Clothing Stink

[thing1]

What is your strategy for minimizing stink on the trail and cleaning once you get home?

[ChinMusic]

I wear merino wool shirts. They do not retain any significant odor and once washed are like new. Same thing goes for socks.

[bigcranky]

+1 for merino wool. Short and long sleeved tops, long john bottoms, and boxer briefs. No stink at all, though in damp weather they can smell a little like a wet sheep. (Not in a bad way, though :) )

[Coffee]

What is a good choice for pants to reduce the stink factor? I use smartwool shirts but have REI convertible pants which do take on an odor after a while. My solution has been to wash out the pants when arriving at camp after changing into a pair of lightweight running shorts I use only in camp.

[Tipi Walter]

Unless you're running for Mayor or in Flirtation Mode, who cares? Summer stink can be mostly solved by in-creek bathing and in-creek washing of the t-shirt, underwear and shorts/socks. No problem. Frigid winter stink is almost nonexistent and even if you get a whiff of yourself, you will do nothing to compromise your warmth, warmth layers and clothing security, no matter how foul. UNLESS you have soiled your underwear/shorts in an emergency squat-squirt whereby the colon erupts with unplanned effluvia. THEN have plenty of tp or paper towels.

Merino IS much better for stink control over the old polypros, this is true. But in the final analysis, a full blown stank attack should be of no real concern, just keep getting your bag nights.

ANOTHER TIP
Always take an extra pair of underwear and wear one while washing/drying the other. Simple. Bronners lavender puts the sweet smell back in yore nether regions.

[Bronk]

Try not to poop your pants.

[Dogwood]

Welcome to WB Thing1. Tell me you have a twin that also hikes and their user name/trail name is Thing2 and you'll kick off the start of my Dr Seuss themed afternoon in style. :)

Look on this thread, it's currently floating around: A few others and myself went pointedly into this. http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?99437-AT-produces-smelly-hikers-huh. I'm with others who recommended merino clothing which I do for a myriad of other, I feel, more important reasons but YES one NICE benefit is less stink. Merino wool apparel is no magic bullet to totally eliminate odors though. DO be mindful of merino care and washing instructions. I learned this the hard way by ruining more merino pieces than my bankbook allowed at certain times.

I mail myself SOME resupply boxes on long distance hikes(taking a hybrid resupply approach method) for several important personal reasons. In those boxes I include one time use pear shaped rough textured exfoliating sponges that help get the grime, grease, and sweat off on occasion. They cost about $1 at discount beauty stores like Harmon. Work well on hot humid sweatfest hikes nicely.

I said this on that other thread but I think it's worth repeating. Don't be afraid to wash your gear(not just your clothing) on a hike. For example, I might was a down sleeping bag twice or more on a 2000 mile hike. I periodically empty my entire pack, scrub it down, and wash it at a place that has a hose while on a hike. This is also a good time to examine gear to make repairs or consider replacements. I regularly disinfect and scrub my cookware and ditty/wash cloth(these can stank quickly) periodically on a hike. Shoes are another one. Defunk shoes, replace orthotics/inserts. Wearing trail runners during gravely rocky bottom fords is sometimes all it takes.

You don't have to be a Felix Unger but you don't have to be a smelly slob on a hike either.

[FarmerChef]

What Dogwood said.

Seriously, though. Merino and other natural animal fibers cut stank way down. In the summer, you will stink. Get over it ;) But please do take every opportunity to shower and wash your clothes. Not every 2 days but at least once a week helps keep the stink down from leaving a trail of dead vegetation everywhere you've been.

Also, don't try to cover the stink with something else that smells. I don't know about others but my nose goes hypersensitive when in the woods. Anything chemically smelling, especially over natural B/O just plain reeks. Tried this once. Keyword - once. :)

[Dogwood]

Tipi rarely sleeps in shelters and camps alone in remote areas.

I think hiking pants with a liner brief cut down on odors. I don't do separate briefs any more though so I guess other layering systems work similarly. Pants made from Simplex and Schoeller fabric(do re mi!) do well in cutting down on odors. It helps in having apparel that's easy to wash and fast to dry on trail. Before some of you put down merino in the dry time category it's not always what it seems, at least in my experience when matching the appropriate wt merino/design to the primary hiking conditions. I'll estimate 80% of the time I hike in nylon running shorts w/liner even down to the freezing mark. . They are low volume, lite wt, dry quickly(whether drying while wearing them or not), flow nicely on your bod(doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything), and can be had for cheap prices when on sale. If need be I can wear a synthetic bottom under the shorts if hiking in colder conditions. Lite wt Nylon running shorts, silk wt synthetic thermal bottoms(like Terramar, Patagonia Cap 1, etc), and UL rain/wind pants on shoulder season hikes offer me a great amount of flexibility and coverage. Pants, it's not always what's for hiking.

[FarmerChef]

Tipi rarely sleeps in shelters and camps alone in remote areas.

I think hiking pants with a liner brief cut down on odors. I don't do separate briefs any more though so I guess other layering systems work similarly. Pants made from Simplex and Schoeller fabric(do re mi!) do well in cutting down on odors. It helps in having apparel that's easy to wash and fast to dry on trail. Before some of you put down merino in the dry time category it's not always what it seems, at least in my experience when matching the appropriate wt merino/design to the primary hiking conditions. I'll estimate 80% of the time I hike in nylon running shorts w/liner even down to the freezing mark. . They are low volume, lite wt, dry quickly(whether drying while wearing them or not), flow nicely on your bod(doesn't feel like I'm wearing anything), and can be had for cheap prices when on sale. If need be I can wear a synthetic bottom under the shorts if hiking in colder conditions. Lite wt Nylon running shorts, silk wt synthetic thermal bottoms(like Terramar, Patagonia Cap 1, etc), and UL rain/wind pants on shoulder season hikes offer me a great amount of flexibility and coverage. Pants, it's not always what's for hiking.

Yeah, I wear hiking shorts until it gets really, really cold (say teens or below) or there's feet of snow on the ground. In the winter, there's much less sweat and much less smell that accompanies it.

[pnkwolfe]

If I don't stink when I get back my wife starts to wonder where I was!

As far as post hike laundering... try soaking clothes and pack in hot water with plenty of borax. Yup, they still make the old fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax. Put some more in the washer when you run your laundry. Takes the stink right out.

[FarmerChef]

If I don't stink when I get back my wife starts to wonder where I was!

As far as post hike laundering... try soaking clothes and pack in hot water with plenty of borax. Yup, they still make the old fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax. Put some more in the washer when you run your laundry. Takes the stink right out.

How about vinegar? Anyone try that?

[FarmerChef]

And oh wow, i can't believe I forgot to mention the smoke bath. Seriously. It works. No you won't smell like you just washed with Dial but it takes the edge off and the smoke helps keep the edge off. If you have a campfire, don't be shy. Keep your clothes on and try to get smoke up between you and the clothes. Not necessary for Merino but for running shirt/shorts type clothes it works like a charm.

[perdidochas]

What is your strategy for minimizing stink on the trail and cleaning once you get home?


For polyester (i.e. wicking) clothing that has developed some funk, Tide makes a liquid detergent with Febreze. It deodorized my son's football jersey that we could smell from 30 feet away.

[perdidochas]

If I don't stink when I get back my wife starts to wonder where I was!

As far as post hike laundering... try soaking clothes and pack in hot water with plenty of borax. Yup, they still make the old fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax. Put some more in the washer when you run your laundry. Takes the stink right out.


I can remember using borax on diapers. Worked well.

[RF_ace]

wash with distilled vinegar and an enzyme detergent, took care of the stink my gym shirts can generate when left in a gym bag

[MuddyWaters]

I dont even worry about it.
Washing pretty much gets rid of the stink.

But really, I dont stink that bad, even after 2 weeks. Neither do my clothes. They do smell, obviously, but not like the hiker/homeless person stench that some have. Passing me on trail wont make you want to puke.

Ive wondered if the permethrin i treat them with for bugs, keeps the bacteria down too?

[thing1]

These tips are a great help!

Thanks so much, all!!

Now, for my daughter's sneakers....

[RED-DOG]

Unless you're running for Mayor or in Flirtation Mode, who cares? Summer stink can be mostly solved by in-creek bathing and in-creek washing of the t-shirt, underwear and shorts/socks. No problem. Frigid winter stink is almost nonexistent and even if you get a whiff of yourself, you will do nothing to compromise your warmth, warmth layers and clothing security, no matter how foul. UNLESS you have soiled your underwear/shorts in an emergency squat-squirt whereby the colon erupts with unplanned effluvia. THEN have plenty of tp or paper towels.

Merino IS much better for stink control over the old polypros, this is true. But in the final analysis, a full blown stank attack should be of no real concern, just keep getting your bag nights.

ANOTHER TIP
Always take an extra pair of underwear and wear one while washing/drying the other. Simple. Bronners lavender puts the sweet smell back in yore nether regions.

I hope you are not doing this around OUR water sources.

[cyclesullivan1986]

A good trick for sneakers is to freeze them. Here in the Midwest I just leave my smelly sneakers in the car for a day and night. Otherwise you can put them in ziplock bags and throw them in your freezer. Works like a charm.

[Connie]

I have a 150-weight merino upperbody layer, I like.

For more strenuous activity, merino works well, for me, anyway.

I think I will try the new Watson's merino, announced at OR.

My favorite for cold-weather, really cold, is silk-wool longjohns I recently found again, online. http://danishwool.com/product-category/adults/long-underwear-adults/?gclid=CLjZ_OOUpsICFRSFfgodHw0Ayg

[colorado_rob]

Yep, yet another +1 for Merino or "smartwool", amazing how it helps reduce (but never eliminate!) stink on long hikes. Wonderful stuff.

[HeartFire]

You cannot get the stank out of polyester fabric. Polyester is 'oliophilic' which means it holds onto oils - your body oils will bind with the fibers and that is where the smell is. When you wash them, you won't notice the smell, but when it warms up on your body the smell comes right back. Nylon will not hold the smell like polyester will. So make sure your long sleeve button down ('fishing' shirt) is nylon, most of them this past year are poly.

Wool and other natural fibers - silk and cotton will not retain the stench.

[Connie]

My long-sleeved ventilated fishing shirt is nylon.

Nothing works for polyester?

How about reasonably new polyester, washing often?

How about Mira-zyme?

[NY HIKER 50]

If I don't stink when I get back my wife starts to wonder where I was!

As far as post hike laundering... try soaking clothes and pack in hot water with plenty of borax. Yup, they still make the old fashioned 20 Mule Team Borax. Put some more in the washer when you run your laundry. Takes the stink right out.

Not to say that I stink, but my wife waits at the door in a hazmat suit and has me put my clothes into a plastic bag. I have found no matter how much I wash I still smell. The problem has to wait until I get home. I know someone mentioned borax but I throw everything in a baking soda bath and them into the washing machine. My wife then lets me back into the house.

[squeezebox]

Washing your butt after you poop should help a lot.

[ninebeans]

I soak my hiking clothes overnight in a tub with 1:1 white vinegar and water. Works with gym clothes and stable clothes, too.