leg and arm warmers?

[1azarus]

Mountain Hardware (and others, I'm sure...) make leg and arm warmers for men and women runners. Is there any scenario where these would make sense for UL hiking use?
Say, spring and fall with shorts? Any runners who are hikers actually use these for training? ...just saw them on Sierra Trading Post. I like the arm warmer color . They'd go well with my dirty girl gaiters!

[jakedatc]

i use my arm warmers day hiking especially. They are nice for the beginning and end of the day when it is a bit cooler and you can pull them on or pull them off easy without stopping. leg warmers (and knee warmers) do not stay up very well walking around. mine are Pearl Izumi

i am a cyclist so arm warmers and knee warmers are great shoulder season gear when long sleeve jerseys and tights aren't necessary yet.

[bannerstone]

I use the stretchy wool/spandex armwarmers that cyclist use, my favorites are Pearl Izumi's but they don't make them anymore. I tend to buy them a bit small so they stay put on my arms and don't slide down. The last pair of Smartwool's that I bought were a bit short but still servicable. My Pearls are long enough to cover my wrists and hands out to the knuckle. I haven't wanted to bother with leg warmers for hiking, they seemed like too much bother but the arm warmers are definately convenient and make sense on cool morning, for rest stops or just basically regulating your body temp easily. When I'm starting to get warmed up on the trail, I just pull them off and stuff em in a pocket. Weight wise they make sense too, it's like covertable hiking pants but way more convenient.

Once I gets cool, they're always in my kit.

David

[Montana AT05]

Leg and arm warmers?

Call me old fashioned, but, pants and a long sleeve shirt.

[jakedatc]

Leg and arm warmers?

Call me old fashioned, but, pants and a long sleeve shirt.

can you take a long sleeve shirt off while walking with your pack still on? or slide the sleeves down on an uphill and slide them back up when it gets colder on top?

they do have a place, it may not apply to your usual hiking conditions. Northeast tends to be pretty varied. I was mad when i left my arm warmers at home when i did my Presidential traverse in a day. i must have switched from short sleeve to long sleeve a few different times where the warmers would have been much quicker.

[Sandy of PA]

I just put my long sleeve shirt (with snaps) on backwards over my packstraps and snap it on the back of my neck. Get too hot, take it off and loop thru my sternum strap. Very useful inVA when on side of the mountain was windy, then you dropped over the other side of the ridge and it was 10 degrees hotter.

[Montana AT05]

can you take a long sleeve shirt off while walking with your pack still on? or slide the sleeves down on an uphill and slide them back up when it gets colder on top?

they do have a place, it may not apply to your usual hiking conditions. Northeast tends to be pretty varied. I was mad when i left my arm warmers at home when i did my Presidential traverse in a day. i must have switched from short sleeve to long sleeve a few different times where the warmers would have been much quicker.

Yes, roll up the sleeves (most long sleeve hiking shirts have loops/buttons on upper arms. Vented backs and sides, unbutton the shirt as needed on hot days (unless you're female of course). And weather in unpredicatable everywhere, we got snow here in Montana last June. Getting ready for a hike to Frozen to Death Plateau here in Montana....I expect temps and weather to change at any moment.

I'm a cyclist as well (sometimes) and I can appreciate the arm and leg warmer thing and I even considered them for hiking. But ultimately I realized the standard columbia, ex-offico, insert-brand here hiking shirt, coupled with zip off hiking pants or whatever, does the same job just fine. And as a light weight backpacker, I know if I took arm and leg warmers, I would still bring my long sleeve hiking shirt and pants. For the good of all other hikers that is...

[Feral Bill]

Frozen to Death Plateau[/B] here in Montana....i.

Best place name ever. Where is this?

[Wise Old Owl]

Yea I wore them while cycling. It's a personal Preference - Once the muscles warmed up they generally fell down anyway... wasn't great.

[leaftye]

I can sort of see leg warmers being useful. Usually I want to ventilate my crotch, so thermals wouldn't be a great idea.

I was thinking arm warmers could be useful for hiking with a poncho, but then I thought "reflexite!" It'd look really weird, but should work very well.

[Montana AT05]

Best place name ever. Where is this?

Today's hike post poned due to insomnia and sleep at 3 AM ugh! Headed there tomorrow.

Location: On Google Earth

Look for Columbus, MT, it's along I-90, the track down the roads to the South West, to Absarokee and you're headed in the right direction. Depending on our version of Google Earth, you could then search for:
"Saddleback mountain, Montana", that should zoom you in further to the south west, then keep panning south west along that plateau, you'll probably see people picture icons, showing you the plateau. It's rather large, and is between Mystic Lake to the north and other small lakes to the south.

A search in google images will produce some decent shots.

I haven't been there yet, when I hike that range it's usually from the South, coming in from the Beartooth Highway which is a beautiful drive. Was irked when I couldn't sleep last night, knowing my planned hike would be postponed.

The drive to Absaorkee is long but pleasant, so doing it on a few hours sleep, followed by the hike and return, wasn't in the cards...spent the morning in Bozeman drinking coffee downtown trying to wake up...so now I am off for the Hyalite Canyon, just south of town. It's a fantastic place to hike, bike, ski, snowshoes. Search for Hyalite Reservoir, Montana in Google earth and you can see that place, best trails are to the south of the reservoir and it's possible to hike the spine of those mountains into Yellowstone Park.

All this beauty out here, but I have to tell you, I keep going back to the AT for my long trip fixes.

[Odd Man Out]

...Getting ready for a hike to Frozen to Death Plateau here in Montana...

Best place name ever. Where is this?

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap...&streetview=on

also showing Frozen to Death Lake and Frozen to Death Mountain.

[tridavis]

Peral Izumi still makes them, in several styles and thicknesses. As a cyclist, these are a must have piece of clothing. I started to use them in the fall and spring on section hikes and they work great. I carry the arm & leg warmers. I will wear the arm warmer's during the day if needed and the leg warmers are great once you finish your day's hike. The thick leg warmers weigh just under 4oz. and the arm warmers are 2.75 oz. and these things are thich and warm. To me, better than a coat and pants any day, but I have been wearing them for the last 20+ years as a cyclist and it is what I prefer.

[Montana AT05]

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap...&streetview=on

also showing Frozen to Death Lake and Frozen to Death Mountain.

Hey thanks, that's a neat site.

[Whack-a-mole]

I love wearing arm warmers when I hike for the same reasons some have posted above. They are small, lightweight, and don't get in the way. If you warm up, just push them down on your wrist. If you get warmer, just slide them off and put them in a pocket. On fall and winter trips I won't go with out them. The one trip I took leg warmers on, they wouldn't stay up and were a pain. I think it is a good idea, but it just didn't work out too good. I all ready had both as I cycle also, so there was no extra expense for me, but I would advise anyone to give the arm warmers a shot. If you are on a budget, Pricepoint has house brand cycling clothing that is pretty good quality for very reasonable prices.

[wannahike]

You can also buy a thrift store sweater, cut off the sleeves, wear the cuffs up on your biceps and cut a small hole at the other end to stick your thumb through, nice warm wool.

[jakedatc]

Yes, roll up the sleeves (most long sleeve hiking shirts have loops/buttons on upper arms. Vented backs and sides, unbutton the shirt as needed on hot days (unless you're female of course). And weather in unpredicatable everywhere, we got snow here in Montana last June. Getting ready for a hike to Frozen to Death Plateau here in Montana....I expect temps and weather to change at any moment.

I'm a cyclist as well (sometimes) and I can appreciate the arm and leg warmer thing and I even considered them for hiking. But ultimately I realized the standard columbia, ex-offico, insert-brand here hiking shirt, coupled with zip off hiking pants or whatever, does the same job just fine. And as a light weight backpacker, I know if I took arm and leg warmers, I would still bring my long sleeve hiking shirt and pants. For the good of all other hikers that is...

Depends what you have for other clothes i suppose. my long sleeve of choice is Icebreaker 200. it fits pretty tight on my arms and does not roll up. i wear a synthetic short sleeve for normal days so having arm warmers with that works well.

I also said I use arm warmers for day hikes it makes more sense for me when a few ounces for specialty items isn't a big deal.

leg warmers do not make sense since they are not built to be walked around in and will probably slide down. And it usually takes some pretty cold weather before my legs will be cold hiking so zip offs are more practical.

either way it doesn't much matter. It is another option in a list of dozens of options for cooler weather.