LayeringThe three-layer system, and the fabric to avoid entirely.Practical skillsEach layer does one job.1Base layer — move moistureMerino or synthetic. Never cotton.2Mid layer — insulateFleece or down. Traps warm air.3Outer layer — block wind and rainWaterproof and breathable shell.4Adjust before you need toVent before you sweat; add before you are cold.WHY NOT COTTONAbsorbs many times its weightLoses all insulation when wetDries very slowlyConducts heat away from the bodyBe slightly cool when you set off. You will warm up within ten minutes,and sweat is the main cause of getting cold later.Layeringlearnposters.com
Layering — printable life skills wall chart from LearnPosters. Free vector PDF, US Letter and A4.

Layering, step by step

Each layer does one job.

  1. Base layer — move moistureMerino or synthetic. Never cotton.
  2. Mid layer — insulateFleece or down. Traps warm air.
  3. Outer layer — block wind and rainWaterproof and breathable shell.
  4. Adjust before you need toVent before you sweat; add before you are cold.

Why not cotton

  • Absorbs many times its weight
  • Loses all insulation when wet
  • Dries very slowly
  • Conducts heat away from the body

Be slightly cool when you set off. You will warm up within ten minutes, and sweat is the main cause of getting cold later.

Questions about the Layering poster

What’s on the Layering poster?
4 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. Each layer does one job. Base layer — move moisture — Merino or synthetic. Never cotton.; Mid layer — insulate — Fleece or down. Traps warm air.; Outer layer — block wind and rain — Waterproof and breathable shell.; Adjust before you need to — Vent before you sweat; add before you are cold.. Be slightly cool when you set off. You will warm up within ten minutes, and sweat is the main cause of getting cold later.
Who is the Layering poster for?
Layering belongs to the Practical skills section rather than to a school year, because life skills is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning outdoors can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
When should you use the Layering poster?
Cotton kills. Wet cotton holds water against the skin and removes heat rapidly. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Layering belongs on the wall where that life skills work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
What other posters go with Layering?
Building a Fire, Six Knots and Foraging Safety sit alongside Layering in the Practical skills section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Building a FireSix KnotsForaging Safety
Is the Layering poster free to download and print?
Yes. Layering downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Practical skills section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
What size does the Layering poster print at?
Layering is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Layering loses nothing.Printing guide

Related posters

Charts that sit alongside Layering on the same wall.

Browse every Practical skills poster, or start from the full catalogue.