@vvill 35583 wrote:
My problem is that if I don’t have wind protection I get too cold too easily, but with it, I sweat easily and then need some breathability. I’ve gone from sweating buckets to teeth chattering within 5 mins when I only wore two layers of technical fabrics under a very light windbreaking vest. My conclusion right now is I need some more merino base layers. I tried one yesterday and it worked marvelously. It was still wet with sweat because my jacket doesn’t vent enough for me, but I wasn’t cold and it dried fast, and it didn’t smell. Merino ain’t cheap though 
I have quite a few merino items from Backcountry – they make the Stoic and Cutter lines they sell on their various websites. I usually hike in the Stoic stuff and I have a couple of Cutter baselayers that I use for cycling and snow sports. They are definitely my favorites for baselayers and midlayers. Looking at realcyclist.com I don’t think they make merino baselayers anymore though. The Stoic stuff on backcountry.com is great for hiking and similar, but for aerobic sports it’s not as fitted as I would want.
I do have a couple of Smartwool jerseys, but those aren’t cheap…