Your Thermal Equilibrium

We often think of dressing warm when we are about to venture outdoors for an extended period of time. However, increasing your body temperature is not the main purpose of your hiking clothes. Ideally, you should dress to maintain a "Thermal Equilibrium." This means that you lose an equal amount of heat to the amount you are generating. This should not involve your body having to produce extra heat or lose it through sweating. The more your clothes are able to help you maintain your thermal equilibrium, the less energy your body has to use to do so. Luckily, clothing made for today's hiking excursions are designed to do the work for your body so you don't have to think about anything but fun on the trail!