Fit / Sizing
I wore a medium in both the top and bottoms, although I usually go for small. While I think I could go either way, for clothing I plan to wear on top of other layers (as was the case here), I prefer to size up. The medium top fit perfectly in the sleeves and torso. The bottoms, however, were a little long. If I didn’t hike the waist up above my belly button, I had a lot of extra material to deal with in between my legs. And no matter where they sat on my hips, the legs were also very long and had to be rolled up.
For recreational use, the extra material bunched around my ankles isn’t a problem. For skiing, however, there ends up being a lot of fabric I have to roll above my boot, and over time, the bottoms get pretty stretched out in the legs. One solution would be opting for the Midweight Boot Top Bottom instead, which stops just below the knee and would not require any rolling. But for women who are several inches taller than me, the Medium Bottoms would be a better length in both the crotch and ankles.
Despite this, I would still choose the medium over the small because the small would have been too tight to layer the way I like to.
Warmth
The midweight, or 250gm, top and bottoms are SmartWool’s warmest available baselayers. And they are warm. In Japan, I wore them every day with a lighter wool layer underneath and insulated pants, and a thick puffy jacket on top—no problems with the cold there.
Back stateside, however, I found they were a little too hot to wear on days where I was spending time in the trees or doing any hiking, so I usually went with a lighter combination of layers.
I would like to add that the Midweight Crew I bought several years ago feels like a different weight than this year’s version, and I found the older Crew slightly more breathable. I also found the top and bottoms a little too heavy for touring, so they primarily became my (very effective) cold-weather, inbounds long underwear.
Durability
Stretchiness is another important factor when considering long underwear, and if the quality is not good, there is the potential to lose elasticity after repeated use and washings. The Midweight top and bottoms appear to be made of a durable weave, and although they stretched out a little after a couple of days, after being washed, they shrunk back to normal size.
While SmartWool recommends washing their products on a gentle cycle and either drying them on a line or a low tumble setting, I will admit sometimes I get lazy and throw them in at high heat. But these have stayed true to their original size and don’t appear to be visibly damaged from the heat.
Additional Features
The elastic waistband on the Midweight bottoms is wider than others I have worn, and is also covered by fabric. I have found this is more comfortable next-to-skin than exposed elastic, and has a smoother, sleek look and fit.
One interesting feature of the Midweight Top is the shoulder panel. Instead of having the seam running across the top, there is a swath of fabric sewn around the front and back of the shoulder. While wearing a backpack hiking on cooler summer days, this design was more comfortable.
Bottom Line
After a full season of use, the SmartWool Midweight Top and Bottoms still look brand new, and I expect them to hold up well for many seasons to come. While I don’t tend to wear them every day skiing because of their warmth, on cold days inbounds they are my go-to pair of long underwear.
For those who run a little colder or prefer to only wear one pair of long underwear, I think they would make a great everyday pair for going up and down. And on those few occasions when I opt to leave the full Lizard Suit behind, the Midweight Pattern Top also looks great with jeans or shorts.