REI Co-op Merino 185 Base Layer Top and Bottoms Review
The Merino 185 layers are warm, and they earned their place on the night my clothes were doused in poison oak.
The Merino 185 top weighs 8.9 ounces and the bottoms weigh 7.3 ounces on my lists. The layers are warm, and I have only needed them a couple of times.
The layers were great on the night my clothes were doused in poison oak, because I had a clean, warm layer to change into and sleep in. A set of clean clothes that never leaves the pack is the whole job of a base layer, and on that night the job mattered.
The Merino 185 rides along on most of my trips. The layers went to the Lost Coast in February 2022, to Point Reyes in February 2024 on the day my rain shell leaked at the seams, and up Chilnualna Creek at peak snowmelt in May 2024.
What works
- Warm for the weight.
- A clean layer to sleep in when the day clothes are ruined.
What does not
- Sixteen ounces for layers I have only needed a couple of times.
Open the Merino 185 in Backpackers Friend
The link adds the Merino 185 to Backpackers Friend as a small gear bundle with the weight filled in, ready to apply to the gear list of your next trip.
The trip kits in Backpackers Friend
The Merino 185 appears in seven of my trip kits. Each kit is a real trip and opens in Backpackers Friend as a gear bundle with every item, weight, and quantity.
- Solo near Mammoth Lakes, September 2024A solo trip out of Mammoth Lakes. 80 items on a 21.5-pound base weight, including the only iPad I have ever carried.
- Ediza and Thousand Island Lakes, September 2024Two nights in the Ansel Adams Wilderness with my backpacking partner. 79 items on a 20.5-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Ostrander Lake and Buena Vista, July 2024A Yosemite loop with a guidebook shortcut through an old burn. 75 items on a 21.2-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Young Lakes, June 2024One night at Young Lakes out of Tuolumne Meadows in peak mosquito season. 77 items on a 21.9-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Chilnualna Falls, May 2024A solo loop toward Buena Vista that ended one crossing short, carried with a tent instead of the hammock. 72 items on a 17.7-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Point Reyes in the rain, February 2024An overnight at Coast Camp with a close friend in steady February rain. 78 items on a 21.7-pound base weight. Read the trip report.
- Lost Coast Trail, February 2022Three nights on the King Range coast, with a tent and a bear canister. 73 items on a 30.8-pound total pack weight. Read the trip report.
More clothing and camp reviews
Keep your own gear list with the trip
The gear checklist in Backpackers Friend weighs every item by category, charts the pack as you build the list, marks each item packed, and saves a list as a reusable bundle for the next trip. The checklist lives on the phone next to the route, the camps, and the offline map. The gear checklist is part of Premium, and planning a trip, drawing the route, and tracking the walk are free with no account.
