Beautiful Lost Worlds leather peacoat - not warm enough ...

[BrightRice]

I've had this great peacoat for the last 5 years. Normally wear it on winter vacations to Norway, Finland, Switzerland. The rest of the year I live in Asia (so not used to cold weather anymore).

I love the jacket - but I freeze my balls off. Even with thermal long underwear (top) and a tshirt, the jacket just doesn't keep me warm enough.

It's very thick horsehide leather, great in the rain - but in very cold weather it acts more as a windbreaker than keeping in body warmth.

I can't really send it back and get a liner put in (nor would I want to). Really looking for advice on some kind of lightweight, (very small/packable) thermal shirt, lightweight jacket I can wear underneath the peacoat for very cold days.

Sweaters and zip up cotton hoodies are out as they tend to be bulky and take up 1/5 of my carry on suitcase.

Failing that - a recommendation for good thermal underwear would be appreciated. I tried Lands End and LL Bean and some silk ones from Amazon and all were miserably (bone shaking) ineffective.

Thanks much!

 

[breakaway01]

how cold are we talking about? There is a limit to how much warmth you can expect from just a baselayer (long underwear) for warmth since you can't wear anything bulky underneath this coat. Insulating layers work primarily by trapping warm air near your body, so there is a fundamental tradeoff between thickness and warmth. You might just have to accept that you need a real winter coat for winter weather.

What weight of the LL Bean or Lands End long underwear did you try? If you've just tried lightweight or midweight layers, you could try the Patagonia Capilene Thermal Weight baselayers. I'd go with both top & bottom. Wear a good hat as well.

 

[IronRiceBowl]

Have you tried wool base layers? I don't really understand the logic of silk if you're trying to stay warm - look into some warm wool layers from reputable outdoor brands like Smartwool, Ibex, Icebreaker, etc.

 

[ter1413]

Have you considered buying a new coat?

 

[johng70]

I agree with the above poster. Leather is really not the best in cold climate. Even if well insulated it gets stiff. Because of the size of that pictured coat, you're losing a lot of luggage space. A wool coat is potentially better option if you like more traditional. If we're talking serious cold then down is better - easier to pack than wool.

 

[UNOAIMX]

You can just wear one of those liner jackets that skiers wear underneath the peacoat: get one from Walmart 100 bucks.
Google ski liner jacket.

 

[aboutTIME1028]

I'd have a look into merino wool baselayers found in outdoor stores,sometines in tjmaxx AMD Amazon. Look out for icebreaker,xtm,smartwool. These are some of the best brands baselayers.