Nobody Likes You and Your Feet Stink

[Spokes]

Thru-hiker trail funk can be overpowering but is it really any worst than the smell of a hockey players locker room?

[malowitz]

No. Hockey locker room funk tops all sweat-related funk.

[Lea13]

Hahaha, as an athletic trainer who has participated in and worked with many different kinds of sports, I gotta say hockey (particularly high school hockey) has the single funkiest-smelling sweat I've ever been exposed to

[Miami Joe]

Hockey thru-hikers! Oh, God, the horror!

[lemon b]

lol hockey is the top funk the sweat just ages in the pads.

[Cookerhiker]

Never smelled a hockey locker room but I can't stand the smell of my own feet after a few days of hiking.

[mattack]

Agreed, nothing touches the smell of a hockey locker room.

[coach lou]

The aroma from a girls hockey bench is that much worse...knowing it came from women... I mean... you expect men hockey players to smell bad! {i'm a ref}

[Odd Man Out]

Agreed, nothing touches the smell of a hockey locker room.

Here is a nomination: In grad school I was growing 15 L cultures of bacterial cultures. The bacteria I was growing was odorless, but one night, my culture got contaminated by whatever bacteria it is that causes hockey locker room funk. Even though our lab was on the third floor, I could smell it when I walked in the front door of the building. I immediately knew I was in deep trouble.

[Serial 07]

no...smelling the inside of a hockey glove will cause irreparable damage to the olfactory system...

[Spokes]

Here is a nomination: In grad school I was growing 15 L cultures of bacterial cultures. The bacteria I was growing was odorless, but one night, my culture got contaminated by whatever bacteria it is that causes hockey locker room funk. Even though our lab was on the third floor, I could smell it when I walked in the front door of the building. I immediately knew I was in deep trouble.

Sounds like the military would have been interested in your study gone haywire...... Yikes!!!!

[Tinker]

"Nobody likes you because your feet stink" can be fixed.

Most of my friends' feet stink (as well as the rest of their bodies).

YES, it is worse than locker room funk. A female hiker I knew once referred to hiker's clothes left in a hot car as smelling like a** - a fitting description.

If "Nobody likes you" it probably doesn't matter whether your feet stink or not.

This, too, can be fixed, or at least improved.

[Leanthree]

I stopped playing ice hockey 7 years ago but for the years I did, they were stored in my mom's shed. Now 7 years later when I visit my mom, her shed still smells like those pads.

[Creepwood]

my buddy played hockey in high school and he just left his stuff out on the deck. foot funk didn't compare to what he had goin

[Pedaling Fool]

Hockey players stink...Yeap, learn something new everytime I log on WB.

[Spokes]

So all this leads to the universal observation that once the funk gets into your hiking clothes (especialy micro fiber shirts) the smell NEVER comes out.

I've found I can wash my hiking shirts and while they smell clean right out of the washer the smell instantly re-appears almost as soon as I put ihem back on!

Any of you old hockey guys ever found something that works best to wash your stuff in?

[slims]

I imagine gasoline and a match will get rid of the funk just fine. Although if you're on a thru hike it's probably best to do this at the end.

[Tipi Walter]

Anyone remember the Funk of 1982?? It was those early polypropylene long john bottoms after two weeks on the trail. Phew, that was some strong stuff. Now we have the Funkless Year of 2011 in merino wool.

[Tinker]

Anyone remember the Funk of 1982?? It was those early polypropylene long john bottoms after two weeks on the trail. Phew, that was some strong stuff. Now we have the Funkless Year of 2011 in merino wool.

I remember it very well. Polypew became the semi-official name of polypro (short for polypropylene).

[trainhopper]

Nothing smells worse than hockey equipment. Playing in college I would keep my bag in the small dorm killing all my roommates but hey my stuff was dry the next day at practice.