Under Armour and walking in tights..

Ahh, Jardine.
Who else can so successfully rock the black spandex tights, a white polyester dress shirt, Nikes with the tongues cut out, and an umbrella?

Mosquitos, like Ray Jardine, LOVE those spandex tights!

What's the reasoning behind choosing tights?

-Sid

I can see the logic of hiking in tights—you would be less prone to chafing between your thighs, as there is no loose fabric to abrade against your skin. In rain, wet tights wouldn't bog you down—though they absorb water, there wouldn't be heavy fabric swinging around at your ankles. To some extent I imagine they promote good circulation throughout your legs, and they would make it easy to put on/take off wind pants.

But as long as I'm hiking with, uh, people, I think I'll stick to running shorts and nylon hiking pants.

@peripatetic

They aren't mosquito-proof, but you should be able to treat them with permethrin easily enough.

to start wear a pair of the CWX shorts under running shorts. They're supposed to support specific muscle groups in a way that increases efficiency. Sounds like hype, but they get good reviews. IDK if I could be ballsy (ha!) enough to wear tights alone…

Of course, if you're ray-way all the way, you should just make your own!

I hike in spandex running/biking shorts now but I wouldn't do it before I lost a lot of weight and fat. Skurka does it as well.

I might do it, but I refuse to pay that 75% premium for the added "UA" logo. Of course, I could be the envy of every junior high kid in town in I did.

UA tights are actually pretty cheap.

I hike in them. I wear them in New England though and generally if it is warm enough for lots of mosquitos – I'm not wearing them. Although I do put them on at camp and have never have an issue. The bugs tend to leave me alone more than others, though.

Pro's: no baggy swishy noises

seem to keep you much warmer when wet – even in pouring rain – does a pretty good job of staying insulating and wicking wet away.

no wet and muddy hem lines!

take up less space and are lighter than lots of pants

Cons: prickers snag them – I wore mine for less than a year and they have a hole. obviously they are not made for bushwhacking.

sweaty crotch/butt… enough said! (pants obviously give you a little more breathing room)

have to take off sneakers to take them off.

unless it's cold enough I overheat in them.

I like the EMS powerstretch fleece tight for winter wear and warmth in camp. The wool tights I have are actually heavier than these. I also have a fleeced nike pair that is good for winter. Any spandex type is good for fall and spring. I also like the 3/4 length ones then because I don't overheat as much.

edited to add that if there is a nike or new balance outlet store near you… you'd find some fairly reasonably priced.

Ive hiked in my base layer pants and shorts and it seems to work pretty well so going to just the tights wouldn't be that big of a stretch in my mind. I have several friends who are girls who hike in just tights and they seem to enjoy the mobility you get with them. As far as mosquitoes I don't really no if it would help or not.

I routinely hike in tight but stretchy boxer-style underwear under loose nylon long or short pants. This eliminates chafe completely.

I personally see no reason to wear anything else except if it gets cold, in which I might wear tights over the underwear. I wear both so I can take the tights off if my legs get too warm, which happens easily.

I hate baggy hiking pants. I rock some running shorts and when its cold or chilly some Patagonia tights over them. Definitely not mosquito proof, but they're better than bare legs.

That remined me of the Don Ladigan story in the beginning of Lighten Up… canyoneering and pulling out a wet suit!

But hiking in tights isnt a bad idea at all. I suspect the only tights that would be bug proof would be heavier weight tights which clearly arent so great in warmer weather.

I'm always at least partially in tights. Three season I wear compression shorts under nylon shorts. Winter just long tights, either some Nike ones or a thicker, looser fitting set with ankle zips from mountain hardware.

Main advantages are that they really stop the chaffing, though you have to wash them out regularly; aren't so flappy around your ankles as long pants; and do seem to help some with muscle fatigue. They're much better if you're doing something like snowshoeing or are hiking in light snow or rain, as they wick and don't pick up or retain much moisture.

Main disadvantages are: not even mosquito-resistant, snag easily on underbrush, and the thing that really bothers me, no pockets. I like to hike with a bag of gorp, dried fruit or other snack in my pocket, and in camp often keep my lighter, headlamp, or knife in there in between chores. That's a bit of a problem wearing tights.

BTW, as a matter of principle I'd never pay the premium to get the UA logo on an item of clothing.

I like to use tights by Rail Riders during warmer weather:

http://www.railriders.com/men-pro-tights-p-874.html?cPath=104_109

I have an older model that I use. They support my leg muscles, don't make me overheat, are very comfortable, and keep the sun off my legs. There's also an insulated version.

Tried hiking in tights, didn't like 'em. I pebble my Icebreaker boxers — the keep me from chafing and just feel better to me.

I don’t think UA are a special tight, perhaps just used for exemplary purposes or that’s just what jack has.

Any sort of tight is different in just the smallest degrees (CW-X excluded).

"as a matter of principle I'd never pay the premium to get the UA logo on an item of clothing."

You want to pay premium… check out the prices for CW-X or icebreaker tights. THAT my friend, is premium!

You can find UA and Nike and New Balance at discounted prices online or at retail stores like TJ-maxx.

Yeah, I personally love hiking in tights.

This past winter I hiked in powerstretch tights.

Two drawbacks to this I found though. 1) sometimes you need something to break the wind, as they weren't wind resistant by much. 2) After 2 days the stink factor is insane.

I'm not generally a smelly guy either, but powerstretch seems to amplify crotch funk to an extreme level. YMMV though.

Anybody know of any LW Merino tights with a gusseted crotch?

Javan: check out icebreaker – although my midweight pair is heavier than the powerstretch!

I don't think the stink was too awful with the powerstretch ones… on longer trips I wear underwear underneath and a pair of shorts over, though. Get more cleanliness mileage out of the tights that way.

Thanks Angela, I'll see what they have to offer. I've got a few IB items, but I honestly don't ever consciously shop for their stuff.

The prices hurt my soul.

Yeah, I can not, and never will be able to do the underwear thing. Merino is so much better for the funk factor, but I do love powerstretch.

I'm laughing at that but I agree: the prices really do hurt the soul!

If you sign up for the online mailing list you'll get some fairly decent sales occasionally. Steepandcheap.com has had their stuff in the past – I got tights off there once for 60% off. Basically you have to obsessively check that site all day though: not rec. unless your day job involves staring at a computer constantly!

The only other way to make it more affordable would be to work for an outfitter!

Prolite gear has some really good prices on Icebreaker right now, as do several other sites. Tis the season of sales!

Its still not affordable if you work for an outfitter….

Just going to be one of those items that the cost hurts the soul like Arc`Teyx jackets.