Hot answers tagged clothing
19
Your legs aren't as sensitive to temperture extremes. Right now it's winter here and I'm walking around outside with a regular shirt, a wool sweater, and a wind breaker on my torso. Inside I take off the windbreaker an sweater. However, inside or outside, I'm wearing the same single-layer pants and it's not a problem. My legs don't feel hot inside or ...
13
There's a reason desert cultures almost all wear coverings from head to toe.
Three main things to consider:
Protection from the sun's harmful rays.
Air flow for convection cooling
Moisture retention (you heard that right) for evaporative cooling.
Despite the convention, "cotton kills," in the desert those same properties (slow drying, water retention) ...
10
I strongly recommend you purchase, borrow, or possibly rent a proper ski jacket and pants.
Given that you don't have a ski jacket I'm guessing that you are a relative beginner. It is likely that you might be falling down quite a bit. One thing to consider is does your jacket give you good mobility? If it does not, you could very easily expose your waist ...
9
I'm not sure why pants don't receive the same attention but the layers are available.
You can easily find base, insulating, and shell layers.
Olin's answer gives some good reasons layering pants may not seem as common. In reply:
(2) There are full-side-zip pants for mountaineers (crampons) and wide-opening pants for skiers/boarders and regular boots.
...
7
Despite the convention, "cotton kills," in the desert those same properties (slow drying, water retention) are useful for keeping you cool by slowing down the near instant evaporation experienced at such high heat and low humidity. Your goal is to make that moisture work as long for you as possible.
Since "water is 24.5 times more conductive than air," ...
6
There are many excellent natural fabrics for winter hiking:
Merino wool is often used as a baselayer but I have also found silk and bamboo to be very good.
I have a knitted raw silk midlayer but also like cashmere, which is warm, light, doesn't smell and releases moisture pretty well.
In colder conditions I wear sweaters made of untreated wool (Black ...
6
The wikipedia article on sun protective clothing is very informative. A summary of the relevant parts:
Apart from clothing specifically marketed as protecting against the sun most clothing will not block all sun to fully protect you against sunburn depending on circumstances.
Some general rules of thumb:
Darker clothes provide more protection than ...
6
It's not clear what you think the layer principle, is but you don't have to dress in layers. It's the performance of the complete stackup that matters. In cold weather, this could be achieved, for example, by a polypro sweater then wool sweater then wind breaker, or with a single "winter" jacket. Both can be made to keep you warm equally well, and the ...
6
Nylon, among other synthetics, is an ideal material for clothing for most outdoor pursuits for several reasons. I will use the example of cotton as the traditional fabric for comparison:
Durability: Nylon itself can come in several varieties, some of which are more durable than others due to different weights and weaves. The fabric can handle abrasion, ...
5
Expedition weight relates to the temperature rating and level of activity. It usually means cold and low activity.
According to REI expert-advice section.
For cool conditions, thermal underwear is available in light-, mid- and expedition-weights. Choose the weight that best matches your activity and the temperature.
[...]
Like thermal underwear, ...
5
I trust Arc'teryx: http://www.arcteryx.com/product-care.aspx?EN
There's a video to take you through the whole process.
And you actually DO want to use the dryer because the heat reactivates the durable water repellant (DWR). DWR is the actual substance/layer that does the water repelling.
You can also follow the instructions recommended on the actual ...
4
There are a variety of important features that your leather jacket will lack compared to a ski jacket. Borrowing or buying a ski jacket from a thrift shop would definitely be worth it.
Skiing is pretty physically intense. If it's not very cold (above 20?), you'll sweat, and most ski jackets don't actually have much insulation as they're designed to block as ...
4
It really depends on a lot of different factors. If it is a warm winter day I go sometimes skiing without any jacket just wearing a thick pullover. But during the same winter and at the same ski resort it can also be very cold. E.g. -20 degrees and a lot of wind so that the wind chill factor also plays an important role. When it is this cold I'm even ...
4
A rain jacket is a good windbreaker as well. The main downside, as you pointed out, is that it will not breathe as well as other fabrics.
This shouldn't be an issue as long as you aren't doing a lot of high-output activities (ex: climbing, hiking uphill with a heavy pack for hours). Regular hiking and the likes should be fine.
4
You probably want wool. Wool has a fairly good warmth to weight ratio, and keeps most of its warmth when its wet. You can get wool products for both base layers and insulating middle layers. "Merino wool" is the style of wool that seems to be popular for high end outdoor wear now.
They can be expensive, but the following companies make very high quality ...
4
My experience tells me it is primarily about keeping the sun off my skin, with a hat (not your question I know), and a long sleeve, synthetic, wicking running/cycling shirt, and one with a small collar. (For what it's worth, I've also worn long baggy pants at times for the same reason, but am unsure about this still.)
The first little while is actually ...
3
Nylon dries fast, is resistant to ripping and tearing, and fairly breathable. This makes a nylon pant great for 3-season conditions. In colder season weather it can be easily layered with baselayer leggings to provide additional warmth and wick some sweat.
Alternatives to the typical nylon hiking pant/short are running shorts and softshell pants. Running ...
3
I give this with the heavy qualification that it depends on the exact brands of clothes and products involved.
Your waterproof jacket is probably fine if it is water-proof and not water-resistant. The waterproof fabrics out there tend to not be as sensitive to detergents. However, if it is water-resistant, you will probably need to refresh it. Nikwax ...
3
As with everything -- it depends.
My wool socks from wal-mart have outlasted literally everything else we have purchased, including most of our gear. They still keep my toes toasty warm. Wal-mart is a go-to kind of store for hunters in the south because they have good inexpensive warm clothes. Wool socks from wal-mart generally last me around ten ...
3
On the short run, the answer is no. You will not put yourself at more risk wearing a cheaper product.
On the long run, the answer is not so clear. There must be a reason behind a cheap price:
Is it because of the materials used?
Is it because of cheap labour?
Is it because the Kirkland brand was able to do an amazing offer?
It is very hard to answer ...
2
I have skied at high altitude in only a pair of surf shorts, and acquired a nice tan, but that was in zero wind and perfectly blue skies.
In general the benefits of a dedicated ski jacket include:
wind protection - your leather jacket will give you this
elastication round wrists, neck and waist to prevent snow, and sometimes zips to connect to salopettes
...
2
As others have said, wool is the best of the easily available natural materials. It's main advantages are:
Somewhat hydrophobic, in other words is a little bit water repellent. This is due to wool fibers being hollow with some fat inside. This fat inside is also the reason you should never wash wool in ordinary detergent. It will wash out the fat, which ...
2
From the Nikwax link you provide:
For best results remove all non-washable parts and always clean
item(s) first with Nikwax Tech Wash®. No need to dry item(s) before
waterproofing.
Protect working surface and lay clean wet fastened garment flat.
Hold bottle 15 cm/6 inches away from garment.
Apply evenly to outside of fabric.
Wait for ...
2
There are several size small 32-inch inseam rain pants listed on REI.com so that should at least get you close. If you prefer a 34-inch inseam the closest I have yet found is this REI pant in medium.
You found the expensive Arc'Teryx Beta AR in the right size at Mountain Gear.
2
If you are expecting snowy and wet weather then I would suggest following the concept of "layering", with a base layer of merino wool, and a hard shell jacket and pants (Gore Tex or similar) as the outer layer. If it is raining or snowing quick dry clothes have a hard time drying as the air is already very humid. Quick dry clothes are not typically very ...
1
The essential items are a jacket and boots. You need a decent waterproof and windproof jacket with a good hood. The jacket must be properly waterproof (eg GoreTex or similar) and not just water resistant. You should also have a decent pair of waterproof boots. If you're taking one of the popular routes and staying on paths/tracks then lightweight summer ...
1
If I was going, I would bring something like what I brought for an overnight walk from Braemar to Aviemore in the Cairngorms at the start of February some years ago.
So apart from gloves, hat/scarf or balaclava - base layer top and bottom, hard shell jacket and pants, gaiters, a 100wt fleece and a 200wt fleece (giving 3 options for warmth) and for a day ...
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