That's the idea. Plenty of hikers wear cotton shirts in the desert, many hikers wear cotton thrift store dress shirts the whole trail.Originally Posted by AllDownhillFromHere
+1
simple synthetic long sleeve even with high spf, has a hood. they are on sale at Gander Mountain right now for about 28 bucks.
+2 consider the zero freeze for the East coast, but whatever you do, get something that's got a rating from a certified standard, and for a 50 if you're fair-skinned
I'm wearing cotton T-shirts on all my hikes in the desert and don't see any problem.
I usually have a spare shirt at hand and during any longer break I swap the shirts and spread the soaked one in the sun together with the socks and shoes, where you can watch them drying within minutes.
As a side note, cotton seems to selectively kill Americans mainly. It didn't do me any harm in 50yrs of outdoors activities.
Not wearing cotton, especially blue jean pants, is a common recommendation of many SAR organizations. Cotton absorbs water quickly, hence your bath towels, dries slowly and can greatly exacerbate the onset of hypothermia.
In the desert, the capacity to hold water is good and the slow evaporation provides a longer cooling effect. Not so good in higher elevations or at cooler/colder temperatures especially with the threat of wind chill.
We so many synthetic and natural alternatives, you might consider some options assuming you hike in other environments.
Was just trying to sound funny, sorry.
There are definitely better solutions than Bluejeans.
On my upper body I'm wearing cotton most of the time though.
Internet can cause huge miss communication issues. Not be able to observe non-verbal behavior can led to miss interpretation of intent/motives.
I am a pretty sarcastic, dry humor guy and missed it.
Im going to be using an ArcTeryx Motus crew LS. Its only 3.9oz and has a 25 UPF sun raiting.
Cotton is fine, most people have been told at one time or another that "Cotton kills," but the reality is that in most situations it is perfectly fine, and in fact more comfortable than other comparable options (polyester, nylon)
This is what people wore for several centuries before the onset of synthetic weaves. I'll be wearing a cotton shirt in the desert on the PCT this year while all the 'prepared' hikers are sweating it out in their 80$ synthetic tops
Correctomundo!
True cotton works well on a hot desert day due to the moisture retention, but cotton shirts also weight more, particularly when they get wet. The only problem on the PCT, is the trail in SoCAL isn't just desert. It often climbs into some significant elevation along the way going over 9000ft at 2 different points. I remember one year, due to a wet and cold spring in the desert, by Julian, many were trying to buy warmer clothes and better gear for the rain. And getting snowed on near Wrightwood in late May/early June happens often.
I used an old 50/50 cotton/poly white work shirt. It was absolutely perfect, and what I'd do again for any future PCT hike.
Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.
How white did it stay?
It's quite amazing how the desert stains everything over time, I have a tent that started out grey, that after months and months of use up in southern utah/northern arizona is now dyed a permanent shade of orange/brown. I tried to use different methods to clean to no avail.
Not very! Especially where the pack straps were in contact with the shirt.How white did it stay?
Don't take anything I say seriously... I certainly don't.
Posting Permissions
Pacific Crest Trail
Reply With Quote
