Any tips for hikers who sweat a lot?

I sweat a lot from any sort of physical activity, even when I am not really feeling very hot. On a normal hike carrying a pack my back will be completely soaked and my hair will be drenched even in mild weather. Does any body have suggestions/tips for the best gear when dealing with a lot of sweat or any tips to try to stay cool? I am sure that losing weight would help, but even at my thinnest sweating has always been a problem.

For gear right now I wear an Underarmor ball cap which has a pretty good sweat band but at the end of a long hike there will be sweat dripping off the bill. I have tried both synthetic shirts like underarmor, both lose and tight fitting, and a smartwool microweight t-shirt. I like the smartwool shirt a little bit more than the synthetics. I have worn both underarmor and ex officio boxer briefs and I like the ex officios a bit more, as they are not quite as snug. I also keep a pack towel outside of my bag and use it to wipe the sweat off my brow whenever I get a chance. I like to apply gold bond before going on a hike to help prevent chaffing and to keep things cool and dry in the nether regions. My pack is a z65 which allows pretty decent airflow.

I tend to carry and drink a lot of water on the trail because I sweat and I don't want to get dehydrated, and I can easily go through 3+ liters on a 8+ mile hike on a warm day.

Also forgot to mention one thing about gear. I have a marmot nano goretex outer shell that I use in the rain. Even with the goretex I don't get enough ventilation and by the time I take it off I am about as wet as I would be if I hadn't put it on.

Well, there is a lot that triggers heavy (abnormal) sweating such as:

Medical conditions - You might want to get a full blood workup
Certain medicines - you can Google this
Diet, but certainly caffeine and large amounts of alcohol consumption
(For most, cutting out or greatly reducing caffeine can make a world of difference in the amount you sweat.)

The amount of water one consumes won't increase sweating in a normally healthy person.

Good luck!

Gore-tex is not really known as a good ventilating material.
it doesn't breathe nearly as well as they would like you to think.
Frogg toggs work much better in that regard.

You have to be careful you don't get soaking wet and then stop and freeze in colder weather.

I feel your pain.

I use a bandana around my head "Willie Nelson" style. When it gets soaked, I rinse it out and hang to dry on my pack and grab another one to tie around my head. If I didn't do this I would be blinded by sweat even in winter.

I always carry a spare set of clothes for camp/sleeping because my hiking clothes will usually not dry overnight. In warm weather, I hike with shorts containing a liner...no underware for me in waremer weather. I also clean up around Richard and the boys with wet wipes and powder at the end of the day.

In the summer, I use an Atmos 50 pack in order to get some ventillation on my back. When I use my ULA Conduit or GG Murmur, I stuff a small section of shamwow under the shorts waistband at the small of my back. Keeps the sweat from dripping down my butt crack and causing chaos down south.

I know this may be TMI, but you asked and these tricks help to keep me semi-comfortable.

Signed, the Heavy Sweater. :)

To a slighty lesser extent I have the same problem
Try switching to an external frame pack and then adding another backband to it
If you're mechanically inclined you can rig an umbrella to your pack frame

I feel your pain all too well. I've yet to meet anyone who sweats as much as I do, although one guy came close. I suppose its healthy but it certainly is inconvenient. Losing weight didn't help me with the sweating but losing weight has other health benefits so I wouldn't advise against it.

I was going to suggest the external frame also. Keeping the frame off the back helps to prevent soaking the pack. I've recently taken to making my own external frame but I've only made one and I'm still in the learning stages.

Carry extra clothes and in cool weather especially, change shortly after you stop hiking to avoid a chill. This means you get to carry a little extra.

Wash as often as possible. Wash yourself, wash your clothes. I'm referring to the end of the day. Washing when there is still more hiking to do is usually pointless unless you find it refreshing. This means you get to carry a little extra.

Hi. Im HeavyPack and I am a heavy sweater. Whew. Feels good to get that off my chest...
No matter the temperature within an hour im drenched head to toe. Not overweight, great shape, so I boil it down to me being in my twenties and hormonal or something. I now avoid synthetics. No shirt will keep me cool enough so I stay dry so find a shirt that feels okay soaked. I prefer smartwool. Fully drenched it dries in an hour, wont really stink, and when it's soaked and the wind blows it doesn't stick to you like a cold suction cup. Apply anti-chaffe liberally cause sweating and rubbing = problems. Always have an extra pair of clothes. Or hike shirtless. Hike shirtless and wear black short shorts.

+++extra clothes. ziplock the dry ones to use at camp.

drink a lot of water

Cut out the whiskey and cocaine.

or step up the whiskey and cocaine...

Hike when it's cold.....

I sweat a ton too. I haven't noticed clothing selection making much of a difference. I do keep a bandana hanging from my shoulder strap to wipe face sweat though.

I try to manage sweat by ventilating during breaks. Lately I've started taking off my shirt during breaks and also dropping my pants to my knees to dry out my boxer briefs. I've been taking off my shoes and socks during breaks for a long time, so there's no difference there. I'm considering using a thin short sleeve shirt at the end of the day so my primary shirt can dry out fully while there's indirect sunlight available, and also using a kilt when ticks and overgrowth aren't an issue.

As the guy above said, hiking when it's cooler helps.

If you're mechanically inclined you can rig an umbrella to your pack frame

Due to gravity, that wouldn't work...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Hoofit

If you're mechanically inclined you can rig an umbrella to your pack frame

Due to gravity, that wouldn't work...

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One of these days I'll get to work on it , figure it all out and then post the specifics