I live in the northeast and I haven't found anything better than merino wool. I have long sleeve shirts for the base layer and wear wool socks all of the time. Keeps you warm, wicks moisture, and doesn't get smelly. Great when it is damp out, or all year. I wear my lighter wool socks in the summer too, I don't get as many blisters with the wool socks either since my feet stay dryer. I highly recommend wool over synthetics. Down is nice in my sleeping bag, but puffy in a jacket and I can't wear it as a base layer. So between wool and synthetic, I like wool. Synthetic materials now are made lighter and Oder free and with all the qualities you find in wool but it's not simple or natural or flame retardant like wool. Wool is much safer to wear around the camp fire, just watch some videos of wool vs synthetic when it's exposed to flames.