Underwear

[Pennsylvania Rose]

The shorts I used are men's 2XL, so the legs were long (to my knee) and baggy. In addition, because of the way you cut the crotch, when you turn them sideways the bottom sort of flares out and there are slits on the sides(see Hana Hangar's pictures). I've been wearing my converted shorts all day and have been able to play on the floor with my kids and step onto a stool to dust with no problem. I'll test them out dayhiking as soon as the heat index goes below the 105 of the past few days.

[Hana_Hanger]

Yep that is what I did as well....the second pair I got the 3XL so they would be even baggier.

I also got a regular woman's dress skirt...real stretchy made out of 100% Polyester, it has plenty of swing to it. I hosed myself down to see how fast it would dry out. Just took a little longer than the men's swim trunks/hiking skirt.

Either way I am thrilled with the results. No one ever carried my size in the hiking skirts made by the big guys...you know Columbia or North Face or whatever.
I did see REI is carrying the larger size woman's active wear but ouch...top dollar. What happened to my "but I am worth it!" attitude??

Enjoy and sorry this got a little off subject with the hiking skirts.

By the way I noticed even Wal-Mart had in the men's department...nice compression type shorts that came to the knees, perfect for hiking, without chaffing and here on the islands only $10.88 I am sure its cheaper on the mainland.

BUT when I do wear the underwear I also prefer the microfiber ones.

[Pennsylvania Rose]

Just came back from Wally World with two more pairs of men's 3XL swim trunks on clearance for $5 each!!! And they're really cool flower patterns. I'm going to do one like the first pair, and break out the sewing machine for the other ones so I can keep the velcro pockets on the side.

[BumpJumper]

In the summer months, I prefer a skirt and no underwear

Ok, I gotta ask it....
What about bending over, bugs, nats, sitting..etc?

[jnetx]

In the summer months, I prefer a skirt and no underwear

In the summer months I prefer a kayak! (too hot to hike in FL)

but for the remainder of the year I'd prefer not to wear anything ;-), but as clothing is usually required, I'm a dedicated skirt and no undies hiker. I've tried the converted from board shorts, and regularly use north face hiking skirts. Both have issues with the stride length, and also problems with moisture management on really humid mornings and rainy hikes. The skirts are often so wet and sticking to the back of my legs and butt that they were uncomfortable.

My personal preference is the mountain hardware men's hiking kilt. The wraparound design allows a longer stride and the wicking liner around the inside 6 waistband moves most of the moisture outside the skirt and prevents most of the body sticking problems.

"What about bending over, bugs, nats, sitting..etc?"

MH kilts have a modesty snapper that clips the back to the front if needed. I find hiking with it like that uncomfortable as the material can bunch up and irritate between the legs, but it's there if the modesty is needed for sitting, bending, climbing with someone immediately behind you, etc.

Never had a problem with bugs in a skirt that I haven't also experienced with shorts. At least in a skirt if something gets in, it can also get out easily. My only bug bite as a direct result of the skirt was once when I had to put it on in quite a hurry and an ant inside it took a quick bite. He was quickly and easily expelled, may have been in longer if it was shorts.

If you learn to pee standing up without removing the pack you'll never want to go back to shorts/underwear, but will soon resent having to wear long underwear under the skirt in winter. The simple solution to that is to remove the crotch diamond from the longs.

I actually found the MH kilt was too long for my preference as it flapped around my knees. I chopped about 4 inches off and re-hemmed it. The chopped off piece contained the modesty snap, but I replaced it with velcro by using a piece of velcro about 1 1/2 inches (the fuzzy piece) on the back hem, and a piece about 1/4 - 1/2 inch (the catchy side) of the inner front hem. I found it easier to use than the original snap, and the smaller length in front minimized potential discomfort from the catchy piece of velcro, but was easy enough to snag onto the larger rear fuzzy piece. I actually used it rarely enough that I have not bothered with the "modesty buffer" on my most recent kilt adjustment.

Pictures: North face hiking skirt http://www.flashworth.com/ft/00000046.jpg (small stride, but OK for level hikes, gets SOAKED on humid mornings)

Unaltered MH men's kilt http://www.flashworth.com/ft/8076.jpg (length was too bothersome with it falling right on the knee)

I have a picture somewhere of the shortened mh kilts, but can't find it right now. Will post/edit later if necessary.

[jnetx]

I guess I don't have edit rights, because I don't see an edit button.

Here's the shortened mh kilt: http://www.flashworth.com/ft/001.jpg

[beeman]

I vote for kilt, no underwear. All the pleats give lots of room for stride.

[BumpJumper]

Janette,
I like the skirt deal. What is the difference? I couldnt tell in the pics.
My friends tell me that chaffing is an issue when wearing the skirt. Do you find this to be true? I would think shorts would cause chaffing.
Question...why the no undies? What is the reason.

[jnetx]

"I like the skirt deal. What is the difference? I couldnt tell in the pics."

The skirt is a regular skirt made of board short type material. It is fairly narrow, and fairly short, so makes a long stride quite difficult. You can probably see in the picture of me sitting on the fence that it pulls tight with my leg up. It also is a single layer of fabric with no liner, so tends to stick when I'm sweaty.

The klit is a wraparound: single layer of fabric in back, but two overlapping flaps in front, so it gives more room for long strides. It's a slightly coarser fabric and has a wicking liner in the top of the back panel so handles moisture better. As I said before, they are a men's design, and I like my skirts a little shorter, so just trimmed off several inches to stop the flapping round my knees.

"My friends tell me that chaffing is an issue when wearing the skirt. Do you find this to be true? I would think shorts would cause chaffing."

Obviously with sweating there will be some chafing, but I find it minimal with the skirt, and carry a small "Body Glide" (kind of a silicone gel that comes in a stick like deodorant) for my hot spots. I get much less chafing with a skirt than I ever did with shorts, because the sweaty areas have air flowing over them, not a layer of damp fabric.

"Question...why the no undies? What is the reason."
(May be a bit TMI here!) 1. I dislike clothes in general. 2. I strongly dislike underwear. 3. Peeing standing up. - I don't need to take my pack off, or get down into a squat (which I would then have to get back up out of with the pack on). Just lift the skirt in front, spread the legs a little, pee, wipe with my rag, drop skirt and hike on.

[JAK]

I use one pair of plaid cotton flannel boxers. Wash-one-wear-none.
Sometimes I wear them under. Sometimes I wear them over.
Sometimes I wear them alone as my hiking shorts.
Wash them in boiling water. Dry them on my head.

[Frolicking Dinosaurs]

I use one pair of plaid cotton flannel boxers. ...... Wash them in boiling water. Dry them on my head.

This demands pics!

[BumpJumper]

J,
What you are saying does make sense to me. I too like to breath down there but wondered how it would be with just the skirt on. I am going to have to try to master the standing pee thingy...
I heard of the body gel.
Where can I find the kilts?

[jnetx]

Sorry I can't explain it better. Are you going to go to the FL Get Together in Nov? If so I can bring all my skirts and model them so you can take a look.

The kilt is a Maountain Hardwear mens Mountain Kilt and I bought my last one at Travel Country in Orlando, but also got one for a friend from REI recently. However, I just did a search online and was horrified to see that even MH's site does not have them listed. I found a couple available online, but at the places that usually sell closeouts. Altrec.com and SummitHut.com both have XS, S and M available, but didn't have anything larger. My current is a medium I think, and I would probably go to a S if I bought one right now (which I probably should do if they are discontinued - I sent an email to MH to ask), I'm a size 4 - 6 in women's sizes.

I guess the best way for you to truly figure out how it makes a difference is to just try wearing a skirt and skip the underwear. Lets face it, as hot and sticky as FL is at this time of year, running a couple of errands is about as sweaty as a short hike. So if you have a regular skirt that is about knee length just try wearing it around for a day to see how it feels.

[beeman]

J,

Where can I find the kilts?

Here's a different kilt source:

http://www.sportkilt.com/departments...ing-kilt~1.cfm

[jnetx]

I tried the sport kilt but just didn't find it as comfortable at the MH. It was a little heavier (extra material in the pleats) and didn't seem to wick away moisture as well as the MH.

Some of my reluctance could be because it just looked and felt a bit too much like the school uniform I had to wear for 4 years!! I liked the pleats at first, but then found that it was too much "swishing" around the knees. I altered it like I had with the MH, but that actually seemed to increase the swish and led to a few embarrassing (not to much to me, but others seemed a little uncomfortable) moments in the wind, adjusting from standing to sitting, etc.

I think I still have it somewhere, but having just moved, who the heck knows where. If I find it I may give it one more try.

[beeman]

jntex,
You know what you like. If you didn't like the swishing before, you won't like it any better now. There is a hiking kilt they now offer. From the website:Cool, quick drying, breathable, lightweight (320 grams!) microfiber kilt for the active hiker who wants to trek in style and comfort. It will still be pleated and will still swish, I'm sure.

[BumpJumper]

You know what? I SEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have made myself a wrap around skirt several years back. I can do that but with the right material.
This is gona be easy. And CHEAP...Cost will only be around 10 bucks.....

I did not know of the Fl/ AT meetup. Where is it? Details please.

[jnetx]

Awesome on th sewing. I tried sewing a couple, but I could never get pockets, etc to my liking. Sewing a simple wrap around is easy though.

The Get Together is tentatively set for Nov. 16-18. There is a thread in the Get-togethers forum. No decision on location yet, but it looks like either Goldhead Branch SP or somewhere near Clearwater Lake (which I'm guessing would be real convenient for you) are the contenders. I guess we are just waiting for more than two or three people to say they can make it that weekend before finalizing a location. I think we're aimg to beat the record of 4 at the last FL gettogether!

FYI - there is a FL trail weekend backpack trip in your area the weekend of Nov 3/4 - it will either be an in and out from Juniper, or straight line Hopkins Prairie to Juniper (or reversed), but either way with an overnight at Hidden Pond. The contact/sign up info is in the Central FL chapter newsletter at: http://central.floridatrail.org/news.pdf . I'm tentatively planning on it, as we had great fun on this one last year, right after the big Juniper fire. ome along if you can. They are a good bunch of folks, and you can try out your new skirt.

[BumpJumper]

J,
I am game. I will put it on my calendar.
Hey, do you kayak. Go to
www.clubkayak.com/lcp
it is my site for the locals.
Back to the underwear topic....

I will go without and see how it is.....