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  1. #21

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    I sweat a lot too.

    I found that thin, quick dry clothing was the key.

    Especially underwear. They dry extra slow since they are covered by shorts.

    I also found that a bathing suit with a mesh liner makes a really good substitute for shorts and underwear.

    Ps: Polyester isn't usually scratchy feeling. If it's rubbing you raw, it's probably from salt build up. Rinsing your hiking clothes out with water each night will probably fix it.

  2. #22
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    Ok guys, don't freak out here but if you have chaffing that leads to the infamous crotch rot Vagisil should be your best friend. Beats Destin and body glide by a million miles. Give it a try, if you can get past the name you won't regret it. You'll be a like million bucks by morning......

  3. #23
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    As a very heavy sweater too- first I fall to my knees in gratitude that others are like me. Second- I use shorts with liners which seem to work well with chaffing on longer hikes. Third- might as well resign yourself to being damp- even with night clothes. Nights can be hot and I certainly don't stop sweating (wish I had a mini fan that magically weighed 1 oz and needed no power) in camp.
    However- as an old Army guy- while others suffered in the desert- I loved it. As long as I was hydrated- I was cooler than those light sweaters. Also- we can amaze our friends with a 5lb weight loss after long hike

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by misterfloyd View Post
    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
    There are lots of different personal preferences on how to solve this problem.

    Mine is that I wear running shorts or swimming trunks - boxer type with longish legs 9". They dry in literally minutes and the mesh liner allows lots of air to flow to help keep the parts drier. Dried sweat will build up and they do get sort of hard/crusty eventually. BUT one can deal with this some at every water source. Take a liter of extra water and take off your shoes and socks to keep them dry (do not do this by the water source btw) and just soak yourself and wash the salt out of them and off the parts. Let drip for a min or two. Put your socks and shoes back on, apply a bit of glide (or whatever you use) and off you go. Takes but 5 mins.

  5. #25
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    I make my own electrolyte mix out from 41g of Morton Salt Balance and 108g of Calcium/Magnesium Complex. This makes 100 servings and can be added to any food or drink or put into empty capsules. I have found this to be critical to avoid cramping when I stop after a long day. you can get a simple little capsule filler that fills 25 capsules at a shot. I took roughly 600 capsules on my PCT thru spread among my resupply boxes. I only cramped twice, and that is when I ran out of capsules.

    I would not take the extra shirts. the most I would do is take an extra shirt to sleep in if needed. You may find out that you adjust better on a thru since you will be living outside vs. In and out.

  6. #26
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    +1 on the baby wipes, but dry them before you head out onto the trail and pack the number you plan to use for a day into separate Ziplocs. When you arrive in camp for the night, hydrate one of your Ziploc bags of dried wipes and you are ready for a bath and you didn't have to carry around the extra weight of wet baby wipes.

  7. #27

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    When choosing apparel for a SOBO AT thru step back and consider a bigger picture than just your heavy sweating issue. It's my guess you'll be launching SOBO around July 1 - mosquito and black fly season in ME! How are you going to address that? AT Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont weather in July? Could be warm days in the upper 70's* with nights still chilly. How are you addressing that? You are thru-hiking. What else is in your kit? Are you taking a rain or wind jacket, rain pants, etc? What other apparel are you considering in combination with apparel that addresses a heavy sweating issue? For example, can you address these questions simultaneously with a few versatile apparel pieces? All these questions are related and affect your apparel and kit decisions. Be careful when considering apparel choices based on isolating only one or two factors. It can lead to further issues.

    Really, one shirt and only one shirt for a AT SOBO thru? Hmmm? Maybe! Maybe not! It depends on other things that weren't considered or shared about YOU, YOUR hike, the rest of YOUR kit, and YOUR hiking style. Core warmth AND comfortability is significant even on a summer hike on a AT SOBO thru. COULD a very breathable synthetic or ultralite(150 wt or <) merino tee with numerous venting(back vent, 1/2 chest zip, separate material side panel waffle mesh, etc) combined with a Railriders Eco Mesh Long sleeved button down be a versatile combination simultaneously addressing multiple factors?

    Could those Railrider Eco mesh pants(those are nice, I use them in the humid buggy off trail jungle treks in Hawaii) and nylon running shorts w/ liner/mesh brief or desert appropriate convertible pants play into your apparel set ups? Look for versatility in your apparel set-ups that address multiple conditions, hopefully, at least some of the time, simultaneously.

  8. #28
    Registered User Just Bill's Avatar
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    http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&key...l_2fit2r3inu_b

    I like the give-n-go brief fabrics a ton.
    Skirts also have been a huge benefit for me personally.

    On top, when it's truly hot, I prefer a poly/nlyon blended button up shirt. I find the loose cut to be a better overall choice, preferably in a slightly darker color so when I do get some sun it dries quick.

    A merino 1 tank top is also a nice choice.

    The rule of thumb I've been told is 3-1 on the electrolyte (gatorade or similiar). You don't have to mix them, but for every three liters of water, drink one of gatorade as an example. This stops hypernatremia which is just as dangerous as dehydration.

    Otherwise, welcome to the club.
    I do find that it takes me 7-10 days to "settle in" I still drink alot of water, still sweat... but the faucet gets turned back a bit from full power after I acclimate and it's not so massively out of hand.

    Nothing wrong with a mid-day siesta either. As you know, hot temps go with lots of sunlight. Consider simply adjusting your hiking times. I like to move my big meal to lunch time, wash up, fill up, and nap it off. Saving my hiking for the cooler morning and late afternoon time.

  9. #29

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    "On top, when it's truly hot, I prefer a poly/nlyon blended button up shirt. I find the loose cut to be a better overall choice, preferably in a slightly darker color so when I do get some sun it dries quick."

    Good pt. When it's really hot or when I'm hiking in desert environs I opt for looser somewhat baggy fitting clothing choosing a size top one size larger than typical and of appropriate lighter weight. The goal is to create convection cooling - natural air conditioning. Again, with plenty of venting.

    Wrapping a wet bandana around my neck helps through evaporative cooling. I'm going to try a cooling bandana, the kind with the embedded polymer crystals, this summer on a hot hike to stay cool.

    http://polarbreezebandanas.com/

    http://www.amazon.com/JellyBeadz-The.../dp/B004XX4XA8

  10. #30

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    You will sweat a lot. And it will suck. You will chafe. Your clothes will always be wet, even in the morning after they have aired out all night. Most places water is abundant. If it's not, you will figure out how much you need by the time you reach one of those places.

  11. #31
    Registered User Drybones's Avatar
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    Take one extra shirt to sleep in, leave the rest, you'd just be carrying more sweaty, nasty clothes in your pack. I sweat a lot but don't let that lead me to carry extra water, I just drink as much as I can at each water source, a 32 oz Smartwater bottle is all I carry and I don't normally keep it full, just enough to get me to the next water hole.

  12. #32
    Registered User CoolBobby's Avatar
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    Tactical Kilt. 'nuff said.

  13. #33
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    What do you guys recommend for camp clothes? I am guessing something pretty lightweight and compressible. We are going to be wearing Icebreaker wool baselayers...in cold weather we will probably only wear the Icebreaker underwear and shirts, and Prana Zion pants (which, for the record, I am liking a LOT better than the Kuhl pants I returned).

  14. #34
    Registered User Monkeywrench's Avatar
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    During warm weather I have one very light synthetic shirt and a pair of running shorts that I wear to hike in, every day. Each evening when I get to camp I wash and change into my sleeping clothes, then I use my backcountry washing machine AKA a 1 gallon ziploc bag, to wash out either the shirt or the shorts, and the hiking socks I wore that day.

    The next morning the shirt or shorts that I washed will not be dry, but I pull them on anyway. Ten minutes of hiking and they'll be dry, or as dry as they're going to get that day.

    This way my clothes never get obnoxiously stinky, or overly stiff with dried sweat.
    ~~
    Allen "Monkeywrench" Freeman
    NOBO 3-18-09 - 9-27-09
    blog.allenf.com
    [email protected]
    www.allenf.com

  15. #35
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    If you want a more sophisticated washbasin, I highly-recommend this!

    http://www.seatosummit.com/product/?...=0&o2=0&o3=193

    I have the non-ultrasil 5L version that I picked up at REI. Now that I know the Ultra-Sil 10L version exists and is even lighter, I will probably order that to use instead! The 5L has been on the small side but has worked very well for washing clothes and cookware! I even heat up some water first to help clean my cookware and wood stove better.

  16. #36
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    All those are good pieces of advice. I wore two polypro shirts and two shorts. Kept one clean and dry at all costs to sleep in at night. In the AM, 15 minutes into the hike, I had the first set of clothes stinky again. I'd usually only pass out from the smell three or five times a day, so it wasn't too bad......

    I drank a lot of water, watch out for that good ol' iodine colored urine-means yer seriously dehydrated. I also had little bottles of pure sugar and pure salt to sorta "snack on". That was my cheap electrolyte solution. Wear a bandana so not too much of a river of sweat runs into your eyes. I didn't use gatoraide packets....but its a darn good suggestion.

    Oh YEAH!!!! DESITIN will become your very best friend. In da south, the Dollar Stores have it by another name. BUTT PASTE. Better than that high end Body Glide stuff. By day 2 I was liberally applying that stuff to my crotch, hips, shoulders-anywhere skin touched skin. By day 10 I had lost so much water and fat weight that I didn't need it except for when it rained and I got the ol' "rain rash". Happy Hicking.....er...Hiking

  17. #37

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    Like many I am a sweater. I use witch hazel wipes and bonds along with wool Icebreaker underwear which works for me and also keeps smell way down. Really watch your electrolytes. One replacement drink a day was not enough for me in hot weather. Very painful experience.

  18. #38

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    I just finished another Sheltowee Trace Thru-hike yesterday going SOBO. Hot and humid disgusting was the order of the day! I carried three very light wt very compressible tee shirts, one a 100% synthetic polyester Under Armor Heat Wear with back and side mesh panels black color, a 100% merino Icebreaker GT 120 wt 1/4 zip in black(no longer made), and a Patagonia merino synthetic Capilene blend in light blue. I kept switching out to a different tee while drying the others. Always had a dry tee for sleeping. I would dry the wet tees out by laying them out on a sunny rock while cooling off under one of the many waterfalls, creeks, reservoirs, and rivers and/or attach to the top of my backpack with a safety pin. I did have very fair sunny weather overall but I'd say the green tunnel of the AT is similar to the ST as far as sun exposure during summer. I was glad to have more than one tee! No problema IMO. Plus, I was always dealing with constant spider webs across the trail. It's nice to be able to wash a tee clean of the dead shells of insects from spider meals that I kept walking into in the webs. Wore running shorts w/ drawstrings commando style which kept my bottom half good enough. All my clothing was loose fitting. Kept wiping myself off, forearms, legs, neck, and face with a bandanna while wetting it often. I had two pr of light wt 100% merino ankle socks, Smartwool and Point 6. I always had a dry pr of socks. Wore very meshy Solomon XR Mission trail runners w/ good breathability. The gnats, biting midges, skeeters, and biting horseflies kept me busy avoiding their constant onslaught.

    I went with a REALLY light load choosing to resupply more often to lessen the food wt burden and be more comfortable in the severely muggy weather. I never warmed a b-fast but did so for dinner. Drank copious amounts of water w/ a electrolyte additive.

    I started hiking at 5 a.m. and usually quit to dunk myself in a stream or in waterfall during the afternoon or rest in the shade of one of the many rock shelters or under one of the many rock ledges the ST is known for. I chose to night hike more often when it was cooler. This was better as far as being cooler but I encountered many Copperheads doing this almost stepping on one.

    The one thing I would have done differently is opt for a backpack with a mesh trampoline/ventilated back style or that was kept off my back to gain needed airflow, think Osprey Atmos AG Series or Zpacks Arc Blast. All my tees tended to wet put first in the back where it sat against the backpack.

  19. #39
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    Did a short overnight hike this past weekend. Not hot (70's daytime, 50's night) but muggy. The Cat Crap on my glasses worked great. God bless my Osprey Exos pack. Love the ventilation. No sweat running down my back and invading my butt crack.

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