color of clothing---jackets

[swisscross]

Been out of backpacking for 15 years or so.
Coming back fast and hard.
My breif time on WB has brought me into the modern age of equipement.
Cannot believe how light equipment has become.

Please riddle me this...why are rain gear so freaking bright.
I am not looking for camo but good Lord...it does not have to be bright blue, orange, red, yellow and God forbid black.

My research has brought me to two specific jackets, the Mica and (preferred) the Helium but I cannot bring myself to wear the offered colors.

Insight on colors is greatly appreciated.
Have read most prefer muted colors (myself included).
With all th positive reviews of these jackets what was your intended use?
Or do you just overlook the color as function is the main concern.

Sorry if this came off as more of a rant. I did not mean for it to.

Is it the limited color range of these specific fabrics?
Do any of you guys or gals wear bright colors in the woods?
I do understand the use of bright colors in winter wonderland.

Thanks

[Tipi Walter]

I love the color of my Arcteryx Alpha jacket for two reasons---it lets me be seen during hunting season (and I can drape it over the pack if need be), and it's the Hindu color for sadhus and wandering sannyasins---swamis and monks.

[rocketsocks]

Here's just a couple, but I'm sure you'll find others colors that suit you with a little lookin around.

http://www.rei.com/product/859278/ma...in-jacket-mens

http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp...44&cid=1242782

[Sarcasm the elf]

The quick answer is that Hiker Chic is in style right now. I work in a building where hundreds of people come in dressed in some if the most expensive clothes that REI or EMS have to offer. Most of them wouldn't even know how to setup a tent, but they have disposable income and are currently the target audience for alot of gear manufacturers.

The positive side of this trend is that it means a lot of high quality backpacking clothes end up at thrift stores and on the return/clearance racks at outfitters, I'm gotten a couple of great deals in the last few years because of this.

[illabelle]

I have to laugh at myself. My husband found a sale on down jackets a few months back and told me to pick a color. The choices weren't all that wonderful, and I'm normally pretty conservative with colors, but somehow I managed to pick the green. Except it wasn't grassy green, or mossy green, or pine forest green. No, it's bright lime green.
Funny thing is, I've gotten so many compliments on the jacket, that now I love it! And he got me gloves to match.

[colorado_rob]

Really, I think the quick answer is simply that you want to be seen out there; like Tipi says, especially during hunting season (I think I have his identical Arcteryx Alpha orange jacket). Or if you get into trouble and need to be found. Bright colors aren't any sort of a fad; been this way for what, 20 years or so? More? Camo is great for hunters, I suppose, but regular hikers??????

[Deadeye]

makes for more interesting pictures!

[BobTheBuilder]

My coats are bright for the two logical reasons above (hunting season and in case I get lost and am looking to be found), but also for the less intuitive reason that the ridiculous colors are often on sale on gear website. My bright orange Marmot Precip was 60% off.

[Dogwood]

Most of my hiking clothing and my hiking gear is specifically chosen to blend as naturally as possible into the surroundings. I have a Mica(not the Super Mica) in all black and a pr of GoLite Tumalo rain pants in all black for example. I'll often be aware of reflective trim, logos, etc on gear and amend some of these things to be stealthy. There is no need to look like a Broadway Neon sign in the woods or on hikes.

[soulrebel]

I had ask my friend several times to remove the hi vis orange pack cover he always puts on rain or shine...It ruins so many pictures...I eventually stopped taking them anytime he'd come into frame.

I have an orange jacket. I sure as hell hope that people don't think I'm religious or philosphical.

[RockDoc]

I've always used the philosophy that you don't want to be seen out there. You want to be able to stealth camp and avoid attracting the attention of drunken yokals at road crossings. Wear an orange vest during hunting season, yes. But generally, drab is the plan. This helps avoid a lot of needless hassles.

[Tipi Walter]

I've always used the philosophy that you don't want to be seen out there. You want to be able to stealth camp and avoid attracting the attention of drunken yokals at road crossings. Wear an orange vest during hunting season, yes. But generally, drab is the plan. This helps avoid a lot of needless hassles.

This is excellent advice when camping illegally or living homeless in a treeline around a city---drab is valued. I used to carry an old Army poncho/tarp just to cover my tent and stay hidden. But heck, those days are over and now I like to be "legal" and backpack and camp at places wide open for my activities. Living in stealth mode gets old. And there's nothing much better than a red Hilleberg tent in the snow---

[Feral Bill]

LL Bean has some less intense colors, as well as tall sizes.

[colorado_rob]

I've always used the philosophy that you don't want to be seen out there. You want to be able to stealth camp and avoid attracting the attention of drunken yokals at road crossings. Wear an orange vest during hunting season, yes. But generally, drab is the plan. This helps avoid a lot of needless hassles.

This seems so very strange to me, I just don't get it, but I sure saw a lot of Camo and similar back east on the AT. Perhaps it's an east vs. west thing (even though you're from the PNW); I rarely see drab/camo hiking gear in Colorado, except of course hunters. To each his own! I want to be seen. Never had any reason not to be. Well, the occasional poach of a peak on private land..... Or stealth camp....

[Tipi Walter]

This seems so very strange to me, I just don't get it, but I sure saw a lot of Camo and similar back east on the AT. Perhaps it's an east vs. west thing (even though you're from the PNW); I rarely see drab/camo hiking gear in Colorado, except of course hunters. To each his own! I want to be seen. Never had any reason not to be. Well, the occasional poach of a peak on private land..... Or stealth camp....

Isn't is true that some places out west like California require tents in subdued colors? I heard of rangers telling campers with bright tents to move or leave.

[Pedaling Fool]

Yeah, I don't think this is an east/west thing.

Stop ruining my wilderness experience, dude

http://www.leavenotracedude.com/cons...f-others.shtml




Colors - Neutral colors help minimize the visual impact you have on others. Instead of bright yellow tents, use grey, green, or blue. Use a tan backpack cover and save the hunter orange one for hunting season. Consider the colors of your clothing and plan to wear earth-tones. This will help your group seem smaller and less noticable, especially in open areas where there is little forest cover.

[rocketsocks]

Isn't is true that some places out west like California require tents in subdued colors? I heard of rangers telling campers with bright tents to move or leave.

I remember back in the 80's a big push for climbing equipment, ropes, slings and such to be of a earthy tone. A guide/instructor that I climbed with in Yosemite was a big proponent of this, I had no problem with it as those are my favorite colors anyway (though I'm not married to them)...here nor there....interesting though.

[Another Kevin]

I'm with Sarcasm the Elf. I buy clearance gear, and it's in whatever color it comes in. At least my tent (which I bought new) is gray-green, so I can camp unobtrusively. And most of the stuff I buy turns out to be in subdued colors, because those aren't 'hiker chic,' and wind up on clearance. An exception is that my larger pack is royal blue, as is my 20* sleeping bag, and my 0* sleeping bag is turn-it-off neon yellow because that was the color Marmot made it in that year.

In deer season, I rock the orange! And that means that the pack cover for my smaller pack is orange, because I was too cheap to buy a second cover to use outside hunting season. I don't use it unless the pack is likely to get wet without it. But that means that in bad weather you may see the incongruous sight of Kevin wearing a blaze-orange pack cover and a camo rainsuit.

[rocketsocks]

I'm with you's guys (I hate that phrase) on this, clearance and price supersede my wants and needs for colors....most of the time. My back pack is iron oxide (just say freaking orange companies) it was not my first choice, but the price was right....So, Orange it is. fer now!

[bamboo bob]

Black and green for tents so everyone doesn't have to be hit over the head with the fact that I'm camped. In the Whites I consider it part of LNT. When hiking I might wear a blaze orange at certain times.