Quoted By:
With wool in US, you have:
Asbell Wool ($100-$150)
Empire Canvas/Pathfinder ($300ish)
Filson ($400+)
Weatherwool ($600+)
You can also find shit at goodwill. What a lot of people miss is merino is the thinnest micron wool, which makes it soft (less pokey since its thinner) but more fragile and expensive.
If you want a cheap, long lasting base/midlayer go with Stanfields. It's coarser, but fuck you.
You can use a polycotton/NyCo type top for something thin, tightly knit that the campfire won't rape. The concept here is they dry out before massively soaking through. Some use Fjallraven fabric (polycotton) for this, but you can also find milsurp like Austrian M65/Anchutz M75, American M-65, British CS-95, German Flecktarn (80 cotton/20 polyester). Most of those have one issue or another, but that is milsurp for you. CS-95 is loud, Austrian M-65/American M-65 has too many layers and doesn't dry out quick enough. German Flecktarn has too much cotton. Austrian does have some later version with goretex and sympatex too.
You can use a natural or synthetic wax on these too. Otterwax, Varusteleka makes a wax, Nikwax. It makes it less breathable, but worthwhile to put in high water areas like shoulders at least.
I think you'd have to know what you are doing to go this route, as if your jacket soaks through, you will need a plan B, or a midlayer like wool or fleece that can get damp without the chill.
