Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

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buckwheat
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Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by buckwheat » November 12th, 2016, 9:40 am

I've realized I've put a decent amount of thought and money into my pack and its contents, but I've almost always just worn whatever clothing I want without much consideration of the difference it can make.

So I would like your help with layering, items, recommendations, etc. As Christmas is coming up, I might be able to con my family into buying me a shirt or pair of pants, I ought to have some idea of what to ask for.

I usually run warm, so I am comfortable in shorts and a tshirt even in the 40s and 50s (assume it isn't rainy), but I've come to the realization that when I get to camp at 5 or 6 and sit down, I quickly get cold just doing nothing for an hour or two and it takes the quality of the day down a notch or two.

I have a decent rain shell from REI, and a couple pairs of darn tough socks, and a pair of oboz sawtooth shoes. But beyond that, I just grab a pair of shorts, a tshirt, a long sleeve shirt, and a couple pairs of underwear.

Give me help with layering, or at least tell me your favorite fabrics. Are zip off pants worth it? Should I get a merino baselayer? A capilene shirt? Athletic compression shorts instead of boxerbriefs? Do I want a long sleeve shirt that is lightweight with no undershirt?, or a shortsleeve and a down jacket? What do you bring for moderate summer weather? Lots of layering? Or just a few multipurpose items? Should I avoid fabrics like cotton? Can clothing help minimize chafing? Would a breathable shirt help my back from getting soaked in sweat and those unpleasant stinging sensations that I've come to dread when I take my pack off?

Most of my hiking trips are just a long weekend, but this coming summer, I'm going to be out for a week at a time a couple times, so any advice and preparation I can get will make me feel better in the long run.

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retired jerry
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by retired jerry » November 12th, 2016, 1:27 pm

I just wear a long sleeve nylon shirt and pants all the time. Anything from REI that feels cloth like and says UPF rated - good for sun and bug protection, some warmth.

Some people like zip off pants but I don't really like the idea.

I have a synthetic vest for sitting around camp. Cheapest one I saw at REI is https://www.rei.com/product/883336/rei- ... -vest-mens - $50 Synthetic insulation is more water tolerant. Down not so good that way. Fleece is okay, but heavier without providing much warmth. Look for sales at REI.

Waterproof breathable shell over that is good down to freezing sitting around at camp.

Avoid cotton - absorbs a lot of water so it's bad if it gets wet. Good for towels at home:)

My back gets wet from sweat when I spend any time carrying pack. If I'm just wearing a nylon shirt, it quickly dries.

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texasbb
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by texasbb » November 12th, 2016, 3:38 pm

The key principle is to have two separate sets of clothes--one for hiking, one for camp. I almost always hike in shorts, then don some wind pants in camp. I actually love zip-offs, but lately everyone seems to have gone to bad cloth (sticks to knees, makes lifting legs hard) and too-high rise on the waist (I can have the belt above my navel or the crotch halfway down to my knees :evil:). So I prefer stretchy shorts.

Anyway, it it's gonna be cool in the evening, the first thing I do after setting up camp is change out of the sweaty/wet things I hiked in and into the dry stuff I'll eventually sleep in. That includes some baselayer bottoms and a long-sleeve shirt of some sort. Then it's just a matter of carrying the appropriate jacket for the forecast. For most summer hikes in the mountains, that's a hoodless down jacket. If it's a little cooler than normal, I'll add a fleece shirt to go underneath. Colder yet, I switch to a hooded down jacket. Etc. It takes a while to figure out what you as an individual need to be comfortable.

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kepPNW
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by kepPNW » November 13th, 2016, 7:16 am

Yeah, I like the zip-offs, too. I've had many winter hikes where I warm up enough to want to switch to shorts, and a few summer hikes with enough bugs I've wanted to cover up. Having those options really helps.

You mentioned chafing and underwear, so I'll offer a couple faves -- "Buck Naked" boxer briefs (from Duluth Trading, frequently on sale) and Body Glide anti-chafe stick.

Nothing will prevent back sweat with a pack, but any sort of "quick-drying" fabric will make it far more tolerable. Definitely not cotton, except in once circumstance -- when you need to avoid heat exhaustion, cotton will maximize your body's effort to reduce your temp by keeping you wet longer.
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greenjello85
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by greenjello85 » November 13th, 2016, 4:52 pm

buckwheat wrote: Give me help with layering, or at least tell me your favorite fabrics. Are zip off pants worth it? Should I get a merino baselayer? A capilene shirt? Athletic compression shorts instead of boxerbriefs? Do I want a long sleeve shirt that is lightweight with no undershirt?, or a shortsleeve and a down jacket? What do you bring for moderate summer weather? Lots of layering? Or just a few multipurpose items? Should I avoid fabrics like cotton? Can clothing help minimize chafing? Would a breathable shirt help my back from getting soaked in sweat and those unpleasant stinging sensations that I've come to dread when I take my pack off?
Athletic compression shorts are great at eliminating chafing and they are pretty cheap from amazon or wherever. I don't wear base layers because I also run warm and they are a pain to remove mid trip. During the winter, I usually stick to athletic type shorts rather than pants or fabric shorts because they are light and don't soak up a lot of water. I almost always wear my rain pants to prevent from getting soaked by wet brush. All my trails are overgrown :lol:
texasbb wrote:The key principle is to have two separate sets of clothes--one for hiking, one for camp.


X2. Think lightweight, and quick drying.

My fall/winter gear: Me: Compression shorts, athletic shorts, non-cotton t shirt, rain pants, columbia floppy hat, rain jacket or its in the bag.
Bag: Change of socks, fleece pants, a puffy jacket liner, fleece sweater, double lined beanie, very warm gloves

I haven't been too cold yet so it works for me :) Also for those of us on a budget, a lot of the very expensive hiking clothes can be found at goodwill and salvation army for next to nothing.

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buckwheat
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by buckwheat » February 24th, 2017, 4:39 pm

Well its been like 3 months, and I've sort of rounded out my clothing selections, but haven't gone any super long excursions, just a bunch of 5-15 mile day hikes. Putting some thought into my outfits definitely helps. I'll sort of explain how I've dressed myself in case anyone is curious, or is in a similar position to me last fall.

I got a pair of REI Screeline pants. They're relatively light (about a lb) with a built in belt and 4 pockets. They dry quick from my experience so far. I haven't had them during the summer so I can't speak much to that, but they feel light and breathable enough that it shouldn't be overwhelming unless its hot enough that I should be taking a siesta during the heat of the day anyway.

I also got a pair of icebreaker 200 wt long johns. My plan with them is to wear them in camp when I'm just hanging out having dinner or watching the fire, or waiting for it to get dark enough I can go to bed. Camp is usually the only time I get cold, because you're just sitting around for 3-4 hours while the sun has set/is setting. I'll just swap them on when I start getting cold in the evening, and its worked well so far. I've also gone on a couple semi-strenuous hikes with them on to see how they breathe, and its pretty good. I am definitely warm with them on, but doing 10 miles in 6 inches of snow in 3 hours in 30 degree weather, they felt like they did a good job of keeping my legs warm, while letting my sweat ventilate. But most of the time they'll just be in my pack and not on my body.

I also got a lighter weight rainshell that isn't at all a coat. Its just basically a goretex? shell that weighs about 6 oz, and sheds water better than my 2.5 lb REI raincoat. Or at least it absorbs less than my raincoat, and dries faster as a result. Nothing is waterproof from my experience no matter what the description says, its just how long until its soaked, and how much it soaks up that seeps through to the interior. I've worn it in several downpours and its done a great job so far, especially for being a 7$ goodwill purchase. Definitely a wonderful upgrade. Plus, it has a pocket that it can zip itself into, so it packs down into something the size of a ziplock sandwich baggy.

The REI raincoat was more or less the only warm top layer I had, and it wasn't even warm, it was just long sleeves and a little bit of mass between me and the elements, tossing it meant that I had to get something warm for my top for when I sit around in camp at night (see long johns above). My work gave me access to the Columbia Employee Store in Portland for January, so I picked out a Mountain Hardware GhostWhisperer. It feels like nothing, but it is suspiciously warm. I've only used it a few times, but every time, I've been plenty warm, and a little bit surprised. I'd never owned a lightweight down jacket before, growing up, I always had hoodies, and peacoats, and other heavy woolen things, but a nice down jacket really is pretty slick. It stays in my backpack most of the time, so I'm not too worried about it getting wet, and I've worn it underneath my rainshell, and its stayed dry enough to not suffer from the down wetness compression issues people had warned me about. I went with a hoodless version because I like having peripheral vision, and the range of movement not having a hood provides (wearing glasses really makes hoods suck also as they are always catching on the hood and being pushed if youre turning your head very much.

I also got a lightweight longsleeve sunshirt from Columbia while I was up there. I haven't actually worn it for the sun, but I've just worn it around, and it feels pretty nice so far. I'd rather not lather myself in sunscreen every day if I can help it, minus places like my face and my hands and neck, and I've had enough unpleasant burns over my life that I'd rather not that either. So that is part of the reason I am switching to wearing pants and a longsleeve shirt when possible. I still generally have an adidas polyester t-shirt with while hiking out of comfort, and habit, but its not sunny now, so I haven't had to worry about burns yet. Maybe in August I'll have more complaints about the pants and sleeves situation, but for now, its been working out well.

(I also got a couple pairs of polyester adidas underwear just because they were cheap, and cotton as everyone knows gets wet and abrasive and stinky and is best to be avoided on the trail, but I figured I don't need to go into any more detail on this front).

Chazz
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by Chazz » February 27th, 2017, 8:57 am

I love the Columbia long-sleeve Chiller shirts. Stretchy, very quick-drying, and a very flexible piece of clothing. Wear it long in the morning when it's cool out, roll up the sleeves and open a few buttons at the chest when it warms up.

I did add to my personal hiking wardrobe collection this year: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/goosefeet-gear-down-pants

They look a bit goofy but after several colder-than-expected nights this year, these pants should extend the temperature range of my sleeping quilt.

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Peder
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by Peder » February 27th, 2017, 11:28 am

"Vintage cotton!"
Some people are really fit at eighty; thankfully I still have many years to get into shape…

joevogel
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Re: Pick me a Hiking Wardrobe

Post by joevogel » October 31st, 2017, 11:52 am

This is a recent gear list I made that includes an ideal clothing system that will keep you warm and comfortable in 3.5 seasons.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

Let me know what you guys think!

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