View Full Version : Whats in Your Hiking Wardrobe
Animal Man
01-04-2006, 23:44
Hikers Wardrobe
I was wonder what type of clothes most thru hikers wear and carry in there packs. I know there is a lot of high tech stuff out there that is suppost to work really well, and know some use low cost items. so what in your hiking wardrobe. I am just tryig to get a sence of what works.
Thanks Animal Man
I avoid Cotton clothing, except maybe for short day hikes.
I am pretty sure that all my serious hiking and canoeing clothing consist of
items made from Polypro,polyester, & nylon with some wool in my
smartwool socks & a smartwool shirt that I really like in cooler temps.
Campmor, wally world, and sales at sporting goods stores are where I find
a lot of my clothing, except for the Go-Lite items.
Hope this helps....:sun
Convertible (zip-off) pants, a T-shirt, a fleece pullover, a long sleeve shirt, light nylon shorts, a hat, socks, raingear. In colder months I'll add a balaclava, gloves and long underwear.
Hikers Wardrobe
I was wonder what type of clothes most thru hikers wear and carry in there packs. I know there is a lot of high tech stuff out there that is suppost to work really well, and know some use low cost items. so what in your hiking wardrobe. I am just tryig to get a sence of what works.
Thanks Animal Man
disclaimer-i'm not a thru hiker (yet). but...
walmart swim trunks-about $7. can't be beat. dry quickly, built in liner/underwear.
campmor polypro long-john tops and bottoms-about $12 each? again, really good product really cheap. looking at a slightly heavier/warmer set of army polypros for the future.
boots-best deal i ever got was a $12 pair of boots from payless shoes. forgot the 'brand', but i used them on long and short hikes for about 6 or 7 years. synthetic uppers, rubber bottom part. they still work, but i got a new pair of hi-tecs recently.
rain jacket-stearns makes a pretty light jacket, about 9 oz, for about $12. again, sold at walmart. they sell a variety of weights, and have lined and unlined jackets and pants.
gloves-fleece camo pattern. $2 at walmart, not on sale, during the hunting season lead-up.
hat- bought a yard of $1 fleece at walmart, cut out a rectangle, folded it in half, and sewed it on three sides. left about 3'' unsewed. fold it up along the whole edge, out of the way. at night, pull it down and it covers your eyes and cheeks, keeping your head warm, but your nose sticks out through the slit and you can breath. great little hat, and weighs about an ounce.
I thru hiked in 2003 and I'm attempting the PCT this year. I am very particular about what goes next to my skin (you would have to know me, take as picky).
Most of my clothes selections have carried over from my AT thru hike:
- Mountain Hardwear anti-microbial T-shirt (didn't seem to notice the smell. However, I did notice the smell in my Patagonia capilene and in my Sierratradingpost $5 polyester shirts I tried out before my hike)
- Fitness Gear running shorts (I've worn everything from MH zip-off pants, swim shorts, walmart skirt...the running shorts are my favorite as of now. They dry fast, lightweight, and great movement)
- Frogg Toggs (great next to skin warmth and rain protection...cheap, but do wear out. I've used gortex rain jackets to ponchos. I just dont like their "plastic" feel next to my skin.)
-Wright socks (Used everything from smartwool to liners...thick socks never dry for me, especially 2003)
If you want to see more of my AT gear selection and review of the gear, visit:
http://purebound.com/appalachian_trail_equipment.htm
you can link over to the PCT gear section below.
I saw a pretty wide range, from people with very high tech (and expensive) clothes to those like me who spent their money on other equipment and went with Walmart clothing with just a few name brand items. This is all I carried, both on me and in the pack.
Personally:
Swim trunks (I think from Target actually), with pockets, built in liner etc. As said above, they dried fast, worked out very well. Extra (clean/dry) pair in pack for sleeping / town.
Two shirts from Walmart, from their "sport" line, about 6 bucks each. I was impressed, dried fast, did not hold any oder or dirt and did not wear out in the back like alot of the high tech stuff I saw on people did. I still backpack in the same shirts I wore on my 1800 mile thru-attempt.
REI fleece, some people send them home with their winter gear, mine stayed with me the entire hike because I got in the habit of using it for a pillow.
REI mid weight thermal shirt. Also stayed with me for the entire hike, I tended to use it for a town shirt a good bit since it looked nicer than the Walmart shirts I wore every day.
Sierra Designs rain jacket (part of a set, sent the pants home for the summer).
3 pairs of sock liners, 2 pairs of wool socks.
2 Bandannas.
There was some stuff added during the winter but not much really, capiline bottoms, rain pants (mainly to act as an additional wind-proof layer over the bottoms if I really needed one), wool hat (navy watch cap), gloves (wal-mart generic brand).
Three season clothing
Here is my list. It is for Colorado, but supect it would work in say the Whites as well. Winter is another ball of wax.
PACKED: Montbell Light Shell Jacket
Golite Wisp
Montbell UL Windpants
Coolmax Running Socks
Lt. Wt. Polypro bottoms
Lt. Wt. Polypro Long Sleeve Top
Fleece Socks Exp. Wt. Polypro Balaclava
Army surplus Wool Liner Gloves
SilNylon Mittens
Fleece Beanie
ON SELF:
Poly/Cotton Blend (65/35) L. Sleeve Shirt
Nylon running Shorts
Coolmax Running Socks
Bandanna
Boonie Style Hat
Nike Air Pegasuses
It is a mixture of high end items (Montbell), stuff I found on clearence (the Wisp) and mainly generic (socks and shorts from Target, underwear/gloves from the surplus store, shirt from the thrift store) This basic kit has seen me from the desert (PCT) to a freak fall snowstorm in Colorado at 12500' or so.
For wide ranging 3-season conditions:
Wear: dorfman wide-brim supplex hat, mountain hardware canyon shirt, ex officio convertable supplex pants, maybe sahalie ultralight tights chopped to mid-thigh to minimize chafing, wright doublesocks, inov-8 310 trail runners. [Keeps me comfortable from 45F and up conditions while hiking]. Most of the clothing is supplex which is durable, dries quickly, and is slightly wind resistant,.
Carry: golite snow cap (also used as part of my sleep system), polar buff, patagonia dragonfly windshirt, montbell peak jacket, montbell thermawrap jacket, coolmax crew shirt (sleeping, and extra torso insulation on cooler days), frogg togg rain pants, sahalie ultralight tights if I am expected it to be on the cold side.
More thoughts: http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/clothing.html
Nike Air Pegasuses
Pegassi? i think that's gramatically correct, but it still sounds weird... :D