How heavy is the shirt on my back?

Hi Nia,

I know the weight of everything I wear or carry.

You never know when you might pack your shirt for some reason. For me the difference between 16 oz and 4 oz if I take it off and carry it in my pack is almost an additional pound.

When I get my new shirt and pants one of the first things I will do is get them wet and time how long it takes them to dry out. I will wet both the new shirt and the shirt I now wear and I would hope the new one dries a lot faster. It also would seem that a wet 4 oz shirt will be a lot lighter than a wet 16 oz shirt.

The other features of the Thorofare items are also a factor.

If I am cooler in this new shirt when it is hot then I was wearing my old shirt I should sweat less and be much more comfortable. That is worth a lot.

I really believe in the layering approach to what I wear and will be seeing how to push these new things to see what kind of low temperature I can achieve with them.

My shirt and pants are something to wear while hiking – part of my hiking system. If it is cold I can add another light layer. If it gets to hot I take a layer off if I am wearing something under the shirt and pants. At night the shirt and pants becomes part of my sleep system.

I am hoping that the material the shirt and pants are made out of do more than just cover me. Ryan lists several features that the material will benefit us while wearing them. Some of these features look like they may let me replace something I am now carrying that does the same thing.

I look at everything I wear or carry as part of a system of gear and try and make each item support multiple uses during the 24 hour hiking day.

If you can make this idea work you can drop a lot of weigh from your gear list quick.

I actually don't care how heavy the clothes are that I expect to wear all the time. I wear a merino top, usually in 200weight fabric as lower weights have much diminished odour resistance, and for pants I've mostly been wearing Haglofs Rugged Mountain pants the past few months. These are super functional, with vents, huge pockets and stretch panels. They weigh 660g.
I think it's more a question of personal fitness needing to be addressed that anything else if you're finding your clothes too heavy. Too hot though, that's another thing altogether of course.

Strange.The first thing that came trough my mind when I spotted the Thorofare reviews headings was that I don't know the weight of my typical start out clothing. My top is a merino 140/190/200 (depending on the expected temperature) with a shirt on top if needed, long trousers mostly but occasionally shorts if the bugs are not that hungry. Because I am comfortable with that, weight doesn't really matter to me, however I know pretty much the exact weight of every other bit of gear I have.

Franco
BTW, in really hot weather (55-75 f here) a quick drying shirt/top is not my choice . It is my impression that once my merino top is wet I slow or stop sweating whilst with a light synthetic I just keep sweating/drying.

Roger is correct.That was meant to be 85-105 f……
Ian
Ian
A memory of me with my shirt off in Hyde Park at 22c flashed through my mind. In the 70s we got really excited when the sun came out in London. (I worked and resided in Piccadilly )

Hi Franco

> BTW, in really hot weather (55-75 f here)
Ah … did you forget to add 32 to those numbers?

> BTW, in really hot weather (55-75 f here)
He's thinking of Mother England !

I agree with Peter's comment. I am happy with my pack reduction that I have attained after reading Jardine's book and participating in BPL. However, it's awfully silly to worry about ounces when you are 10, 20, 30 lbs overweight. That has more implications than fewer miles since it affects you everyday. That weight reduction can also be tough, but it can reap many benefits.

Thomas,

Where did this come from?

"However, it's awfully silly to worry about ounces when you are 10, 20, 30 lbs overweight."

Are you talking about yourself?

I might be old but at 6 foot tall and 155 pounds I am not quite overweight.

I've ordered the shirt AND am training to lose [cough] pounds.

I know that losing [cough] pounds is much more important but I still go and buy the shirt.

"it's awfully silly to worry about ounces when you are 10, 20, 30 lbs overweight"

Well this is heading way of topic bit. But the don't worry about your pack when your overweight statements always annoys me. I think its exactly the opposite. I needed to focus on lightening my pack before I could lighten my gut.

When I started backpacking I weighed about 80 pounds more than I do now. Some college friends were going backpacking and I wanted to join in. I first went to REI and was outfitted with the standard gear. Of course I didn't weigh anything but I would guess I had abouut a 40 lb baseweight. I went twice and had a miserable time and didn't get out again for 10 years. Needless to say, not backpacking didn't help my physical condition.

I then read an article in Backpacker on the Lightniks vs. the Heavyniks. They had a couple of traditional packers and a couple following the Ray Way and wrote about their experience on a group trip. Backpacker called it draw but it was clear to me that the lightniks were having more fun, i.e. less physically beat down for the entire trip, while the heavyweights got to enjoy their camp chairs and other luxires for a few minutes each night while tending their blisters before they collapsed.

I got Ray's book and a google search turned up BPL. Armed with this new info I got my base down to 20 lbs. I discovered I could hike about 5-7 miles a day and still have enough energy to get up the next day and do it again. This opened up the backcountry to me. I wouldn't have made it more than a mile up the trail if I still carried the 40-50 lb pack.

I spent the better part of two years slowly losing the weight while hiking farther, faster and with more pleasure. I'm now down 80 lbs and up to 20 mi/day.

For me lightening the my load was the thing that made it possible for me to get out. Otherwise I'd probably still be in the same shape I was 10 years ago, or more likely worse.

So no, it is not silly to worry about ounces when one is overweight and/or out of shape.

Climbing down from my soap box now and to work on my gear for a high sierra trail hike.

"Climbing down from my soap box now"

That's not a soap box. It's a great story!

Ok trying to get back on topic.

I appreciate Bill's point that worn items may become packed items a few miles down the trail. I wear convertible pants, but 99% of the time the legs are in my pack. So I count the shorts as worn and the legs as carried baseweight.

I also appreciate that the thorofare clothes have other nice features in terms of breathability, quick drying, etc. However my question wasn't about the thorofare in particular.

I wanted to solely focus on the weight of items worn and whether this has a noticeable effect. So far I haven't seen anyone say this makes much of a difference.

Anyone care to step up with a rationale for or experience lightening the shirt on their back?

“Anyone care to step up with a rationale for or experience lightening the shirt on their back?”

Sorry. I’m just going to repeat Bill’s experience. If I’m in hot humid weather, I want as light as shirt as possible. These wick sweat and dry faster than heavier shirts (all 100 other variable being equal).

Thus you don’t have to drink as much to keep your core temperature down; and thus you don’t have to carry as much water (so I’ve expanded on Bill’s experience).

-Barry

Hi Bill: I would be interested in reading of your experiences with the new Thorofare shirt and pants.

I am also considering purchasing them as I tend to hike warm. I'm always looking for hiking clothes that protect while keeping me cooler.

I have followed the additional posts to the question "how heavy is the shirt on my back"? I have weighed all my hiking apparel as they will be packed at some point rather than worn. Knowing the weights has also helped me hone down the weight I do carry through replacement or elimination.

When hiking, the weight of heavier clothing does not slow me down per se. It's the heat build-up that gets me.

LV

I don't want to take too much time off topic, but let me briefly respond to the packweight/bodyweight issues.

Bill, I'm not trying to point my finger at anyone or offend anyone. But this is forum is about being more comfortable while hiking, so I wanted to raise that point. I do think the pack weight has more of an influence than weight distributed over my body since it lacks the moment arm of the pack that hangs away from the body. If my remark seemed out of left field…maybe it was.

Nia, that is an great, inspiring story and I give you a lot of credit. You raise a good point about how reducing packweight can get people out more, which in turn can reduce bodyweight. We don't talk about the physical benefits of hiking much here. In my defense (as weak as it will seem after your elegant response), we often talk about targeting our "big three items" first. No reason not to do it simultaneously as you do. However, I don't think we should ignore our personal contribution to the weight carried either.

Hi Linda,

I really hope this new shirt takes care of a lot of the "heat buildup" that gets me also.

I have an old "Planet Hollywood" short sleeve shirt in a really wild print that is very good for warm weather hiking. It weighs 8.78 ounces in a size large. It is made out of 100% Rayon. Rayon is a synthetic textile fiber produced by forcing a cellulose (wood) solution through fine spinnerets and solidifying the resulting…….

I just dug it out and put on. I scared one of my cats. It is black background with red, orange, blue, violet green, yellow stuff printed on it. I have a ball cap that looks like the shirt. I should wear the hat and see how cool it is.

Maybe BPL needs to make a hat or cap out of this shirt and pants material.

PS. I will post my reaction to the new stuff when I get it and can wear it enough to see a trend.

Sorry, but I have two nice shallow rules in life: (1) never wear a tie, especially at work; and (2) never wear a collar out of work.

Like I said shallow; I'd also like the garments in black, blue or grey; I'm not a fan of brown.

Tom,

I agree that fitness is very important. Our goal should be a high level of fitness and a light set of gear.

I spent 28 years as a US Infantryman. Fitness was almost always a part of my everyday activity.

I don't workout like I did back then but I do something most everyday. A lot more if I think I am going to be able to get out for a hike.

I think my fitness level has helped me in my quick recovery from several medical problems I have had the last couple of years.

I am 6 foot tall and have never weighed more than 172, and that was a very fit 172 pounds. I did a AT hike using all military gear and uniforms in December one year. When I left the lodge at Amicalola my pack weight was 92 pounds. We hiked to Woody Gap where bad weather caused us to leave the trail. We were making around 2 miles per hour but were not in any hurry.

If I was in the same shape today I would try a 650 mile unsupported – unsupplied hike and show Coup how it is done. Maybe next year before I am 69.

>Is there any evidence or personal experience that one exerts noticeably less energy walking with a 4 oz shirt than a 16 oz one?

Although clothing might not affect your balance as much as pack weight, it's still weight you have to support with your legs every step & carry up and down hills. So you can't discount it.

The other important thing about clothing weight is that it's an indication of how much water it's going to be able to soak up (varied by fabric type).

Agreed. Don't discount the weight worn, but prioritize it appropriately.