when I am active, this combination if all I need for temperatures between 40 and 70 degrees. As you can see, the Windshirt covers a wide 30 degree range of comfort.

If I sit down for lunch and I begin to loose my internally generated heat, then it is easy to slip on a fleece jacket over the Windshirt for additional warmth until you become active again. But in many cases, this won't be necessary, unless it is very windy or cold. The Windshirt's nylon shell makes it very easy to pull on anything over it.

When it gets below 30 degrees, and I am active, I use a fleece jacket over the Windshirt if there is not rain or snow, or if there is rain or snow, I will slip on a Gore-Tex Shell over the Windshirt. Both of these combinations will generally keep me warm and dry to about 15 degrees or so.

Below 15 degrees I generally use different clothing and don't wear the Windshirt. So generally speaking, I wear the Windshirt from 15 degrees all the way up to about 70 degrees, which is when most of my outside activity takes place.


Recommendation

I recommend the Marmot DriClime Windshirt for everyone who ventures outdoors. It should become a standard part of your outdoor apparel. For cool weather, you can bring along your Windshirt and leave your bulkier fleece at home. And if you expect rain, you will also want to bring along a waterproof shell.



Product Notes

The DriClime Windshirt is available in both men's and women's sizes, and in a variety of colors. Besides the Windshirt, Marmot also offers a variety of related DriClime clothing that offers similar benefits, although I have not tried them.

What is really great is that Marmot has recently lowered the price of the DriClime Windshirt to a suggested retail of U.S. $99.00. Previously, it was available for U.S. $119.00.