View Full Version : What about clothing.
Stir Fry
12-06-2011, 14:33
Besides what you have on, what is the minimum clothing that you should have for a Thru-Hike? April start all clothing carried, including cold weather gear. I know you can send some things home arround the end of May.
Hmmm, take a look at this tried and true gear list (http://www.backpacker.com/november_08_pack_man_/articles/12659?page=4) from pack guru Winton Porter (ignore any pop-up screens). Add a 100 weight fleece jacket of you want..... trim the list for summer to go even lighter.
Creek Dancer
12-06-2011, 15:20
Hmmm, take a look at this tried and true gear list ("http://www.backpacker.com/november_08_pack_man_/articles/12659?page=4") from pack guru Winton Porter (ignore any pop-up screens). Add a 100 weight fleece jacket of you want..... trim the list for summer to go even lighter.
I think the clothing list must be in addition to what you are already wearing. There are no hiking pants listed. Only shorts. I would add hat, gloves and windshirt to this list.
Slo-go'en
12-06-2011, 15:29
This is what I take, keeping in mind that I live in Northern NH, so by the time spring comes and I go south to hike, 40 degrees seems like summer temps to me.
1) mid weight T-shirt (wicking) - for camp and sleeping
1) pair, light weight thermal top and bottom - for camp and sleeping if it's below freezing
1) long sleeve sun block shirt - with ventulated sleeves. (got this at Mountian crossings and is pull over head type shirt)
2) pair extra socks
1) pair extra nylon underware
1)Warm layer, light Woolrich wool shirt (10% nylon) - wieghs about the same as a mid wieght fleece and I think it keeps me warmer. It also looks dressy for town.
1) wind/rain shell.
I think the clothing list must be in addition to what you are already wearing. There are no hiking pants listed. Only shorts. I would add hat, gloves and windshirt to this list.
Read the entire article. I initially packed pants but sent them home at Neels Gap. They were worthless. I agree about gloves but that's a given right? Don't need a wind shirt, that's what your rain shell is for, etc.....
Here's what Winton says:
"You want to ask yourself, What does each piece of clothing do for me? Does it insulate? Does it stop wind? Does it stop rain?" he says. "Nylon zip-off pants don't do any of those three. If you wear a pair of nylon running shorts over lightweight long underwear, now you have pants that weigh 3.5 ounces instead of two to four times as much."
Bottom line is this- Newbies starting a NOBO AT thru hike typically pack way too much including clothing. Useless crap. You learn as you go and start shedding stuff within the first 3 days on the trail. Happens every year......
Slo-go'en
12-06-2011, 15:35
I think the clothing list must be in addition to what you are already wearing. There are no hiking pants listed. Only shorts. I would add hat, gloves and windshirt to this list.
Oh yeah, I bring nylon running shorts too. Don't often wear them hiking (I'm just not a shorts kinda guy), but they are nice if you happen to be at a motel with a hot tub or swiming pool (or the hot springs at Hot Springs) and when you have to wash your pants. Hat and gloves are also a must until about June most years...
Slo-go'en
12-06-2011, 15:41
[QUOTE=Spokes;1224871 "Nylon zip-off pants don't do any of those three. If you wear a pair of nylon running shorts over lightweight long underwear, now you have pants that weigh 3.5 ounces instead of two to four times as much."[/QUOTE]
True, but I'll stick to my nylon zip-offs for hiking. Their more durable, have pockets and I don't have to worry about my long johns getting wet, dirty or torn up by snagging on brush.
I think the clothing list must be in addition to what you are already wearing. There are no hiking pants listed. Only shorts. I would add hat, gloves and windshirt to this list.
The list is for all clothing (but you're right, the only things I added were gloves and hat). It worked for me last year from 9 degrees to 92 degrees, even postholing through snow. With rain pants, you don't need hiking pants. Shorts with light weight long underwear for the coldest days is enough. You can put the rain pants on when you stop moving or in deep snow. The only thing I sent home once it warmed up was the midweight long underwear.
Creek Dancer
12-06-2011, 16:15
Read the entire article. I initially packed pants but sent them home at Neels Gap. They were worthless. I agree about gloves but that's a given right? Don't need a wind shirt, that's what your rain shell is for, etc.....
Here's what Winton says:
"You want to ask yourself, What does each piece of clothing do for me? Does it insulate? Does it stop wind? Does it stop rain?" he says. "Nylon zip-off pants don't do any of those three. If you wear a pair of nylon running shorts over lightweight long underwear, now you have pants that weigh 3.5 ounces instead of two to four times as much."
Bottom line is this- Newbies starting a NOBO AT thru hike typically pack way too much including clothing. Useless crap. You learn as you go and start shedding stuff within the first 3 days on the trail. Happens every year......
I take one pair of long underwear, tops and bottoms, that I only use for sleeping during the winter. These stay dry at all cost. I wouldn't wear them hiking with shorts because they would get wet from sweat and precipitation. I would leave the shorts at home and use pants during the winter. Just my preference.
A windshirt is not the same as a rain shell. My windshirt weighs 3 oz. and I wear this over a single base layer, if it's cold, while hiking and it gets plenty of use at camp. (Using rain gear while hiking would only make me sweat too much. I hate rain gear.) The wind shirt insulates, stops wind, dries fast, and provides some resistance from light precipitation. I think Winton would approve. :)
Creek Dancer
12-06-2011, 16:23
The list is for all clothing (but you're right, the only things I added were gloves and hat). It worked for me last year from 9 degrees to 92 degrees, even postholing through snow. With rain pants, you don't need hiking pants. Shorts with light weight long underwear for the coldest days is enough. You can put the rain pants on when you stop moving or in deep snow. The only thing I sent home once it warmed up was the midweight long
underwear.
You make a good point about using rain pants over long underwear in lieu of hiking pants. But if I did this, I would need two pairs of long underwear; one for sleeping and one for hiking.
Hey, I used to live in Midlothian!
garlic08
12-06-2011, 16:59
...Bottom line is this- Newbies starting a NOBO AT thru hike typically pack way too much including clothing. Useless crap. You learn as you go and start shedding stuff within the first 3 days on the trail. Happens every year......
Amen to this. Experienced hikers will carry far, far less clothing than newbies, and will probably be more comfortable in the same conditions. Ask an experienced hiker what clothing he or she carries, and you'd better be ready for a lesson on how that clothing is used. Like when Creek Dancer says she never hikes in her sleeping clothes, etc. That means little to me because I don't carry any 'sleeping clothes', so we're all different.
Many clothing choices are very personal and make no real sense, like why does a wind shirt work for some and not for others? My favorite garment, my Marmot Driclime, shouldn't work as well as it does given its weight and thickness, but I won't go anywhere without it.
Pack what you feel safe with (you have a whole winter to experiment), then start mailing it home if you find you're not needing it. Or buy/ship extra along the way. It's a real tough call to make for someone else.
Creek Dancer
12-06-2011, 17:11
Amen to this. Experienced hikers will carry far, far less clothing than newbies, and will probably be more comfortable in the same conditions. Ask an experienced hiker what clothing he or she carries, and you'd better be ready for a lesson on how that clothing is used. Like when Creek Dancer says she never hikes in her sleeping clothes, etc. That means little to me because I don't carry any 'sleeping clothes', so we're all different.
Many clothing choices are very personal and make no real sense, like why does a wind shirt work for some and not for others? My favorite garment, my Marmot Driclime, shouldn't work as well as it does given its weight and thickness, but I won't go anywhere without it.
Pack what you feel safe with (you have a whole winter to experiment), then start mailing it home if you find you're not needing it. Or buy/ship extra along the way. It's a real tough call to make for someone else.
That's true that many clothing choices are personal choices. I wear sleeping clothes because there is no way I am sleeping nekkid in my bag with a shelter full of men. That would just be weird. :o
That's true that many clothing choices are personal choices. I wear sleeping clothes because there is no way I am sleeping nekkid in my bag with a shelter full of men. That would just be weird. :o
I feel exactly the same way, my sleeping bag is plenty warm enough, but I need something clean, dry, and full coverage. I recently picked up a synthetic dress, and I'm hoping that will serve as my "sleep clothes" next summer. It comes down plenty far for modesty, but should make midnight bathroom trips easier. And it's pretty enough to wear in town to a nice restaurant (not that I have any shoes to wear with it!). It weighs 8oz, so more than a single piece of long underwear but less than both pieces together.
?...... It comes down plenty far for modesty, but should make midnight bathroom trips easier....
Daddy always said "don't let modesty get in the way of being dry and warm".
It's funny watching new thru hikers trying to get dressed and undressed when they first start out. That all changes a couple hundred miles into their hike.
One ounce for every degree F below 85F, not counting your shoes, shells, or shorts.
That is the lowest temperature you are planning for, which should be the historic low of end of May.
Dress in layers, with even coverage for that planned extreme low. You will rarely need to wear it all, except maybe when sitting around and drying it out, but as long as you can wear it all, without any layers compressing others, you should have lots of versatility in what you wear with what when some stuff is wet and you are drying it out, be wearing it or hanging it off your pack or whatever. Also, it is important to realize that you do not have to wear layers and even coverage most of the time. You only need to dress efficiently and evenly for the WORST conditions, when you wear all your clothes. When you are delayered is is usually best to dress unevenly, in shorts and without shells, so that you can wear more and let the wind blow through it to dry it out. Hats and mitts and neck area is the easiest way to layer and delayer on the move, as conditions change, like going up and down hills. Shells are the easiest thing to throw on when you stop, after you shake off any snow or damp. It's a good idea to take off clothes and give them a shake now and then, including socks, except when its crazy cold.
Trail shoes work in light snow, as long as they are made of a material that holds no water. If they hold water they will get wet and conduct heat and continuosly melt more snow and stay wet. This usually means less cushion, and some sort of nylon cloth. It can be harder to get a good fit and still allow a range of sock thickness. It is sometimes worth removing the insoles to fit thicker socks or a wool felt insole. I have taken to wearing 200wt fleece shorts, made from fleece pants cut off at the knee as one of my leg layers, and have one pair of my wool socks knee length, to provide the lower leg coverage when needed. This gives better mobility. I use both wool layers and fleece/polyester layers. I like wool for the stuff I keep on most of the time, and fleece/polyester for the stuff I leave off most of the time.
I like the shells to be as lightweight as possible. I like a rain poncho/tarp as my rain layer and for rain shelter over my bivy. In winter I might also bring 4oz wind shell top, to get maximum warmth from my insulation layers when needed, usually only when stopped, or when moving in a cold wind. Shells for legs is somewhat of a dilemna. It isn't worthwhile carrying wind pants, rain pants, hiking pants, and hiking shorts, but all four of those are ideal in different conditions, so you have to choose which 1 or 2 you want the most. I like hiking pants if there will be bushwacking. I also like the feel of hiking pants, but I like to hike in shorts most of the time. I usually opt for light breathable quick dry hiking shorts, and light near waterproof nylon rain pants. I don't like the weight or feel of the zipper in convertable hiking pants.
For sleeping clothes in winter, and maybe Spring/Fall, I like 20oz combi long wool underwear, from Stanfields. They double as emergency extra clothing, as they are just loose enough to fit comfortably over my skin layers, and thin and clingy enough to fit efficiently under my mid layers, wool sweater and fleece pants. The wool underwear absorbs body moisture to recover heat from the moisture and keep the bag dry, and can be dried by going out for a pee or moving around outside the sleeping bag on dry nights, or by a drying fire in an emergency. Whether or not I bring them depends on the temperature I am prepared for, meaning whether my 20F bag or 0F bag needs a little boost. For 10F, I will bring them with my 20F bang. For -10F I will bring them with my 0F bag. For colder than -10F I will bring both bags, as they nest well, and the long wool underwear. Looking forward to trying that in the backyard this winter.
Anyhow, wool long johns might be a good option for an early NOBO start. I got mine for $40 at Stanfield's Factory Outlet in Truro NS. They are 100% merino wool, but not sure they still make them 100%. Easy to send home once the weather warms up some. Very versatile as sleep wear and clothing boost, when cold enough to justify.