BR360
08-28-2007, 21:20
Well, I was at the thrift store the other day and found a nice button-down, short-sleeve silk shirt for $3.50. Thought I'd try it out as a backpacking shirt, since silk DOES have some of the wicking and quick-drying characteristics of petro-fibers, but WITHOUT the smell.
Tried it out on a 2-night weekend trip on the AT through Mt. Rogers NRA. Worked great, and NO SMELL. Despite the shirt being soaked along my back, I'd take it off at camp and hang it up for awhile, and it would dry out a bit. I put it back on when it was still "humid" but I had cooled down, and my body heat finished drying it out.
It worked so well, that when I was at Stein-Mart looking for a dress shirt, I saw some silk Hawaiian shirts that were 50% off. I got 2 styling shirts with a bit of floral "camo" at $17.00 each.
They weigh a bit more, but for me it is worth it, as I can hardly stand downwind of myself in the plastic-genre duds after a day on the trail, and 2 days turns me into a stankin' Pepe Le Piu!!
Any other "back to the future" ideas?
Tried it out on a 2-night weekend trip on the AT through Mt. Rogers NRA. Worked great, and NO SMELL. Despite the shirt being soaked along my back, I'd take it off at camp and hang it up for awhile, and it would dry out a bit. I put it back on when it was still "humid" but I had cooled down, and my body heat finished drying it out.
It worked so well, that when I was at Stein-Mart looking for a dress shirt, I saw some silk Hawaiian shirts that were 50% off. I got 2 styling shirts with a bit of floral "camo" at $17.00 each.
They weigh a bit more, but for me it is worth it, as I can hardly stand downwind of myself in the plastic-genre duds after a day on the trail, and 2 days turns me into a stankin' Pepe Le Piu!!
Any other "back to the future" ideas?