Stink less

[ChinMusic]

Not particularly durable either. I have a couple of holes in my smartwool shirt that I've had to sew up and I've only used it maybe 30-35 times this year. I would think at least 4 or 5 would be needed for a thru hike of the AT, PCT, or CDT.

I wore two this season. And that was because I needed a smaller size.

[Wise Old Owl]

I have some polyester blend running t-shirts that stink within 20 minutes of wearing them even just sitting around. Based on my research polyester stinks and once it does, good luck getting the smell out unless you have special detergent. How much better are the merino wool shirts on stench? It's not that I'm trying to smell good on trail because I know that doesn't happen, I just don't want to use materials that stinks before you even put it back on. I see long sleeve merino tees selling for $40-70. It's hard for me to justify that price for one t-shirt. Do they have to be 100% merino? Is it worth it or should I just accept the stench and use the $15 poly blend shirts??

You can clean it with borax or Baking soda...


If that fails - use hunters scent away... nothin survives the green bottle after a soak.

[Stir Fry]

So would a 150 or 200 be considered a mid-weight? I've read some reviews that thru hikers said they made it the whole way with a 150wt LS shirt. BUT, they probably didn't wear it every day and/or had a short sleeve shirt for hiking. I'm also thinking a dedicated merino wool LS shirt would be ideal for sleep clothing, along with bottoms. That way even less odor gets transferred to the bag.

150 is lightweight 200 is midweight. The numbers are thread size I beleave. I started with 150 but changed to the 200 after I tearing a couple of the 150 ones. I think 200 weight will last for my through.

[ams212001]

Check out a site called geartrade.com I have been able to purchase 2 merino wool shirts for well over 50% off.

[swjohnsey]

My polyester T-shirts don't stink.

[kidchill]

I just wanted to put in a vote for merino wool shirts. I started my thru with 1 synthetic and threw it away once I hit the first town...It smelled horrible (I was going SOBO, so it took a bit to get to Monson). After that I used ONLY icebreakers merino wool LS shirts. I ripped one to shreds near the NH/VT line (was trying to take it off while it was sweat glued to me), but the other one I had is still together today. It has a bunch of little holes in the armpits, but other then that it's still in great shape. I would use one shirt for trail and one shirt for town. In terms of the smell, never had a problem. After being back from the trail, I still live in these merino tops (around the house, hanging out, and sleeping).

[TurboPants]

Thanks for that. As they say, it pays to play!

I guess the one big thing I'm uncertain on is the 100% merino versus the ones that are 40-60% merino. Obviously the 100% is probably best, but you can get the mixed material tees for a lot less. I suppose it would be best to just save up and buy a couple good ones; one to hike in and one to have on standby at home in case I need to have someone ship it to me.

[Offshore]

If you already have the polyester blend clothing and its otherwise in good shape, try using a sports detergent such as Prowash or Win. Its a lot cheaper than buying new gear and I found that it really does work. The issue with the polyester shirts is that normal detergents don't remove all of the odor and degrades the performance aspect of the fabrics by coating the fibers with perfume and softener agents. After a while, you notice that the clothing comes out of the laundry smelling fresh, but after a little while, just your body heat is enough to release the residual odors.

I had several Nike Drifit shirts that I use at the gym and they developed the odor problem using a conventional detergent. I bought Prowash and soaked them for a couple of hours and then machine washed them normally (no fabric softener ever) using Prowash and the odor was gone and has remained so. After a workout, I let the clothing dry and then do a weekly load of just the Drifit shirts and shorts using Prowash and hang them to dry. Its a normal wash cycle, no additional soaking needed beyond the first time. I've never had a problem with residual odor since.

The specialty detergents are expensive, but you actually need very little per load and if you restrict its use to performance clothing, its not bad at all. Certainly cheaper than buying new gear. Prowash seems to come and go on Amazon (I usually buy a three-container pack on Amazon, so I only check every 6 months or so), but Win is available now for $11 for enough for 14 loads. For a fraction of the price of a performance T-shirt, its worth a shot.

[Starvin Marvin]

The specialty detergents sounds like a good solution for home use, but not for a thru hike, unless you want to carry the detergent with you.
I like the Smartwool brand merino wool. 150=lightweight ,195=midweight, 250=heavy weight.

[Double Wide]

Get your merino wool shirts from Sierra Trading Post. Best prices BY FAR that I've seen. I got my base layer merino there, some merino wool undies, and a short sleeve merino wool t-shirt also. Each piece was between $23-$35.

[lush242000]

I think the stink factor is mostly genetic and diet. Some people just plain stink. I always find it funny the amount of useless crap people strap to their backs and never use but if you ask them how to save wight they tell you to ditch the soap and deodorant.

Carry a 1oz tube of baby shampoo or some hippy crap if you like. Clean your stink. If I can smell you from 10' feet away you stink. It's not hard to stay clean on the trail.


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