View Full Version : Stink less
TurboPants
10-10-2013, 10:17
I have some polyester blend running t-shirts that stink within 20 minutes of wearing them even just sitting around. Based on my research polyester stinks and once it does, good luck getting the smell out unless you have special detergent. How much better are the merino wool shirts on stench? It's not that I'm trying to smell good on trail because I know that doesn't happen, I just don't want to use materials that stinks before you even put it back on. I see long sleeve merino tees selling for $40-70. It's hard for me to justify that price for one t-shirt. Do they have to be 100% merino? Is it worth it or should I just accept the stench and use the $15 poly blend shirts??
fredmugs
10-10-2013, 10:32
I hike with a guy locally who took a merino wool shirt on his thru hike and he said it never stunk. I'm in the same boat as you - I would love to have a shirt that won't stink but it's hard to pull the trigger on the cost.
geomaniac
10-10-2013, 10:43
Ive found pretty decent Merino wool sweaters at Target on occasion for cheap. I have also bought merino blend T-shirts made by woolrich that are really nice. I think I got those from either Campmore or REI, I cant seem to remember just where I found them, but I like them.
ChinMusic
10-10-2013, 10:46
How much better are the merino wool shirts on stench?
Almost no smell at all. I swear, you could go without washing a merino wool shirt for a month on the trail and it wouldn't stink. I'd get picked up by a local for a ride into town and they would actually question whether I was really a thru-hiker because "You don't stink". YMMV
Teacher & Snacktime
10-10-2013, 11:07
You could always shave your armpits too.
ChinMusic
10-10-2013, 11:25
You could always shave your armpits too.
uhhhhhh, that would be an "no"
My main hiking shirt this year was a long sleeve Smartwool and I wore it many times for days on the trail without washing. Sometimes I would rinse it out in a stream without soap but usually not. I couldn't detect any smell from the shirt itself and I wore it on the plane ride home (after washing) without offending anyone, as far as I could tell.
My convertible REI pants were another story. They just reeked after a day of use and I still detect a faint smell even after a few washes. I'm not sure if there are pants made of material that won't reek after a day or two.
TurboPants
10-10-2013, 11:37
Thanks for the replies. Guess the merino is worth it!
RamblingHiker, were your REI convert pants merino though?? Most of those khaki colored pants are polyester. So that would fall into the instant and permanent stinker category. The stench of butt sweat and trail farts could definitely accumulate to be a bad thing!
I was at a shop in gatlinburg where some hikers stopped to charge phones and they smelled like a forest fire in a swamp of BO hehe. I don't want to be like that if I can help it, just to not burden others. I could care less if I stink to myself.
Chair-man
10-10-2013, 11:54
I prefer a short sleeve button down shirt that way you can open the front for max ventilation. If you get a synthetic shirt make sure it has antimicrobial treatment to prevent order. Right now I'm thinking about getting this shirt <click (http://www.underarmour.com/shop/us/en/mens-ua-spinner-short-sleeve-shirt/pid1235477-056)
The REI pants are polyester which accounts for the stink. I haven't seen lightweight wool pants for hiking but I might look into that in the future. Also wool underwear could work out better than the ex officios I used.
TurboPants
10-10-2013, 12:20
Hmm I heard ExOfficio had pretty much the best underwear known to man, not sure how to you could do better. I was under the impression they sold partially merino undies already. Maybe yours weren't?
Chairman, that shirt looks nice but it's polyester. It does have the antimicrobial treatment but that will only do so much when the garment itself is made of polyester. I have a runner's tee that I was given when I ran in a local marathon. It was 100% poly but had anti microbial and it still stinks. Just warning you in case you do buy it thinking it's the answer. :)
Hmm I heard ExOfficio had pretty much the best underwear known to man, not sure how to you could do better. I was under the impression they sold partially merino undies already. Maybe yours weren't?
Mine are not merino. I was actually very happy with the ExOfficio briefs in terms of performance. And when rinsed out, even without soap, they didn't hold that much of an odor. However, on a couple of occasions I didn't rinse it out and the next day it definitely held an odor.
Chair-man
10-10-2013, 13:38
Hmm I heard ExOfficio had pretty much the best underwear known to man, not sure how to you could do better. I was under the impression they sold partially merino undies already. Maybe yours weren't?
Chairman, that shirt looks nice but it's polyester. It does have the antimicrobial treatment but that will only do so much when the garment itself is made of polyester. I have a runner's tee that I was given when I ran in a local marathon. It was 100% poly but had anti microbial and it still stinks. Just warning you in case you do buy it thinking it's the answer. :)
I saw that, the shirts I have now are nylon and aren't too bad with the odor. I've read that the antimicrobial treatment only last for several washes anyway. I would definitely stay away from any shirt that says microfiber, while they wick and dry fast they smell the worst. I'm going to try washing my shirt next time I go out. I carry a 4 liter Platypus water tank that I could wash it in.
Stir Fry
10-10-2013, 13:53
Almost everythin I have now is Marino. I have used the Marion T for 18 days Its a lie to say it does not sting at all, but a nylon shirt stinke worse after 1 day. The bigest disadvantage to Marion is $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Ken.davidson
10-10-2013, 13:58
Go to Goodwill, ACTS or other thrift store you will be supprised to see what you find. I have purchased three Marino shirts in the last couple of weeks.
TurboPants
10-10-2013, 16:26
Never thought to check the thrift stores, that idea has promise! Cheapest long sleeve merino t-shirt I've found is at steepandcheap and that's $48 lol. Can't get over how pricey these things are!!
Never thought to check the thrift stores, that idea has promise! Cheapest long sleeve merino t-shirt I've found is at steepandcheap and that's $48 lol. Can't get over how pricey these things are!!
Not particularly durable either. I have a couple of holes in my smartwool shirt that I've had to sew up and I've only used it maybe 30-35 times this year. I would think at least 4 or 5 would be needed for a thru hike of the AT, PCT, or CDT.
FarmerChef
10-10-2013, 16:39
Not particularly durable either. I have a couple of holes in my smartwool shirt that I've had to sew up and I've only used it maybe 30-35 times this year. I would think at least 4 or 5 would be needed for a thru hike of the AT, PCT, or CDT.
I met up with a hiker whose silkweight merino long sleeved t lasted the whole hike. It had plenty of holes in it by the end though. The midweight's fare much better.
TurboPants
10-10-2013, 17:00
So would a 150 or 200 be considered a mid-weight? I've read some reviews that thru hikers said they made it the whole way with a 150wt LS shirt. BUT, they probably didn't wear it every day and/or had a short sleeve shirt for hiking. I'm also thinking a dedicated merino wool LS shirt would be ideal for sleep clothing, along with bottoms. That way even less odor gets transferred to the bag.
Teacher & Snacktime
10-10-2013, 17:03
The bigest disadvantage to Marion is $$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Yeah....she's not a cheap date.
ChinMusic
10-10-2013, 17:20
Not particularly durable either. I have a couple of holes in my smartwool shirt that I've had to sew up and I've only used it maybe 30-35 times this year. I would think at least 4 or 5 would be needed for a thru hike of the AT, PCT, or CDT.
I wore two this season. And that was because I needed a smaller size.
Wise Old Owl
10-10-2013, 17:33
I have some polyester blend running t-shirts that stink within 20 minutes of wearing them even just sitting around. Based on my research polyester stinks and once it does, good luck getting the smell out unless you have special detergent. How much better are the merino wool shirts on stench? It's not that I'm trying to smell good on trail because I know that doesn't happen, I just don't want to use materials that stinks before you even put it back on. I see long sleeve merino tees selling for $40-70. It's hard for me to justify that price for one t-shirt. Do they have to be 100% merino? Is it worth it or should I just accept the stench and use the $15 poly blend shirts??
You can clean it with borax or Baking soda...
If that fails - use hunters scent away... nothin survives the green bottle after a soak.
Stir Fry
10-10-2013, 17:42
So would a 150 or 200 be considered a mid-weight? I've read some reviews that thru hikers said they made it the whole way with a 150wt LS shirt. BUT, they probably didn't wear it every day and/or had a short sleeve shirt for hiking. I'm also thinking a dedicated merino wool LS shirt would be ideal for sleep clothing, along with bottoms. That way even less odor gets transferred to the bag.
150 is lightweight 200 is midweight. The numbers are thread size I beleave. I started with 150 but changed to the 200 after I tearing a couple of the 150 ones. I think 200 weight will last for my through.
ams212001
10-10-2013, 17:52
Check out a site called geartrade.com I have been able to purchase 2 merino wool shirts for well over 50% off.
swjohnsey
10-10-2013, 17:59
My polyester T-shirts don't stink.
kidchill
10-11-2013, 08:36
I just wanted to put in a vote for merino wool shirts. I started my thru with 1 synthetic and threw it away once I hit the first town...It smelled horrible (I was going SOBO, so it took a bit to get to Monson). After that I used ONLY icebreakers merino wool LS shirts. I ripped one to shreds near the NH/VT line (was trying to take it off while it was sweat glued to me), but the other one I had is still together today. It has a bunch of little holes in the armpits, but other then that it's still in great shape. I would use one shirt for trail and one shirt for town. In terms of the smell, never had a problem. After being back from the trail, I still live in these merino tops (around the house, hanging out, and sleeping).
TurboPants
10-11-2013, 09:56
Thanks for that. As they say, it pays to play!
I guess the one big thing I'm uncertain on is the 100% merino versus the ones that are 40-60% merino. Obviously the 100% is probably best, but you can get the mixed material tees for a lot less. I suppose it would be best to just save up and buy a couple good ones; one to hike in and one to have on standby at home in case I need to have someone ship it to me.
Offshore
10-11-2013, 10:53
If you already have the polyester blend clothing and its otherwise in good shape, try using a sports detergent such as Prowash or Win. Its a lot cheaper than buying new gear and I found that it really does work. The issue with the polyester shirts is that normal detergents don't remove all of the odor and degrades the performance aspect of the fabrics by coating the fibers with perfume and softener agents. After a while, you notice that the clothing comes out of the laundry smelling fresh, but after a little while, just your body heat is enough to release the residual odors.
I had several Nike Drifit shirts that I use at the gym and they developed the odor problem using a conventional detergent. I bought Prowash and soaked them for a couple of hours and then machine washed them normally (no fabric softener ever) using Prowash and the odor was gone and has remained so. After a workout, I let the clothing dry and then do a weekly load of just the Drifit shirts and shorts using Prowash and hang them to dry. Its a normal wash cycle, no additional soaking needed beyond the first time. I've never had a problem with residual odor since.
The specialty detergents are expensive, but you actually need very little per load and if you restrict its use to performance clothing, its not bad at all. Certainly cheaper than buying new gear. Prowash seems to come and go on Amazon (I usually buy a three-container pack on Amazon, so I only check every 6 months or so), but Win is available now for $11 for enough for 14 loads. For a fraction of the price of a performance T-shirt, its worth a shot.
Starvin Marvin
10-11-2013, 12:49
The specialty detergents sounds like a good solution for home use, but not for a thru hike, unless you want to carry the detergent with you.
I like the Smartwool brand merino wool. 150=lightweight ,195=midweight, 250=heavy weight.
Double Wide
10-12-2013, 09:53
Get your merino wool shirts from Sierra Trading Post. Best prices BY FAR that I've seen. I got my base layer merino there, some merino wool undies, and a short sleeve merino wool t-shirt also. Each piece was between $23-$35.
lush242000
10-12-2013, 12:45
I think the stink factor is mostly genetic and diet. Some people just plain stink. I always find it funny the amount of useless crap people strap to their backs and never use but if you ask them how to save wight they tell you to ditch the soap and deodorant.
Carry a 1oz tube of baby shampoo or some hippy crap if you like. Clean your stink. If I can smell you from 10' feet away you stink. It's not hard to stay clean on the trail.
Sent from somewhere.