I've worn cotton to bed at night (t shirts and shorts), but almost never while hiking. I like light, sweat wicking clothes during the day.Originally Posted by rhapsody98
2010 AT NoBo Thru "attempt" (guess 1,700 miles didn't quite get me all the way through ;) )
Various adventures in Siberia 2016
Adventures past and present!
(and maybe 2018 PCT NoBo)
Synthetics, silk, wool - if you hike for any length of time you will end up with these types of materials for your most of clothing. They're better for temp control, lighter to carry, more comfortable over the long haul, don't soak up water, don't chafe, and prevent hypothermia. I still take off on an occasional dayhike with a cotton t-shirt or cotton shorts (over a synthetic base layer), depending on the weather. If I do, I usually have a clean, dry cotton t-shirt in the truck for afterwards. The only cotton in my pack for an overnight, weekend, or long haul trip is bandanas.
Be the change you wish to see in the world...gandhi
I went for a day hike yesterday in the rain. It was not raining when we began but all the plants were wet and our hike was a bushwhacking adventure. I was in the lead. I was soaking wet but wearing synthetic fabrics. We stopped for lunch and I became cold because my clothes were wet. So I put on my rain pants (yeah, I wished I had had them on from the beginning but I didn't.) Instantly I warmed right up and didn't even feel wet anymore.
We started hiking back to the cars. On the way up along the non-bushwhacking part of the trail, it started to really rain. I was only wearing my light synthetic jacket over a polyester tank top and my rain pants over my wet hiking pants (which were no longer wet.) I felt very warm and dry, except for sweating. When I reached the cars, it was pretty cold out so first I took off my light rain jacket and let the wind dry my sweat as I stood under the hatcback. Then I put on my fleece jacket which had been strapped to the outside of my pack. It was wet on one side but it was still warm and once I put it on, I couldn't really tell where the wet part was. I warmed right up.
Does cotton provide the same level of comfort under these conditions? No, it certainly does not.
As I waited for everyone else to come up the hill, the last person finally arrived. He was wearing shorts and a cotton hoodie. He had the front completely cinched around his face. He comes on a lot of hikes and has a metabolism you wouldn't believe but here I was warm and comfortable but he was cold, wet and miserable. I hoped he learned something about cotton after that experience.
Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.
Cotton = "Death Cloth" Wanta die from hypothermia?..wear all cotton about 10 miles in rugged mountain country all day, sweating profusely and then sit out in it (your cotton) in sub zero weather all night..Bet you're carried out in a body bag ...
Not to mention learning something about the benefits of taking a rain gear like you did. Good point about a fleece jacket soaking up less water than cotton hoodie when exposed to the elements. That said, I question how much insulating value even a good fleece jacket will have when exposed to a day of rain like you see so often on the Trail.
And think about it this way. If someone asks you why you had to go off trail, do you want to say (in a very macho voice) "Yeah, I was attacked by a bear*. Intense, right?" Or (in a nerdy voice) "I wore cotton in the rain."
*disclaimer: yes, I know he doesn't actually want to be attacked by a bear.
2010 AT NoBo Thru "attempt" (guess 1,700 miles didn't quite get me all the way through ;) )
Various adventures in Siberia 2016
Adventures past and present!
(and maybe 2018 PCT NoBo)
I second that motion
Here's my cotton confession
Through the end of 2003, I had hiked about 800 miles of the AT plus backpacked other trails. Most hikes were 2-4 nights, with only one 7 day hike in perfect June weather. Never overnight backpacked before May 1 or after October 30. And I wore cotton all the time. I also had a wool shirt for cold nights but over a cotton t-shirt.
I knew cotton wasn't good for at least the last 10 years but I hiked such short trips that I didn't bother to upgrade my clothing. And I survived, including an early October hike in the Wildcat-Carter Ranges in NH in which about a foot of snow fell (fortunately, it was the first night of my new winter slumberjack sleeping bag).
Having said that, I haven't worn cotton on an overnight since '03, not even one-nighters. I was lucky.
Colin Fletcher's much praised and much purchased editions of the Complete Walker have evolved over the decades. The first edition (1968) reports, "Natural fibers tend to be a great deal more moisture-absorbent than synthetic ... so in general it pays to wear natural fibers such as cotton or wool next to the skin." Colin also wrote he doesn't often wear long johns, but slept in them ("normally cotton") when wind or cold threatens.
The latest -- and last -- edition that came out in 2003, shortly before his death, says, "if you like to wear a cotton T-shirt in warm weather you are free to do so with no more penalty than an extra 3 or 4 ounces." But he advises to remove the cotton tee shirt when using a three-layer system, to avoid nullifying the wicking warmth of synthetic underwear.
Colin Fletcher also wavered in his early praise of cotton corduroy shorts, reporting that by 2003 he mostly wore synthetic shorts made by Patagonia from recycled soft drink bottles.
Last edited by weary; 03-21-2011 at 10:59.
Someone wrote a few pages back that cotton would be okay on the first 700 miles of the PCT. They are wrong. The first 700 miles of the PCT are perfect for getting yourself into the kind of trouble caused by cotton we're all talking about here. Get yourself good and sweaty during the day and as soon as the sun moves behind a mountain, the temperature drops instantly and you'll freeze. There can be 70 degrees of difference between noon and the middle of the night in So Cal. Don't wear cotton.
Some knew me as Piper, others as just Diane.
I hiked the PCT: Mexico to Mt. Shasta, 2008. Santa Barbara to Canada, 2009.
cotton balls
Well, getting back to the original question, it depends... obviously you've seen lots of opinions here with regard to the danger of wearing cotton. Again, most overniters are not long ins and out, but they could be. If so, then you've got an issue IF its wet... and mountain weather makes NE weather seem like it never changes.
So, its your decision... even with rain gear, an all day hike back to the car in cotton could really suck to point of being potentially dangerous. If you're hiking an hour or so in, I don't see how it could matter that much, but again, its your decision based on what you know about the weather and the rest of your gear, as well as time needed to get to safe harbor should the unexpected occur - which often it does.
Now, wet jeans are just a totally different storyNo jeans are good to hike in no matter how old and comfy they are - wet or dry!
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
My advice is to wear whatever you want. But try to avoid being dogmatic. Thousands have worn some cotton in all seasons. Earl Shaffer hiked the trail three times. I suspect he wore cotton on all three trips. Every time I met him (not on the trail) Earl was wearing cotton.
But Colin Fletcher reports that on his last trip in 1998 that Earl wore "a long sleeved plaid shirt. and cotton work pants." I suspect the shirt was also cotton, but Colin doesn't say.
He does say that Earl also carried a down sleeping bag, and a down vest, also a combination many think dangerous, and carried it all in a surplus military rucksack, with the pockets and hipbelt removed.
I do agree that wearing nothing but cotton, is unwise, given the evolution to synthetic fabric. Though I must note that most synthetics are fashioned from oil imported from the middle east. Patagonia fleece clothing is a compromise. The raw material remains mostly oil. But it is twice removed. Pataginia fleece is fashioned from recycled soft drink bottles, or was, which were fashioned from oil.
Anyway. I wear whatever I have around the house that is comfortable, and much of it is cotton now that I rarely do overnight winter trips any more. I do see a lot of cotton as I wander the trails these days. I read of occasional rescues, very few of which, seem to stem from excessive wearing of cotton.
Last edited by weary; 03-22-2011 at 15:26.
Weary makes some more good points.
A whole lot of people have been convinced to buy synthetic sleeping bags instead of down because "a wet synthetic bag will still provide insulation".
Is this still the thinking of experienced hikers? If not, why not?
I think we need a new slogan though. One for today's hikers.
How about: "Ultra light lessens life"
Surely we can all agree on that.
Well, that was me.
And I wore a cotton long sleeve shirt for both of the first 700 miles of my PCT hikes and will next time too.
Two reasons: One, to protect my skin from too much sun (I've spent most of my life outdoors and in the sun) and two: to keep myself from overheating and sweating too much. I have observed construction workers here in the tropics, and they ALL wear as much protection (in the form of cotton) from exposing any portion of their skin to the sun)
I admit, the temps cool down at night as you are higher elevation than most of CA. I take the cotton shirt off when i get to camp and have my polypro and/or fleece to change into.
There is a time and place where cotton has an advantage. IMO
(not on the AT though)
and you do have to have enough experience to know when it is wrong to be wearing cotton.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
By the way, last night, I met a man from Holland who has lived here in the tropics for 35 years and is married to a woman who is from the Malay sea gypsies here who are the indigenous people of this island and practically live at sea and in small island villages where they stop to mend their nets, etc.
After much conversation, there is a real art to what they do. They know more about the winds, currents, effects of sun, moon, seasons, etc. then i've ever imagined.
One of the things we talked about was too much sun and problems of skin cancer.
Have you ever seen Mexican farmers and notice what they wear? Not much polypro in their wardrobe.
Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams
My slogan is: what works is what I do. It might not work for you. Most of the time, I'm light as I can be while still being comfortable.
I do know that ANY Insulation, down or synthetic, will not work well when soaked. People freaking out because of a few drops on the shell are not people who have tried to wash a down bag - it takes a LOT of water to make a down bag/quilt useless. You have to be really stupid to let your sleeping gear get that wet, or just ignorant enough to not put it in a dry bag or trash bag inside the pack when you know there's a huge river to cross. Keep your sleeping gear dry. Don't matter what it's made of - keep it dry! Don't get all complacent thinking your 5 lb synthetic is somehow impervious. You don't think that will be a 15 lb lump of wet insulation? Who wants to carry that? It's not gonna dry out in a few hours of sun!
I know that down gear with part of a baffle somewhat wet will still work fine. I know that I don't want to stand around in a downpour in a down jacket, but that's what a rain shell is for.
I also know that cotton is what you wear when it's hot - or when you will be welding or working a lot around open flame, since it will not melt to your skin the way poly/nylon/rayon will do. I know that the uniform shirt I was issued for search and rescue is a cotton blend, which works pretty well hiking in a parade in the sun, but is a hideously uncomfortable thing on a rainy all night search.
I also know that I will keep on hiking in my polypro, wool and nylon gear, because that's what wicks well, dries fast, and keeps me warm or cool or dry as I need to be under 3 season conditions. And when I get home I put on my cotton T and jeans, and I'm comfortable in those as well. I tried to hike in jeans a few times. Not really comfortable doing that any more, tho it used to be just what I had at the time.
Wow - this is fun.....
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Down does not equal cotton. Weary was wrong. He has backtracked some but is doesn't change the fact that the majority of his posts on this thread are not in the best interest of new hikers asking advice.
Dogs are excellent judges of character, this fact goes a long way toward explaining why some people don't like being around them.
Woo
Tell Weary to "stay down".
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