View Full Version : Clothes System/What works for you?
Situation: Starting a NOBO AT thru-hike or section hike on March 1ST
Weather: North GA, March temp's--Aver high 59 deg--Aver low--34 deg
Record high 89 deg--Record low -5 deg March provides the
most rainfall for GA, of the year, at an average of 6.41 inches.
Next to your sleeping bag, your clothes are your most important pieces of gear...this is one area you don't take chances...we all heard the tales!
This is what I currently find that works for me, based upon layering, so I can adjust with the wide changes in weather starting at this time, and this setup would be kept with me until LATE May, usually. (size large clothes)
Carried in Pack:
13.0 oz----Marmot Pre-cip Jacket
7.9 oz----Marmot Pre-cip Pants
1.1 oz----OR Rain Mitts
1.9 oz----OR Windstopper Peruvian Hat
1.3 oz----PowderDry Glove Liners
1.0 oz----Bananda
1.6 oz----Lightweight Balaclava
2.0 oz----Smartwool low cut socks/optional gloves
3.8 oz----Sealskinz socks/use for hiking in rain or snow and sleep in
.9 oz----Sock liners/use with Sealskinz or by themselves in hot weather
11.0 oz----WM Flight Down Jacket/with pre-cip for Parka around camp
or to increase bag warmth on COLD nights/Pillow otherwise
Total Weight: 45.5 oz----2.84 lbs----cold weather
69.3 oz----4.33 lbs----hot weather (23.8 oz added/below)
Usually worn:
1.9 oz----Baseball cap/keeps shape of Pre-cip hood
27.4 oz----Montrail Vitness trailrunners
3.2 oz----Smartwool Socks
.7 oz----Silnylon Gaiters
2.4 oz----REI Briefs
13.8 oz----REI Convertable Sharha Pants
4.8 oz----Patagonia Silkweight (SS) shirt
8.6 oz----Patagonia Midweight (LS) Zip-Tee (Same as Below)
11.1 oz----Marmot Dryclime Windshirt (Zip down/uphills/up/downhills)
.8 oz----Bandana
Total weight worn if cold: 74.7 oz----4.67 lbs
Total weight worn if hot: 50.9 oz----3.18 lbs
(Zip legs, Dryclime Jacket & Mid-weight longsleeve shirt go into pack-- 23.8 oz total---1.49 lbs)
my cold weather list includes the following:(while hiking)
mountain hardwear dome perignon windstopper hat 2oz
capilene midweight base top 5oz
midweight fleece zip-t 9oz
capilene midweight bottoms 4oz
Arcteryc gamma LT softshell pants 16oz
smartwool light hiker socks 2oz
5.10 access trail shoes 11.4oz
minus shoes thats 3.5lbs
end of the day layering i add
patagonia puff vest 10oz
marmot precip anorak 9oz(also weather protection in case of rain, snow)
marmot powerstretch gloves lite
warm weather hiking
i ditch everything except precip anorak, shoes, socks
add golite baseline shorts 8oz
smith shades
about 19oz worth of clothes when sunny.
walkon
hungryhowie
03-11-2004, 13:12
Worn:
Patagonia Long Sleeve SW Capilene Tshirt, Swim Trunks, Smartwool TrailRunner II socks, OR Rocky Mtn Low gaiters, and running shoes of choice.
Carried:
Insulation: Expedition Weight Capilene top and bottom (14oz for the pair), Moonstone Cirrus Pullover (12oz), Powerstretch gloves (2oz), Powerstretch Balaclava (2oz), and a pair of fleece socks (2oz)
Rain/Wind: Red Ledge ThunderLight Anorak and Pants (14oz for the pair), OR rain mitts (1oz)
47oz = 2lbs 15oz
One of my projects this summer will be to make my own replacement for the Cirrus (should weigh ~6oz rather than 12), and rain gear out of silnylon instead of the Red Ledge stuff (weight ~5oz for the set rather than 14)
I guess that would take the total down to 32oz = 2lbs even
My clothing list changes rather little throughout the season. In warmer weather, the only things I ditch are the Cirrus and fleece socks.
-Howie
My current hiking clothing I use for cold weather:
Starter Dryfit Long Sleeve zip neck shirt
Starter Drifit Short Sleeve Tshirt
Mountain Hardwear Convertable Pack pants
Patagonia Silkwieght boxers
Patagonia Midweight Thermal bottoms
Victorinox 100wt Fleece Zip neck Pullover (7.9oz)
Mountain Hardwear Phantom Down Jacket
Unbranded WalMart Dupont Thermolite Gloves (2.9oz Micropolyester shell, suede palms and finger grips, with Thermolite Micro insulation)
200wt Fleece skull cap
Montane Featherlite Windshirt
Wigwam Ultimax Cool-lite Hiker Socks
Outdoor Products Coated Nylon poncho w/ backpacker extention
Montrail Torre GTX boots
On longer hikes I'll double up on the undies and the T shirt. I also carry a shirt that I use only for sleeping, and ususally sleep in the mid weight bottoms. When weather turns warm I usually only carry:
Mountain Hardwear Synery Zip neck T
Mountain Hardwear Convertable Packpants
Patagonia Silkweight boxers
Montane Featherlite Windshirt
Victorinox 100wt Fleece Zip neck Pullover (7.9oz)
Wigwam Ultimax Cool-lite Hiker Socks
Outdoor Products Coated Nylon poncho w/ backpacker extention
Montrail Torre GTX boots
Kozmic Zian
03-11-2004, 16:36
Situation: Starting a NOBO AT thru-hike or section hike on March 1ST
Weather: North GA, March temp's--Aver high 59 deg--Aver low--34 deg
Record high 89 deg--Record low -5 deg March provides the
most rainfall for GA, of the year, at an average of 6.41 inches.
Next to your sleeping bag, your clothes are your most important pieces of gear...this is one area you don't take chances...we all heard the tales!
This is what I currently find that works for me, based upon layering, so I can adjust with the wide changes in weather starting at this time, and this setup would be kept with me until LATE May, usually. (size large clothes)
Carried in Pack:
13.0 oz----Marmot Pre-cip Jacket
7.9 oz----Marmot Pre-cip Pants
1.1 oz----OR Rain Mitts
1.9 oz----OR Windstopper Peruvian Hat
1.3 oz----PowderDry Glove Liners
1.0 oz----Bananda
1.6 oz----Lightweight Balaclava
2.0 oz----Smartwool low cut socks/optional gloves
3.8 oz----Sealskinz socks/use for hiking in rain or snow and sleep in
.9 oz----Sock liners/use with Sealskinz or by themselves in hot weather
11.0 oz----WM Flight Down Jacket/with pre-cip for Parka around camp
or to increase bag warmth on COLD nights/Pillow otherwise
Total Weight: 45.5 oz----2.84 lbs----cold weather
69.3 oz----4.33 lbs----hot weather (23.8 oz added/below)
Usually worn:
1.9 oz----Baseball cap/keeps shape of Pre-cip hood
27.4 oz----Montrail Vitness trailrunners
3.2 oz----Smartwool Socks
.7 oz----Silnylon Gaiters
2.4 oz----REI Briefs
13.8 oz----REI Convertable Sharha Pants
4.8 oz----Patagonia Silkweight (SS) shirt
8.6 oz----Patagonia Midweight (LS) Zip-Tee (Same as Below)
11.1 oz----Marmot Dryclime Windshirt (Zip down/uphills/up/downhills)
.8 oz----Bandana
Total weight worn if cold: 74.7 oz----4.67 lbs
Total weight worn if hot: 50.9 oz----3.18 lbs
(Zip legs, Dryclime Jacket & Mid-weight longsleeve shirt go into pack-- 23.8 oz total---1.49 lbs)
Yea.......Clothes.
Leaving Springer in March -
In Pack -
1) 1 Patagonia R2 Fleece Jacket - 17oz
2) 1 Marmot Precip Rain Jacket - 12 oz
3) 1 Pr LW Rain Pants - 12 oz
5) 1 Patagonia LW Crew (LS) - 7 oz
6) 1 Patagonia LW Tshirt - 5 oz
7) 1 Pr. LW Bathing Suit Shorts - 4oz 8) 1 Pr. heavy poly-pro tights - 10 oz
9) 1 Pr. Poly pro glove liners - 3 oz
10) 1 Pr. Poly gloves - 3 oz
11) 1 Pr. OR Glove Shells - 4oz
12) 1 Pr. LW Wicking Outer socks - 3 oz
13) 2 Pr. Nylon Wicking sock liners - 2 oz
14) 1 Fleece Head Band - 1 oz
Total in Pack - 4lb 9oz
On Back -
1) 1 Patagonia LW Tshirt - 5 oz
2) 1 Pr. LW Bathing Suit (W/Liner) - 4 oz
3) 1 Pr. LW Outer Hiking Socks - 2 oz
4) 1 Pr. Nylon wicking sock liners - 1 oz
5) 1 Baseball Hat - 1.6 oz
7) 1 Pr. Vasque Alpine Boots - 3 lb. 8 oz
8) 1 Pr. OR Gaiters Low - 4 oz
Total Being Worn -5 lb 1.6 oz including boots
Total Clothing Weight - 9 lb 11.6 oz
IMHO, I think some of these guys are dreaming about this weight thing. I could lower mine a bit, but, You gotta have more than a pr of socks, shorts, and 1st layer shirts. What if they(clothing) get wet and it's cold at night? I mean, the weather is really unpredictable on the AT. These guys, carrying less than 4 lbs total , including what they're wearing....man, come on, you'll freeze to death. You might be light, but, you ain't right!.....Freeze On! I mean, are we talkin' Thruy here or 3 nights out? I'd reasses that stuff, I'd rather be safe than sorry. KZ@:-?
hungryhowie
03-11-2004, 21:34
IMHO, I think some of these guys are dreaming about this weight thing. I could lower mine a bit, but, You gotta have more than a pr of socks, shorts, and 1st layer shirts. What if they(clothing) get wet and it's cold at night? I mean, the weather is really unpredictable on the AT. These guys, carrying less than 4 lbs total , including what they're wearing....man, come on, you'll freeze to death. You might be light, but, you ain't right!.....Freeze On! I mean, are we talkin' Thruy here or 3 nights out? I'd reasses that stuff, I'd rather be safe than sorry. KZ@:-?
You taulkin ta me? You taulkin ta me?!? :)
Perhaps I should have put a disclaimer in my post about what works for me, might not work for others, but I think you'll find that my list is comprehensive. While I certainly cut down on redundancy, I carry insulation for my legs, chest, and head (a balaclava, no less, not just a hat), along with waterproof jacket, pants, and gloves year round.
I used to carry an extra set of clothes (shorts, shirt, and two extra pairs socks) but after extensive hiking realized that I never used them anyway. They would sit in a nice clean state in my pack while I continued hiking in nasty dirty clothes. I wear running shoes so they and my socks dry out quickly given the chance. If I've gotten excessively wet from either precipitation or sweat, I don extra insulation over my wet clothes immediately upon arriving at camp. The combination of my body heat, and the insulation provided by the extra clothes and my sleeping bag, has never failed to dry them out before morning.
I also use multiple layers of protection in my pack. First and foremost, my sleeping bag is placed inside a waterproof stuff sac that is lined with a second waterproof liner. My pack is also lined with a waterproof liner, and I use a waterproof packcover, so my sleeping bag, my last line of insulative defense (before sucking it up and hiking...which I've never once been forced to do) is protected four times over from anything wet. I have confidance that my sleeping bag would stay dry even if my pack were completely submerged in a lake or river for a brief amount of time (if I were, say, to fall during a stream crossing, become completely submerged, ditch the pack, and fish it out downstream).
I've always been a proponent of placing safety first, and have made it a personal goal to never to be forced to "mooch" off of another hiker. So far, I've been successful at that.
I'm not trying to lock antlers here...just debating that while something might not work for you, it doesn't mean that it won't work for me. And likewise, I recognize that what works for me, won't necessarily work for others.
-Howie
I will agree in a couple of areas, EVERY hike I reaccess my gear to what I use and what I don't...what works for me! After my last hike on Feb. 29th, I realized that since I purchased and enjoy my REI convertable pants...I have never used my Patagonia mid-weight underware bottoms, so they are ditched for good...saved 1/2 pound.
I am very fortunate that my legs never get cold even at <15 degrees, but if they did I still have the Marmot Precips for added protection and also for rain use, in only cold weather.
Two years ago I took my daughter for a hike to one of my favorite spots, the top of Cowrock Mountain in the first week of May...we pitched the tent in the exposed area on top of the Mountain...and it went down to 26 degrees...a very, very long night.
In the same year I hiked in very muggy, August weather to the top of Bly gap and on purpose, camped on the top to benefit from the breeze and froze my butt off.
I have learned that even in warm/hot weather it is worth the few ounces of protection of minimum of a balaclova/hat, glove liners, etc.
Drop clothing weight ONLY after you KNOW what works for you after trying all types of seasons/etc.!
Having said that...you can continue to reduce your pack weight in a "Safe Mode" if you approach it in this method.
Kozmic Zian
03-12-2004, 20:22
No.....maybe not, but if the shoe fits.....! Like you said, tho' , what ever works for you>. I just find that a little extra for the wet times and the cold times, works for me. I don't like to shiver. Yea, the bag is the 'last resort', but when the temps dip into the 20's, I gotta' have a little more. If you're talking about a short, mid-summer hike, I could maybe, see it, but a LDH, IMHO, requires a few more duds. KZ@
Just got back from the trail tonight...GREAT TIME as usual, spent the night at Gooch Gap ( low elevation) and only got down to 42 degrees, but the hat and gloves FELT GREAT and were NECCESARY in the early morning!