Which base layer: silk or poly or wool or will it all stink?

[jimmyjam]

Ok I know this has probably been discussed before, but I can't find the thread- So for a mid April start NOBO I have set of light weight silk top & bottoms, and a mid weight poly set of top and bottoms to choose from. I'm thinking about taking both- one for hiking and one for sleeping. Is it worth the money to buy merino for the hiking set or after a week isn't it all going to stink? Thanks!

[TroutknuT]

Less stink with merino, that said I hike in synthetic light weight if it is that cold. Hikers stink so if I can lower the stink in my bag wearing merino to bed,then that is what I do. A quick bandanna bath and into mid weight wool camp-sleeping long johns. I am a back -side-back-belly-side sleeper and found I move better inside my bag in long johns. I don't think hiking in wool is a must, your silks may dry faster after a day of hiking and the merino at bed time to help with the hiker funk. Just my M.O.

[Datto]

It'll all stink -- but you, and other AT thru-hikers near you, won't notice it much after a couple of weeks on the Trail. Only the others you meet will notice it (rides into and out of town, tourists you meet, those kinds of people). It'll be that way to Katahdin except when you're coming out of town with freshly cleaned clothing. You get used to it pretty quickly and your own body smell becomes less of a concern after a couple of weeks.

I wouldn't bring two of anything except socks -- you'll end up sending the doubles home once you start climbing the Georgia mountains with that full backpack.


Datto

[Datto]

One thing you might consider if you have an expensive sleeping bag you're intending to salvage after your AT thru-hike is to bring something lightweight (kite weight Tyvek for instance) to put under your sleeping bag when you're sleeping in the shelter. Many times there is barbeque sauce and other nice things left on the floor surface of the shelter -- when you arrive to the shelter at dusk and lay out your goods to go to sleep, you might not notice the sauce blobs until the next morning when you go to pack up your pack to continue northward. Then there's a big surprise and the utterance of Golly. It'd be too late by then.


Datto

[jimmyjam]

Got that covered- I use a tyvek ground sheet. I may sleep near a shelter, but unless it's really stormy not in one- I've seen the mice and the snakes that come to eat the mice. I've got a light weight silk liner to use at the begining that will keep the inside of the bag clean for a while until I send it home. But I don't mind a little dirt and it seems to like me.:-)

[bigcranky]

Wool stinks a lot less than synthetics. I once wore a light long sleeve wool base layer for a solid week on the trail, and it didn't smell bad at all (unlike me.) You might occasionally smell like a wet sheep, but it passes.

[Datto]

That's great -- one other thing you might consider bringing with you for the first month and the last month of your AT thru-hike is a Mylar sleeping bag to put inside your regular sleeping bag on nights where it is bitter cold. That will add considerable warmth (more than 10*F) and allow you to sleep through bitter cold nights at the expense of your clothes (not your sleeping bag) being damp the next morning when you start out hiking again.

You can get a 4oz Space brand Mylar sleeping bag (~ $10) at on-line outfitters or you can also get the American something brand (~$15) Mylar sleeping bag that is more durable. The Mylar sleeping bags (not the cheap $3.00 ones) will last maybe 8-15 nights of continual use once opened. If you don't need the Mylar sleeping bag then just keep the Mylar sleeping bag unopened and it'll be good to go later.

I've sat through several on-trail blizzards with a 20*F down bag with a Mylar sleeping bag inside it and a Gatorade bottle of hot water inside the Mylar sleeping bag. Also good if you get your down sleeping bag soaking wet -- the heat from inside the Mylar sleeping bag will dry out your down sleeping bag without adding to dampness to your down sleeping bag.


Datto

[Datto]

You might occasionally smell like a wet sheep, but it passes.


That would be Chanel No. 2.


Datto

[Datto]

Something else that came to mind -- even though you won't notice your own stink at all and probably not the stink of other AT thru-hikers you meet, what you will notice -- and it may gag you -- is perfume, cologne and scented washing machine soap that is on others you meet in town or dayhikers you meet on the Trail.

On your AT thru-hike, after a while you're sense of smell will become particularly sensitive (you may be able to tell when you come to the top of a ridge after climbing the side of a mountain just by the change in smell that a near-ridge location has versus the smell when you're climbing the ridge). On my AT thru-hike in Maryland, when the wind was right I could smell dayhikers coming down the trail toward me before I saw them coming around a bend.

So you'll definitely want to choose non-scented soap (bar soap, shampoo, washing machine soap) on your AT thru-hike so you don't end up gagging yourself later from the smell. Same goes for hand sanitizer you may be carrying in your pocket -- make sure you get the non-scented hand sanitizer so you don't gag yourself on the smell.

Another use for a heightened sense of smell is to be able to smell the onset of a storm when you're in the green tunnel or hiking up the side of a hill and can't get a great vista of the sky.


Datto

[TroutknuT]

I wouldn't bring two of anything except socks -- you'll end up sending the doubles home once you start climbing the Georgia mountains with that full backpack.

Using only one set of long johns what do you do if..... many days of cold weather, rain pants or hiking fast dose not always work.. Can't hike in camp clothing. This is why I thought 2 sets of long johns was the norm.

[leaftye]

Polyester is incredibly stinky. Now I'll only use it for 9" boxer briefs, and that's because even if there was a merino wool alternative, it wouldn't last long.

[jimmyjam]

I wouldn't bring two of anything except socks -- you'll end up sending the doubles home once you start climbing the Georgia mountains with that full backpack.

Using only one set of long johns what do you do if..... many days of cold weather, rain pants or hiking fast dose not always work.. Can't hike in camp clothing. This is why I thought 2 sets of long johns was the norm.

Yeah my thinking was to hike in the silks and sleep in my polys until it gets warm enough for me to send the poly set home. I have runner's shorts, runner's ss shirt, wind pants, wind shirt, and a syn insul pullover puffytype, my gatewood is my rain gear.

[Drybones]

Others I hiked with might not agree with this statement but, I wore wool tee shirts and never smelled, the cap I wore reeked, if I ever run across a lightweight wool cap I'll buy it.

[Odd Man Out]

...So you'll definitely want to choose non-scented soap (bar soap, shampoo, washing machine soap) on your AT thru-hike so you don't end up gagging yourself later from the smell. Same goes for hand sanitizer you may be carrying in your pocket -- make sure you get the non-scented hand sanitizer so you don't gag yourself on the smell....

I would also add that unscented toiletries help prevent unwanted attention from critters. I was told (by a bear expert) of a woman who was attacked by a bear through a tent wall. The bear thought he was going after fruit and got her fruit scented scalp instead. The medical rescue team even commented on the overwhelming fruit odor coming off of her. I'm partial to Ivory - just plain soap.

[swjohnsey]

I don't think I would bring one set of long johns much less two.

[JAK]

The thing I like about wool is it is a lot like your own body hair, and the stuff your body secreted is a lot like the wool grease that sheep secrete, so the only thing you really need to keep your skin and hair and wool healthy is to get it wet and then dry it now and then, at least in theory. Whereas plastic fabrics, and even silk, isn't so natural next to the skin.

[Datto]

Something else -- don't carry powdered soap of any kind in your backpack -- powered soap easily gets into your food -- probably even if you've triple bagged the powdered soap. Nothing worse than carrying two jumbo peaches going out of town and up a hill only to discover later the peaches taste like soap. Better to carry in your pack a hotel-sized tiny bar of soap or no soap in your backpack at all.


Datto

[Northern Lights]

I still stunk really bad in merino wool. I just ordered silk base layers from Cabela's they are super cheap right now. I don't think I will smell any better, but I need them for the -54 temps we are having right now. Sure hope I get them soon :eek:

[HikerMom58]

You can wash ur body and ur clothes fairly easily along the way but it's the sleeping bag that can really stink..someone said their sleeping bag smelled like a science experiment gone terrribily wrong!! Ha Ha!! This thread is very funny btw.. :D

[Don H]

Mid April start, you won't need them for hiking in.

[fireneck]

Everything you own will smell of farts, lipton sides, feet, and BO. IMHO, that's a small price to pay for living on the trail for 4-6 months! :)

[Del Q]

Merino. I bring Ice Breaker tee shirts 100% of the time, regardless of the season.............Ice Breaker long johns.

Great gear, the tee shirts are a bit delicate and expensive but I really like them. HUGE difference on the stink front, wool rinses easily and dries pretty fast.