clothing qustions, advice needed:)

[jingle jangle]

Starting the AT GAME on 4/21. I am still not totally sure on the clothing front. Below are some of the items I'm taking that I still have some questions about...Please note this not my entire clothing list, the rest of the stuff I already feel good about. Also, NOTHING I am bringin is cotton. Okay, cool... Cheers!

Tops:

-2 hiking tshirts

- 1 lightweight long sleeve (for hiking on cool days)

- 1 lightweight wool sweater (Camp? Hiking? I am worried, I get cold!)

- 1 heavier weight long sleeve (camp use only)

- 1 Patagonia downjacket (camp use only)


*^enough, not enough? please keep in mind I tend to be COLDER than other people. Was thinking if I elminate anything it'd be the wool sweater?*


Bottoms:

- 2 shorts
*^are 2 necessary?

-Patagonia capiline longjohns (for camp use/sleeping only)

-One pair of pants
*^I'm at a loss of WHAT TYPE of pants I want. I'm thinking I will be throwing them on over my shorts on cold mornings or chilly mid day breaks. Yes? Does this sounds accurate? I know I DO NOT want convertibles since I will already have shorts... But I would love some suggestions on materials or brands etc.

- Rain jacket but NOT rain pants?
*^Ideas on no rain pants? With all the hiking I've done I've hardly EVER used rain pants, that's why I decided to forego, but maybe I could use them instead of the other pair of pants I planned on bringing for warmth while hiking.



THANK YOU

[Odd Man Out]

How about a fleece to replace the down jacket and/or sweater. Fleece is light and is better (than down) if damp.
wind pants rather than rain pants are a compromise for an extra bottom layer.

[bigcranky]

Tops: two very light tops, one short and one long sleeved. One midweight long sleeve, maybe a microfleece zip tee. The down jacket. Skip the wool sweater and the second s/s top.

Pants: take rain pants as your only long outer pant layer. They can be worn as a warm layer, or used as rain pants if needed (very cold windy rain up high...) The light long john bottoms will be useful too.

Shorts: I bring two pair, but many hikers do not. I like to have something dry to put on in camp, and I tend to sweat enough that everything I am wearing is soaked.

Note that you'll probably send some of this stuff home by mid-May.

[SCRUB HIKER]

Since you're from Vermont I was going to suggest finding a cold, windy, or better yet rainy day and, if you can spare the time, walking around for an hour or two in it and seeing how warm you get. It might surprise you. Even in upper-30s and windy conditions with spotty rain (which is the worst I encountered on the AT, starting NOBO April 3, although much worse is certainly possible), I never needed more than a rain shell with my long-sleeve t-shirt underneath. If such a day comes along between now and your start date, you could at least get an idea of what clothes you'll need for hiking.

I agree, no rain pants needed. Wind pants (I have a pair of Montane Featherlite which I bought from WB) might be nice. The wind pants could cover any cold hiking and your long johns any cold sleeping that you have to do. I don't think you need a second pair of shorts or an extra pair of long pants besides that. One pair shorts, long johns and a water-resistant outer layer (wind pants) should do it.

Between the wool sweater, heavyweight long-sleeve and down jacket I would honestly take out two--probably the long-sleeve and down jacket. I'm not a huge fan of down on the AT, although some people are, because so often the cold there is accompanied by wet. Imagine it were wet, 35 degrees and for some reason you had to stand around outside in camp (as opposed to jumping in your sleeping bag in a tent/shelter)--your long-sleeve hiking shirt, plus your extra t-shirt, plus your wool sweater, plus the warm hat and rain gear that I assume you have, would probably get the job done, right? Maybe you could add a fleece layer to bolster that, but it doesn't seem necessary to me. You could certainly last one or two nights with the setup I suggested, and on the southern AT, you pretty much always have options to bail if the weather turns really awful for three days straight.

[Serial 07]

1 hiking shirt is probably good enough...i'd consider carrying a cotton T for towns and camp or whatnot...come summer time, the touch of cotton is nice...but you can always pick one of these up at any salvation army...

what's a wool sweater? a patagonia capilene 3 is perfect...if a wool sweater is like that, then that's good...

seems like you have too many long sleeve shirts...

your second pair of shorts better be the lightest thing possible...wait, no, just buy a pair of convertible pants...TNF makes some quality stuff...

no rain pants...when it rains, you'll get hiking, producing crazy heat and getting wet...but when it stops raining, you be hiking, producing crazy heat and not getting wet...your heat will dry your clothes...

[Fredt4]

One pair of shorts a one pair of rain pants. (Why is one a pair?) You'll rarely wear the rain pants when it's raining while hiking. I appreciated them on a cold and rainy day (turned to snow) in N.C. on the AT in 2011, but mostly wore them in camp or in town. Sent them home when it got a bit warmer, then it turned cold. When/if I go again, I doubt I'll send them home. I'll probably custom make zip on legs for some hiking shorts since I haven't found a zip on/off pants I like.

[MuddyWaters]

Example of standard upper body clothing:

synthetic/wool long sleeve underwear top
Short sleeve synthetic /wool shirt
light wt fleece top
Down or synthetic puffy
Waterproof/breathable outer shell

These layers all work together. Nothing is redundant, or cannot be used with other items.

Example of standard lower body clothing:

synthetic UL long underwear bottom /tights
lightwt nylon running shorts
synthetic/wool baselayer underwear or compression shorts
waterproof breathable bottoms

In most cases, you wont wear the long underwear while hiking, it can be worn as camp/sleeping clothes. Wear raingear over for modesty if needed.\
If its warm enough you cant wear the lightwt long underwear, its warm enough to keep your wet clothes on until they dry.
If its really cold, you can use the long underwear for hiking too, although normall not needed

In hot weather, get rid of the long underwear and replace with another shorts and shirt for camp /sleeping