Sweat...a lot of sweat.

[mgmtrnr]

I am planning on a SOBO solo hike in 2016.

I am not worried about the lonliness/solitude. I am not worried about my herniated disc giving me problems. I am not worried about the lions and tigers and bears...oh, my.

I am worried about my sweating. I sweat. A lot!! I am in eastern North Carolina and when I run right now, my shirt, shorts, and shoes are drenched. Granted, it is in the 90s with high humidity but I sweat when I run and the temps are in the 40s.

My plans are to carry a couple extra shirts to switch out during the day and Gatorade mix to replace my electrolytes.

My questions for you fellow heavy sweaters: How much extra water did you have to carry during your thru hike? Also, what other preparations, products, or gear advice do you have for a heavy sweater?

Thanks...Mike

[rocketsocks]

not a thru-hiker, but i carry more water than most. A bandana helps, dew rag, head band. I like Nuun tabs for electrolyte replacement...Gatorade too, and lots of breaks during warmer weather, creeks are a joy!

[rocketsocks]

...also if your prone to chaffing and wear polyester, this stuff can be like sand paper and rub ya raw, especially when wet..arm pits for me is a area to use some type of goop! body glide is what I use.

[LoneStranger]

Don't bother with the extra shirts. If you really sweat the new one will be just as wet soon enough. Just make sure you have something dry to change into once you make camp.

As a runner you probably are already familiar with your friction points. Consider carrying a body lubricant if friction is an issue in wet clothing.

Try not to carry too much water. Instead drink as much as you can when it is available then carry enough to get you to the next watering hole. Definitely make sure you are eating throughout the day if you are taking in a lot of water. Constant snacking seems to work better for me than big meals, but do what works best for you so long as you are doing besides just drinking water.

[Stink Bug]

Like you I'm a sweater and the one thing I cannot recommend enough? Desitin for the inevitable crotch rot! I had an atrocious case of thigh chaffing during my hike, I'm not ashamed to admit I cried with the pain, and a tube of diaper rash creme made a world of difference.

I also hiked in a sleeveless, lightweight shirt that dried pretty quickly and running shorts. I found these dried pretty quickly once we got to camp. As for water, I hated carrying the extra weight and I relied on AWOLS book to see how far to the next water source. I'd carry enough to get there and chug a liter or so when I got to the source.

[bemental]

+1 on the Nuun tablets. I usually drink pure water throughout the day and sip on a Nuun before lights out.

[Traveler]

You may want to include some salt tablets in the warm weather. Sodium chloride tablets can be a very effective way to quickly replace lost sodium that can cause agonizing cramps, fatigue, dehydration, and heat stroke. It still amazes me how fast people recover from nearly overwhelming fatigue with just a little bit of salt.

[bigcranky]

I sweat a lot too.

+1 on don't bother with the extra shirts. The next morning you will have three soaking wet shirts rather than one.

Have one set of clothes to hike in -- I like very light merino wool tops because they don't stink, even after a week of heavy sweating in the summer. I wear nylon hiking shorts, no liner, commando. I did have a problem with chafing, both between my thighs and also from the pack hip belt, but I found that if I tuck in my shirt and pull my shorts way up like an old man, I can prevent both kinds of chafing. (There is a fine line before giving myself a wedgie, so I do adjust as needed.)

I have dry clothes to change into at night, and hang my wet clothes to sort of dry out (I will rinse them if possible). If it's not cold I'll wear my hiking clothes for a while to dry them out a little, but hanging them usually works ok. Just realize they will often be wet the next morning, especially if it's raining.

I carry the single use packets of Gatorade mix, and mix one with a liter of water once or twice a day (makes it half strength). I also add a packet of Emergen-C Electro-Mix to the Gatorade to add a lot of potassium. I don't find that I drink much more than other hikers, but maybe I do. I'll usually walk away from camp with 1.5 or 2 liters of water to get me to lunch, and it seems fine.

[Trance]

Carry extra water.... and gatorade packets. Can't change your body. I'm not a big guy and I sweat a lot too. I figure it's b/c I move fast but..... could just be my body.

My last hike I was carrying upwards of 10lbs of water per 25mile section. Granted this was in a dry enviornment, in the mountains.

[pnkwolfe]

I'm a big guy, and sweat quite a bit, too. The things that help reduce the chafing: try to dry the wet skin, even if it means breaking more often than you'd like, lightweight clothes, dry camp clothes, etc, like everyone else says.

However, try and get the salt off of your skin, too, either clear water rinsing and drying, or as I prefer, carry the extra weight and take wet wipes-use them to wash well each evening. Salt and bacteria contribute to the skin breakdown.

[QiWiz]

Have one camp/sleep top that you keep dry and one hiking shirt that you can sweat into - each night in camp, wash out the hiking shirt and hang to dry. Look for a quick drying shirt (I like Railriders Ecomesh for this reason - have not found anything that dries faster). If your hiking shirt is still damp in the morning, put it on anyway. Suffering builds character ; )

[mgmtrnr]

Thanks to all for your advice. Keep 'em coming.

I will have to check out the Nuun Tablets. Never tried those because I am such a loyal and devoted Gatorade drinker. Love Gatorade Lemon Lime flavor!!

I had never heard of or seen the Railriders Ecomesh line of clothing before yesterday when I saw it in another post where they were praising the Railriders quick dry pants. I found the website and saved it but really didn't look into their products too much but QiWiz mentioned Railriders in his reply so I'm really going to check out their website more.

Thanks Stink Bug for the Desitin suggestion. I'll definitely keep that in mind. I don't ever run without compression shorts under my running shorts because I am susceptible to chafing (plus...they feel good!!). I'm looking at either the Ex Officio line of compression shorts or the Under Armour Boxerjock line to try to prevent any jock rock/crotch rot.

Thanks again to everyone for taking the time to post your tips and advice.

Looking forward to June 2016.

[daddytwosticks]

One thing: if you get an opportunity to soak your hiking shirt in some cool water (use good LNT techniques) do it! This will make you feel like a hundred bucks on a hot steamy day, but only for a short time.

[rocketsocks]

One thing: if you get an opportunity to soak your hiking shirt in some cool water (use good LNT techniques) do it! This will make you feel like a hundred bucks on a hot steamy day, but only for a short time.

No kiddin', that and a short break, maybe somethin to eat can really rejuvenate and give ya a second wind.

[shelb]

Compression shorts really help with chaffing..... When "hot spots" do happen, Body Glide is the best!

I do know that my husband swears by a baby wipe followed by medicated powder, such as Gold Bond, on areas that are already rubbed raw...

[rocketsocks]

Compression shorts really help with chaffing..... When "hot spots" do happen, Body Glide is the best!

I do know that my husband swears by a baby wipe followed by medicated powder, such as Gold Bond, on areas that are already rubbed raw...

A&D ointment ain't bad either.

[Wyoming]

Lots of good advice. I am also a heavy sweater and have had lots of problems in the past with cramping. If you are having real issues with this and not just 'average' issue like it sounds like I would offer the below.

Two things have helped me a lot in this regard.

1. Compression sleeves for the lower legs - you can buy them in any outdoor store like REI, Dick's, Big 5 etc. These really make a difference for me and, obviously, thousands of other athletes in many different sports.

2. Electrolyte replacement is essential. Gatorade is marginal as you can determine from comparing its ingredients to those in one of the specialized products - say the GNC Endurance Booster V2. I use the GNC product and cut its recommended amount by 1/2. This still gives one about double the electrolytes of Gatorade and (if you buy via the internet) is actually cheaper than Gatorade.

If you look up the electrolyte loss in 1 liter of sweat it is astonishing and if you are a really heavy sweater, or it is just super hot and you are sweating buckets, you must replace while you hydrate during the day and not wait for night and your main meal.

Experiment on yourself to learn what works best for your body as we all are a bit different in our needs.

[Wise Old Owl]

mgmtrnr Sweat away - nothing to worry about, if you can pass a stress test at the hospital... how is your heath?

[misterfloyd]

Got to ask a few questions regarding sweating.

I sweated like a pig on the last hike. There were times that my shorts were soaked and my underwear, and couldn't agree more about taking a shirt in a stream, or a headband, and quickly washing the whole head area.

I used gatorade and I was was glad to have it. Water was not plentiful on the last hike so when I got to a source, I drank ALL that I had and loaded back up.

My sweating was so bad that the polypro was like sandpaper. I have used starter compression shorts from wally world. Soaked through all of them.

One thing that I did was leave my days clothes outside my tent or shelter hoping it would rain to get the salt and stink off of them.

Could anyone recommend a brand, or material that will wick away the sweat from this area, and not rub you raw?

Any information would be very helpful.

Floyd

[mgmtrnr]

Wise Old Owl:

My health is pretty good. Early 50's with a few extra pounds but I try to get 3-4 runs in every week. I do have a non-apnea sleep disorder and I will be interested to see how it reacts to being on the trail for five months. Haven't ever had a stress test but did complete the Marine Corps Marathon this past October which put a little stress on my system. I am a very slow runner so it wasn't like I was challenging any Kenyans for a medal at the MCM (but, I did finish!!).

Sweat itself doesn't bother me but I am more concerned with "the dehydration". My plan, right now, is to spend a little more and go UL with my Big Three so that will enable me to carry any extra water and/or water additives (Gatorade, GNC Endurance Booster V2, Nunn Tablets, etc.) I need to stay hydrated.

Have received some good tips in this thread and appreciate all who took the time to post.

Thanks...Mike