Advice on my Clothing List.

[John Rowling II]

I hike mainly Spring, Summer & Fall in Michigan and will pick up in N. Carolina on the AT May 02, 2007 for 10-12 days.
My clothing list is as follows:

Marmot Precip Jacket (Rain)13.0 oz.
Marmot Precip Pants (Rain) 9.0 oz.
REI Hoodie Fleece 18 oz.
Patagonia Capilene Base Midweight 8.0 oz
Patagonia Capilene Crew Midweight 8.0 oz
REI Sahara Convertible Pants 14.0 oz.
Pantagonia underwear 2 @ 2.5 oz.=5.0 oz.
REI Merino Wool Hiking Socks [email protected]=6 oz.
North Face TNF cap 1.5 oz.
REI wicking T-shirt 2 @ 8.0=16 oz.
Mountain Hardware Gloves 1.5 oz.
Bandana / Muff 3.0 oz.
Croc’s 12.0 oz.

Total = 115 oz. or 7.19 lbs.

Suggestions, criticisms, advice is needed. This is my total list.

Thanks.

[Scott Peterson]

You seem to have everything covered. I always prefer a long sleeve shirt to wear if the sun or bugs are heavy…so you might consider swapping 1 t for a long sleeve t. If you want to drop weight, the obvious choice is upgrading from the fleece. Montbell thermawrap drops you 10 ounces on insulation and packs much smaller. Precip Jacket seems heavy as well. The Drop Stoppers suit will breath better than the Precip and the total weight for both pieces is 10 ounces. They cost under $20 I think. That would save another 12 ounces. So for roughly $140 you could drop nearly 2 pounds of clothing!

[Dale Wambaugh]

Dump the fleece, add an insulated vest like the Patagonia Micro Puff and a windshirt. Silkweight base layers will save you a few ounces. Another combo I like is a Powerstrech or other micro fleece shirt and a windshirt. I don’t blame you for liking the hoodie, it just stands out as the boat anchor. My list looks pretty similar to yours otherwise.

[David Wills]

You could drop the crocs if your hiking shoes/ boots are comfy enough for wearing in camp. You leave behind one of your wicking tees too and just wash the one you carry every 4 days or so w/ Dr. Bronners (just a few drops) and wear you capilene while it dries outside your pack. The hoodie is definatley out if you can afford a primaloft jacket (I can’t). Depending on personal preference, I would drop the convertible pants for gym short (save 10 oz or so) and wear rain pants and capilene at camp. I find its good to hike in shorts with socks pulled up to about 40-45*. Second the motion for Drop stoppers. Have fun

[Eric Noble]

Are you willing to sleep in what you hike in? If so, then you can drop the 2 T-shirts and just treat your Patagonia Capilene Crew as a shirt. I do something similar with my Shadow’s hoody. I like lighter socks unless it’s below 40°F, they dry faster. What do you use for a sun hat?

[John Rowling II]

Thanks everyone!
This is just what I needed to hear. I’ve been following all the forums and researching everything. It can get overwhelming at times because of the intense knowledge and experience. I finally put my gear list up for your help. I’m at the stage of trying to put it all together. I plan to revamp my entire clothing gear….so all your input is appreciated. I’m probably going to use my existing gear for something else.
John

[John Rowling II]

Eric:

I will sleep in what I wear. Also, as far as the sun….I wear the bandana/muff for sun and sunglasses.
Also a North Face cap which I forget to add at about 3-4 oz.

[Eric Noble]

Sorry John, one more question. Do you sleep in a quilt or a sleeping bag? Down or synthetic?

[John Rowling II]

Eric:
I have a Marmot Pinnacle 15 degree Long DOWN bag, 2lbs. 12oz. approx. by memory. My original thought now is to go with a Western Mountaineering Megalite 32 degree at about 18 oz. But, this is one of those critical decisions I might be wrong on.

[Eric Noble]

Sorry, yet another question. What is your shelter?

[David Bonn]

You don’t need two capilene shirts.
You don’t need two t-shirts.

I’d take one long-sleeved capilene shirt and one t-shirt.

The rain pants aren’t going to help you that much. In fact, the convertible pants are kind of a liability too. For the same weight as the convertible pants you could probably carry wind pants, very light polypro bottoms, and a pair of shorts. That combination would be way, way more flexible and warmer besides.

I agree with other comments about replacing the hoodie fleece with an insulated jacket or vest. Fleece is generally hard to justify from a utility-per-ounce standpoint for the kind of conditions you will be hiking in.

For me, I usually freeball it and skip underware completely. I very much like stretchy exercise shorts (commonly sold as “compression shorts” for men at sporting goods stores). GoLite Stride shorts are a good example of the same principle. The stretchy shorts elminate (for me) the chafing problems that many of you will be compelled to mention.

[John Rowling II]

I just bought the new TarpTent contrail. As a matter of fact. I am camping tomorrow night (sat.) to check it out. Michigan, should be rain/snow for sure and will be hovering around 32 degrees. Thanks.

[Eric Noble]

I asked about your sleep system because it effects your clothing. I sleep in a down quilt or bag depending on the temperature. I favor synthetic insulation when the sleep system is down. A quilt requires a heavier duty hat and draft management. That 15 degree bag means you won’t need to wear additional clothing to bed. In fact, that is an understatement. Your bag is probably too warm. The Megalite would be great.

I asked about your shelter because it also effects your clothing choices and may in fact be one of your clothing choices.

I am tempted to post my clothing list but I do not want to shift any focus from yours, not that mine is that compelling. Mine came in at about 4.4 lbs. Davids advice would shed some weight from mine though I don’t know if I can bring myself to “freeball” it. Oddly enough, I don’t have a problem wearing just bike shorts when I mountain bike.

[Dane Burke]

Let us know how the Contrail worked out. I’ve decided to shift away from the bivy/poncho-tarp combo (always got condensation with bivy, and it’s nice to have rain gear after setting up your shelter) and I think the Contrail will be the replacement.

I hope you get some really nasty weather to test the Contrail in :)

Enjoy your trip.

[John Rowling II]

I appreciate everyone’s comments and would appreciate listsand suggestions from everyone. In fact, that is what I need. Before Backpacking Light… I thought I was doing great hauling around 40 lbs. North Carolina is going to be fantastic. That is the AT. I’ll tell you how the November 04, 2006 hike is in a Contrail soon. Michigan weather is one of the best, don’t you know.
John

[John Rowling II]

Eric, please post your list.

John

[Eric Noble]

Here is my list for whatever it is worth. Hopefully you can glean something from it. My clothing list has always been buried in my overall list. It is helpful seeing it broken out. Thanks, John. I sleep in a Jacks R Better No Sniveller Long quilt and my shelter is usually a hammock. I am 6’4 and 210 lbs. All values are in ounces unless specified otherwise.

Smartwool Shadow’s Hoody 12.7
TNF Paramount Convertible Pants 21.57
Ibex Breezer Briefs 2 @ 3.4 6.8
Smartwool Cycling Socks 2 @ 1.4 2.8
Columbia Sun Hat 2.8
Cotton Bandana 1.4
Noseeum Mesh Headnet 0.5
Seirus Quick Draw Fleece Hat 2.5
Montbell Thermawrap Vest 6.2
Patagonia Houdini Wind Shirt 3.9
Smartwool Lightweight Bottoms 7.8
Smartwool Liner Gloves 1.6
Rain Poncho 2.1
Total 4.5 lbs

My rain poncho is one of those disposable ones. I would not recommend this without some serious caveats.

My convertible pants are not light. When it rains I zip off the legs and just let my legs get wet. The rain poncho covers the remaining shorts. From late spring to early fall this has not been a problem. Davids comments on convertible pants have got me thinking. Thanks, David.

One huge caveat. I use this in the Colorado Rockies. I have not hiked in Michigan or on the AT. And obviously the shoulder seasons may require some modifications.

[David Bonn]

I don’t know if I am strange or not, but I have a hard time on a multi-day trip with just two pairs of socks.

If conditions are relatively benign, you can reserve one pair as “sleeping socks” and one pair as hiking socks. I also find socks get extremely dirty over the course of a trip (this is especially true with shoes with a lot of mesh and in warmer, dustier conditions), it is nice to be able to wash socks and dry them out while hiking. If you are putting in long days, it is a great idea to be able to change into less-dirty socks mid-day and wash out the socks you’ve been hiking in.

I also find a variety of socks helps match conditions and conditioning better. My feet can swell up quite a bit in hot hiking, and having thinner socks to wear then can make quite a bit of difference.

Unless it is just a quick one or two-night trip, I like to take at least three pairs of socks, sometimes I take four pairs for longer trip when it is likely to be very wet and sloppy.

For liner gloves, cheap thermax gloves from wal-mart or a hardware store (since I am a long, long ways from a wal-mart, thank goodness) work just as well as spendy smartwool liners, plus the smartwool liners tend to pill over time, producing merino-flavored trail mix and clif bars. If you want something fancier than the plebian wal-mart fare, sporthill makes a nice lightweight glove for about twenty bucks. I don’t have any business connection to Sporthill, but I like their stuff.

http://www.sporthill.com/product.php?TypeID=3430&gender=u

[Eric Noble]

I wash my socks and underwear in Dr. Bronners unscented soap every one or two days depending on the conditions. I’ve considered carrying a third pair of sleeping socks but not enough to do it yet. If I did I would probably not bring the glove liners and just use the socks as gloves.

The glove liners are new on my list. I picked wool because of its heat resistance and they were on sale. I removed all the handles from my cooking pots to save weight and thought I would use the glove liners as oven mitts, besides their obvious use. Handles are single use, glove liners are multi use and warm. I haven’t tried this yet so this may be a bad idea. I sure hope pilling doesn’t become a problem. I am otherwise with you on the thermax liners. I’ve used them skiing for years.

[Dane Burke]

Headnet 0.80
Balaclava 1.80
Ray-Way Bomber Hat 1.10
Patagonia Micropuff Vest 6.6
Mountain Hardwear Powerstretch Gloves 1.30
Wind Pants (homemade) 2.40
Wind Shirt (homemade) 2.50
Integral Designs SilPoncho w/stuff sack 8.30
Smartwool Socks 3(1.30)=3.9
Columbia Bora Bora Boonie Hat 3.30
Smartwool Microweight Longsleeve 7.30
Homemade Pants 6.80
Boxers 2(2.70)=5.2

Total = 3.2lb

[Eric Noble]

Dane, great list! I really need to do some thing about the weight of my pants, 21.52 vs 6.8, wow. I’ve considered making something like the Bomber hat. How have you liked yours?

[Dane Burke]

Thanks, I’m pretty happy with my clothes. My homemade pants are thin supplex, made from a pajama pants bottom pattern. Elastic waistband, no pockets. Pretty minimal, but the weight is right and I have no need for shorts. If it’s really hot I can roll up the legs a bit, but its rarely that hot and I’d rather have the protection from brush.

I haven’t been able to find any high-loft synthetic hat better than the bomber hat. The next best thing I’ve found would be a hooded jacket like the new hooded Cocoon.

My only complaint with the bomber hat is that while the loft on top of the hat is great, the loft on the sides is much thinner. Perhaps that is due to a mistake in my sewing causing the shell to compress the loft on the sides.

The project is suitable for beginning seamsters, but it’s not easy.

[Douglas Frick]

> I’ve considered making something like the Bomber hat. How have you liked yours?

I like mine a lot. I wear a thin (100 wt?) fleece hat in camp, and then add the Ray-Way Bomber Hat when I go to bed. I use a quilt, so my head isn’t covered, and the two hats keep me warm down to about +15F. Below that, I add an OR Gorilla Balaclava (neoprene).

> My only complaint with the bomber hat is that while the loft on top of the hat is great, the loft on the sides is much thinner. Perhaps that is due to a mistake in my sewing causing the shell to compress the loft on the sides.

Mine doesn’t seem to have that problem. I’m going to make another Bomber Hat with two thicknesses of insulation, for when it really gets cold.

> The project is suitable for beginning seamsters, but it’s not easy.

Not too difficult; mostly, it’s just sewing that darned silnylon fabric.

[Aaron Sorensen]

Hey Dane,
What range of temperature do you use your list in?
Looks good…

[Frank Deland]

Sleeping in what you wear is fine unless you have been hiking in the rain and what you have been wearing is soaked. I used to carry just two pairs of socks, one of which was always kept dry by just wearing in camp. I now carry two pair of low cut socks as well as the ankle length I use in camp. Why? This increases the time my feet can be in dry socks. Wet feet helps induce blisters. The pair of socks I am not wearing is hanging from my pack from a safety pin to dry out as I hike. I can also wash dirty socks, let them dry as I hike while wearing a dry pair on my feet.
Also, I have changed a Marmot Pre-cip pullover rain Jacket with the “packa” (see thepacka.com) and the pre-cip rain pants with the lighter Golite Reed. Also, use either a Marmot DriClime or similar fleece lined windjacket with 100 wt. fleece and a lightweight windshirt, a nice layering option that is lighter than the Dri-Clime. By August, on the AT, no need for any mosquito netting. Carry a small dose of mosquito repellant for the occasional “second hatching”, if you are concerned about mosquitos.

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