I would say Craft has some very high performance base layers, so I don’t think you will get much improvement there. You also have highly breathable insulators and shell fabrics.
I can see 4 possible improvements, listed in order of ease/cost and likelihood of improvement:
- Everyone is different, but your system sounds super warm. Most days the base layer you have(which is extra warm) and insulated shell (which you have) would be enough or even to warm for me, even without all those extra other layers. Try wearing fewer layers/less insulation. Pack a spare layer in case you do get cold.
- Make sure you adjust to the different requirements of skiing vs lift riding: I open pitzips and leg zips and pull down my hood before skiing down, then zip it all up again on the lift. If you’re wearing a midlayer, pushing up the sleeves of that works well too.
- Try changing your baselayer for a wool one. This won’’t help with drying time as such, but it will help buffer moisture swings a bit more and feel less clammy when damp. Make sure to go with a thin fabric. Unless you know you won’t be sweating, stick to wool below 200g/m2 . I have been very happy with my new Icebreaker 150 bodyfit Zone. It’s very thin and low Lycra(so quick drying), has a great slim fit, with very long sleeves(size down) and merino eyelet mesh back panel.
- Perhaps the culprit is the UA “waffle shirt”. Do you mean a grid fleece, in the style of Patagonia R1? If so, you could try somehting more breathable. This could be by substituting your heavyweight baselayer and fleece for a lightweight baselayer and the Nano-Air. Or by getting a different midlayer, similar in insulation to the UA shirt, but with better breathability. Nano-air-Light-Hybrid, RAB Alpha direct, OR Deviator come to mind.
Interesting thoughts. I've wondered if the UA layer might be contributing to the issue. It's not the grid fleece like the R1; just a waffle pattern loose UA shirt. Maybe I'll not wear that next time out and see what happens. Smartwool is on the list of options but as Analisa points out, it might not be the best one for me.