By Susan Rich

SportHill Infuzion Parka Top	New Balance Helix Top
SportHill Infuzn Versa Pant	SportHill Explorer II Top
SmartWool Running Crew Shirt	Smart Wool Running Mock Shirt
SmartWool Light Weight V-neck Jersey	SmartWool Catamount Polo
IBEX Longsleeve Jersey	Resources Visit these sites for more product information or an address and a location of a store near you. IBEX, www.ibexwear.com ISIS, www.isisforwomen.com SmartWool, www.smartwool.com SportHill, www.sporthill.com Where to Buy Portland Running & Walking Company, www.portlandrunningcompany.com Mountain Shop, www.mountainshop.net New Balance Store, www.newbalanceportland.com Fit Right NW www.fitrightnw.com

Whether you’re planning a hike through Portland’s Forest Park to look at autumn leaves, an on-foot tour of San Diego’s Balboa Park, or have a winter agenda full of Nordic walking, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing, one thing is certain: Walkers are finally being addressed as a powerful force in the fitness clothing industry. Specialty store staffs are knowledgeable about walking. Shoes and accessories are designed to accommodate walkers. And manufacturers are including plus-sized garments in their line-up, acknowledging the needs of people new to fitness.

With the availability of performance wear at every price point, walkers can now comfortably tromp through chilly fall days, wet winter rains, and play in the snow “without treating their old blue jeans with Scotchguard,” reminisces Pam Granata, publisher of Walk About magazine. “Technical gear has come a long way in the last twenty years, especially in the last three years.”

Step into the Zone
To layer or not to layer? The answer depends on the activity, weather conditions, and personal preference. Technical gear — whether it’s made of polyester blends or wool, works best during performance conditions. Dressing casually? Ward off the cold by adding more layers.
“If you pick it right, less is more,” claims SportHill founder and CEO Jim Hill. For the past 20 years, this Oregon-based company has pioneered fabrics and clothing styles that allowed first runners, and now walkers, to use the minimum amount of clothing to achieve the greatest benefit.

“We’ve created three zones of clothing to help walkers make the right selection for every season and every temperature,” he says. For fall and winter wear, Zones 2 and 3 offer the greatest range of flexibility. “Clothing in these two zones is designed for running, walking, hiking, and climbing,” he adds.

The top performer in the category is a fabric patented by SportHill: 3SP. This fabric is the primary reason why most wearers will only need, at most, a top and jacket, regardless of their activity, he explains. “This unique fiber took us thirteen years to perfect. It is a man-made, hydrophobic, quick-drying material.” The wind-resistant 3SP also blocks gusts of up to 35 mph, making it an excellent choice for snow sports.

Women tend to feel the cold more than men, explains Paula Harkin, owner of the Portland Running Company in Oregon. For maximum wicking, Harkin recommends women start with a sports bra, followed by a form-fitting compression top, then a loosely fitted base layer top, capped off with either a vest or jacket with vents. Capris easily make the transition from summer days to late autumn. After that, gently fitted, full-length tights are warm enough for most women.

For men, generally a base layer shirt, vest or jacket will suffice. Shorts or full-length loosely fitted tights balance out the bottom half of the wardrobe. “Men prefer vests with mesh backs,” she notes. Greater muscle mass and the advantage of the male hormone testosterone give men a natural warming advantage in cold weather.

As for fabrics, “stick with polyester blends rather than nylon for the layer closest to your skin. Polyester is hydrophobic, which means it hates water,” she explains. While both fabrics will draw water away from the body, polyester does a better job. “Nylon just moves water around, and it feels colder against your body.”

Not all polyester blends are the same. The strategic placement of yarn allows for enhanced “wicking, durability and comfort,” she says.
Form-fitting clothing is important for two reasons: It helps wick moisture away from the skin, keeping the wearer dry, and also because a tailored fit acts as a barrier to cold weather.

However, form-fitting need not be snug. Fabric should drape easily top and bottom; many styles are designed to flatter the over-35 crowd. Think track suits, Harkin says: A matching jacket and bottom, paired with a raspberry-colored top, is the latest word in fitness and casual wear for women. For men, black, gray, red, and blue are still the most popular colors. As for comfort, both genders enjoy added touches of fleece collars and flatlock stitching to eliminate chafe.

“One of the top-selling products is the Breath Thermo™ apparrel and accessories from Mizuno,” says Jen Tesner, Fit Right NW apparel buyer.”This unique material creates heat from moisture that your body creates as you perspire, keeping you warm when the weather is cool.
Technical gear has a wide price range, and it’s important to understand what denotes quality. For example, a long-sleeved base layer shirt can cost between $20 and $90.

Some high-end garments can have as many as eight different panels, each dedicated to warming or cooling the user. All that extra work — cutting, sewing, finish detailing — adds to the overall cost of the garment.

Return to Wool
Today’s technical clothing is as carefully engineered as artificial sweetener: There’s nothing natural about it. That’s not a bad thing, but for people interested in wearing natural fibers, wool is making a comeback.

Modern-day garments are made of Merino wool, sheared from sheep with the same name. Unlike their itchy counterparts, Merino fibers can be soft like cashmere, and bend against the skin, not poke.

Colorado-based SmartWool has long been making socks and hats for walking, hiking, snowshoeing, and other outdoor activities. “We’ve been making base layers for a while, but the apparel is fairly new,” says Alli Noland, company spokesperson. “It takes people a little while to get over their wool-phobias, but they’re beginning to catch on.”

Wool is a naturally wicking fiber, says Noland. “The wicking works differently from synthetics in that moisture is absorbed into the wool fiber and then evaporates, as opposed to the moisture being moved around the synthetic fiber.”

Cristin McElwee, Mountain Shop sales, has seen the popularity of wool clothing rise. “SmartWool and Ibex offer a good base layer product. Wool does a better job than synthetics in regulating body temperature, and doesn’t smell. Wool can be more expensive, but it’s soft, and easy to care for.”

For base-layer dressing, microweight crews and zip T-shirts have similar properties as their polyester cousins. And, like SportHill and other top-of-the-line clothing, activity and weather conditions dictate how many layers are required.

Pack It Flat
The advantage of today’s technical gear over yesterday’s down-filled coats is size and volume. By pairing a shell, a lightweight coat that is water- and wind-proof, with a combination of layers or fleece liners, you can achieve the same effect without the bulk.

The added benefit is a streamlined silhouette. “People are learning they can be just as warm without the bulk,” says McElwee. For the past three years there has been a shift to soft-shell jackets, by Marmot or ISIS. These come in a stretchable, breathable nylon fabric that is water resistant, and offers wind protection. It’s an important pick if you are snowshoeing or Nordic walking.

Adds Hill, “Dressing, packing for travel, all becomes easier. If you’re going out for a walk, you’re not rummaging through your drawers looking for the right layers. You can have one top, one pant, put on your coat, hat, and gloves and be out the door.”