clothing questions

[squeezebox]

A couple of clothing questions.
1) I'll probably have long pants & long sleeved shirt during bug season. So when does bug season start with a May 1 start from Harpers Ferry. I'm thinking I can probably wait until the 1st half or middle of June.
2) Frogg toggs; I know they are delicate, but they take well to duct tape, and are so cheap and available at Wal Mart. But they also weigh 1/2 of my Marmot precips, and take up about 1/2 the space. I bought a set for my son, never used. I hoping if I can shrink the size of some stuff and maybe the tent tied to the pack lid, I just might get into my 50 L pack, also half the wt. of my 65+10 pack.

[Buttercup01]

Bug season has already started . You'll get the occasional fly right now but spider webs are predominant. Plan to wear a long sleeve shirt anyways to avoid sunburn.

[Sandy of PA]

I wear long pants with Insect Sheild always, ticks are out there. New Jersey had more mosquitos than anywhere else I have hiked in June, needed full coverage. The trail goes thru lots of swamp!

[LoneStranger]

1: I wear long pants and long sleeves up to about 90°f and then go to short sleeves, but never short pants on trail. Keeps the ticks out of my fur and abrasions to a minimum.

2: I am going to sweat out any fancy rain gear I put on so go with Dri Ducks for the reasons you mention favoring the Frogg Toggs, price and weight. You'll poke more holes in the cheap gear, but it sounds like you're prepared to tape them up and they certainly are cheaper to replace.

[Hangfire]

I wore shorts for about a month in June (Virginia), but after seeing how the bugs absolutely ate my legs alive I switched to pants and never went back. Full coverage protects you from sun and bugs, you just need to drink a little more water.

[jdc5294]

I had a set of toggs and ended up throwing out the bottoms but I used the top almost the whole way, one time it suffered a huge rip (10 inches?) on the back and I duct taped it up, was fine after that.

[Slo-go'en]

The temptation to wear shorts when it's really hot and humid is great, but whenever I go to shorts I end up with Chiggers or Poison Ivy. I may compromise by trying shorts with tall gaiters. That would protect my lower legs but have good ventilation in the middle.

[kayak karl]

The temptation to wear shorts when it's really hot and humid is great, but whenever I go to shorts I end up with Chiggers or Poison Ivy. I may compromise by trying shorts with tall gaiters. That would protect my lower legs but have good ventilation in the middle.

agree, i always wear long pants when hiking in bug season.

OP says "clothing questions" What are your questions?

[Walkintom]

I wear shorts with over the calf wool socks. It's surprisingly comfortable and I have little exposed flesh.

Your fashion sense may object, but it works for me.

[squeezebox]

I plan on bringing compression sleeves same coverage as over the calf socks, and calf support added.