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Clothes for backpacking?
An Idiot Abroad
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'll be traveling in a while, hopping from hostel to hostel in China for a few months. I've ironed out almost every little thing I need but I'm having a hard time determining what kind of clothes to bring. What are some durable pants (and shirts, I suppose) that any of you can recommend? I'll only be able to bring a few of each, so they need to be able to last, not rip easily, etc. I've spent most of my adult life wearing dress pants and long-sleeve shirts for work, and now I'm unsure of what to look for. Function and comfort is most important, but I don't want to look like a complete dork, either.
Any tips/suggestions from those who have backpacked (or traveled hard) a little themselves? Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated!
Any tips/suggestions from those who have backpacked (or traveled hard) a little themselves? Thanks in advance, any help is greatly appreciated!
An Idiot Abroad on
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Isn't like 80% of it desert and/or jungle?
Overall I've been fairly "meh" about hiking/backpacking pants, none of them are quite as great as I want them to be for hiking/backpacking for what I paid; but they are all far better than regular pants. Again you're looking for something that wicks moisture away from your skin, and is ripstop. I usually just go with Colombia or REI house brand for pants. I have a couple pairs of Cabelas pants that are supposed to be good for "adventuring" but in my experience they get really clingy when moist (sweaty), and terrible when actually wet (water crossing/rain).
You're going to want merino wool socks IMO, period. Brand doesn't seem to matter, I'm happy with REI, Browning, Smartwool, Dickies, etc. Actually Cabelas brand I was not happy with. If extended trips, you'll want to be able to switch to cleanish dry socks to keep your feet happy. Sometimes what I do is bring 2 pairs, once I'm ready or think I'm ready to switch out socks if I come around water I wash the ones I'm wearing, then attach them to the back of my pack to dry to help keep them clean. I don't use soaps for this, just the water. Works well enough.
If it's going to be rainy you have to decide if that bothers you. Also if its hot and rainy... you're still going to get wet. I carry a crushed wool hat ( like this one http://www.rei.com/product/631470/dorfman-pacific-all-season-crushable-hat ) it does a good job of keeping my head dry, and more importantly keeps water from constantly drizzling down my neck; which irritates me. I also carry a shell of pants and jacket sometimes, both are carhartt and ripstop. Almost never wear the pants, sometimes wear the jacket. Once you put those on all your anti-wicking clothes stop doing their job,and you trap all your sweat up against your skin, so you're still getting wet. Mostly I bring them for around camp wear. But basically if you hike when its raining, you get wet; that's just how it works.
Some people take a bandana, it can be really nice to cover your head, or wet it and drape it across your neck.
The OP might wanna look at climate charts. The main portion can get really hot and wet and is influenced by the East Asian monsoon, but places like Inner Mongolia or Manchuria can experience harsh winters.
I own a pair of their shorts. Love em. I've never heard a bad thing about that company and their clothes.
Yup, merino wool socks are the only socks I wear period. After backpacking extensively in my early 20's I just threw out all my cotton shit socks, and went wool all the time. I had a really amazing wool sweater too, it was so soft and warm. I outgrew it (read got fat) and gave it to a buddy. I think I need to invest in another. Downside is good wool stuff is expensive. I think that sweater cost like $120; but it was amazing.
Having done this sort of thing (in NZ/australia/se asia), you want two things out of a shirt to wear for this sort of getting around when you have a series of temporary places to stay:
1. Synthetic, so it'll dry fast, so you can wash it in a hotel sink at night, hang it up, and it'll be wearable the next day.
2. I'm not sure what the word for this is, but the fabric is not 'flat', it has a little bit of texture. This means that when you're washing them as described in step 1, it doesn't matter that you don't iron them, they'll still look okay.
This sort of thing, or this, or whatever you can find in your area. Make sure you try it on and move around a bit, though, because if it's a bit tight across the back in normal weather, it'll be a lot worse feeling if you're sweating.
Trousers, again, quick-drying is very useful, so synthetics, ripstop or whatever -- the ones that have zip off legs are not as smart as 'standard' trousers, but are very useful. For travelling, you should think about pocket sizes and zip-up pockets, too.
Very true, I would pack some board shorts too for good measure