women wearing skirts

[victoria maki]

I live in northern Minnesota and would never consider wearing a skirt hiking. I will be hiking the JMT for the third time and know the terrain of the trail. Not much brush. Do any of you women, or for that matter men (Kilts?), wear skirts when hiking? I can see a few advantages and a few disadvantages.
Advantages: cooler hiking when it's 100 degrees in the shade and easier to eliminate
Disadvantages: sunburned legs, if it's cold I would have to wear some kind of leggings, and big winds making me look like Marilyn Monroe in the movie…Ok, maybe not quite like MM…;-)
Advice or comments?

[Billy Ray]

I met a woman once from Switzerland doing the JMT solo and wearing a skirt.

I also met a guy wear a kilt out hiking once.

It has been done, but it's not very common.

That's about all I know about it.

Billy

[Greg Mihalik]

Evening clean-up will be more extensive.

I wear pants,and my ankles and lower legs still end up nearly black.

[David Thomas]

My wife and many active women in my Alaskan town are using those zippered, insulated skirts around town and while Nordic skiing. They add a moderate amount of warmth and the zipper lets one regulate temperature quickly and easily. If you can skate ski in it, you certainly could hike in it.

[W I S N E R !]

I've found that my daughter has an easier time with things when hiking in a skirt. She can change layers/leggings/underwear and pee without feeling like she's exposing herself. As a 10 year old she's still self-conscious about that stuff so the skirt helps.

[Brian Crain]

I thought that this was an excellent title for a chaff thread…

I wear a kilt to the highland games but much prefer shorts or pants on the trail.

[Justin Baker]

Sure, why not? I normally wear shorts in hot weather but a skirt would be very cool/breezy.

Remember guys, if it's not pleated it's not a kilt, it's a skirt.

[Mobile Calculator]

…

[Larry De La Briandais]

But the title of this thread caused the song "Walking around in women's underwear" to stick in my head! Thanks… ;^)

[victoria maki]

This is a hoot. All guys replying. I thought I would get a few guys commenting, but not all.
Did not think of bugs, although I found the mosquitoes to be very tiny and not itchy out in California. Not like the airplanes we have up in Minnesota…;-)

[Anna T]

I'll step up for the ladies! I'm a female skirt-hiker. I love them for the reasons already mentioned by others in this thread. However, I do wear thin bike-short things underneath to stop chafing (I'm trying to find some underwear shaped like this for simplicity). I add Icebreaker leggings if it gets cold. If I wasn't wearing a skirt, I'd wear shorts, so the bug issue for me doesn't count – I just use bug spray!

The harder part is finding a skirt that works for the task – I like ones which hit just above knee for modesty on hills/scrambles, nice breathable material, and wide flat waistband (works well with pack). Currently I alternate between a Patagonia one (not ideal as it doesn't dry very fast) and an Icebreaker one (which I love except for the fact that it's slightly too sheer, but this is sort of fixed by the use of bike shorts).

[Desert Dweller]

Anna try ANDIAMO! undies, they work great. Plus the Ibex Izzy skirt is the bomb.
And those quilted down skirts are called SKHOOP and they are REALLY nice and come in different lengths.

[David Thomas]

>"However, I do wear thin bike-short things underneath to stop chafing (I'm trying to find some underwear shaped like this for simplicity)."

Anna,

I've got some of these:

http://www.jcpenney.com/men/sale/jockey-2-pk-microfiber-performance-midway-boxer-briefs/prod.jump?ppId=pp5002940499&selectedSKUId=50459130117&selectedLotId=5045913&ppId=pp5002940499&fromBag=true&cm_mmc=ShoppingFeed-_-GooglePLA-_-Midway-_-50459130117&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=50459130117

To hike in (without a skirt). They look like bicycling shorts, but have no padding, are of a thinner material, far cheaper (two for $24) and dry quicker. In black, one's modesty is mostly preserved.

They may or may not adjust enough to the different curves of a woman. It is a very stretchy material they use.

[Sumi Wada]

I've worn a dress and I thought it was great. Not sure why I don't do it more often, actually. I did a solo summer hike at Nordhouse Dunes along Lake Michigan and decided to wear a simple tank dress so that it would be easy to change in and out of a bathingsuit with other people around.

Kept me cooler and I liked it that there were fewer layers under the hipbelt, and no sagging pants or shorts either.

I wore "boy-shorts" type underwear underneath but with the stretchy tank dresses, wind kicking up the skirt really wasn't a problem. The boy-shorts underwear is thinner and more comfortable than compression shorts and definitely dries faster if you do laundry on the trail.

The only drawback was the lack of pockets. Women's dresses don't have real pockets. A skirt is more likely to have them, I think.

Now, I think a skirt is MUCH easier on a float trip. I never did get the knack for peeing in the river; I inevitably got *something* wet.

[Dale Wambaugh]

So what do you wear for socks and shoes? Can you hike in heels?

[victoria maki]

David, would I be made fun of, more so than usual, when I wash and hang them up to dry?…;-)
And Dale, I like the shoes, but I believe they wouldn't go with my backpack…I like to be color coordinated….

[Donna C]

I tried it…didn't care for it. Reason was because on some of the trails here in the East, there is some climbing and scrambling and occasional steep trails. Being higher than the other person below me on a rock left me a bit exposed to them; when climbing over downed large trees, the skirt got in the way…it snagged or I had to rely on my lycra shorts underneath which didn't give me musc protection as I would sit and scoot over the log. When hiking up steeper trails, the skirt just got in the way. Sitting down allowed for an occasional bug crawling underneath. I found a skirt is best for in town jaunts. Tried the macabri skirt…too weird for me and it looked so outdated or something just wrong.
Skirts here don't offer much tick protection and honestly…if no significant other, who would want to do the task of a tick check down there??!!! : 0

If I were you, I would try a skirt on some short overnighters or day hikes. This way you will see if its for you. There are running skirts with the leggings built in if that's your style.

I like to hike commando under my pants so a skirt is so not for me.

[victoria maki]

Donna. I see you have some good points. No place up here in Minnesota or Isle Royal to give it a try. Lots of bushy trails and mosquitoes the size of airplanes. The only place I would be willing to try it is on the JMT. I will have to think long and hard before I leave, in July, for the JMT. Thanks

[Donna C]

I haven't been on the JMT, but if you wear the skirt and don't like it, send it home at your resupply. Keep a pair of pants in your container if you decide the skirt isn't a keeper. Or keep it and use it as a pillow stuffer or something creative. Just a thought. If you get a tighter skirt, make sure you have room for your stride.

[Kenda Willey]

I've hiked in a denim skirt. A kind of straight, kind of short thing, and wearing Patagonia R1 long underwear underneath: the hike was more than a day, I did fine, and the R1 doesn't attract stickers (I live in the southwestern desert, so there are stickers!). I have a picture of my mother hiking in Utah in the 1940s, wearing a knee-length skirt and sensible shoes. Oh yes, and granny sunglasses! She always told me she wouldn't dream of not wearing a skirt back then (which is not true, since I've found pictures of her as a high school student in the 30s, wearing trousers), and that it was perfectly comfortable.
As a P.S., that was the one time I really hiked in a skirt–I sometimes wear skirts on extended walks in the countryside with my dogs, but that's about it. Oh, and no high heels!

[Diane Pinkers]

I have transitioned to hiking in a skirt–and I HATE skirts for every-day wear. However, the improved air circulation leads to greater comfort when used on long hikes, and in the PNW, where stuff doesn't really dry out much, I find that my shorts+skirt dries faster than my old Sahara nylon pants from REI. I have alternate between long leggings underneath in cooler weather or when I'm concerned about sunburn, and shorts when I'm ok with having my legs exposed. I do spray the leggings with Permethrin, and I use Montbell stretchy gaiters to keep trail debris out of my shoes.

Melanzana has a fleece skirt that I find really comfortable for shoulder season over leggings. I have yet to find THE perfect skirt–lightweight, just above knee length, breathable material with a couple of pockets, elastic waistband. Rambling Hemlock's blog talks about sewing her own, and I'm debating about trying it.

[Anonymous]

They are pretty easy to sew/make. I made a "kilt", well more of skirt since it's not pleated, out of a mid weight, 65% polyester and 35% linen fabric. It's pretty awesome, dries pretty fast, fairly cooling, breathable, tough, a bit less stinky than non treated 100% polyester fabric, etc.

Was one of my earlier sewing projects, and again pretty easy. But i didn't add pockets, buttons, and all that. It closes with two separate parts of velcro.

[Monique Schaefers]

I am super happy to have found this thread.

Did you hike in a skirt? How did it go for you hiking in a skirt?

I love wearing skorts in everyday summer life. I love my convertible pants too. I was thinking of sewing my own skorts with cargo pockets because I find the fit of the few skorts out there to be less than satisfactory and the pockets to be anemic if they exist at all. I have a narrow waist and some junque in the trunque and nice, strong lifter's thighs.

My skort day dreams have brought me to the realization I want to sew a skirt and wear *compression* shorts or long leggings. I can wear the leggings under the skirt in the cool mornings and the shorts in the afternoons. I can also swim in the shorts with my sports bra on.

Any suggestions for the shorts ladies? Leggings? I may need to sew my own leggings with ankle zips or do you know of some out there?

Love this group!! Thanks!!

[Sean Westberg]

I know a woman that occasionally hikes in a hiking skirt in Europe. Pretty much it's been reiterated here, airflow, some warmth, etc etc…

I've worn a kilt for extended hot days and even with compression shorts or Under Armor style undies it's hard to avoid swamp crotch. I'm told there are similar considerations for women wearing skirts.

As a guy the utilikilts and other options just seem to be pretty heavy to me (not to mention duck canvas cotton or heavy wool). Maybe if it was made of some running shorts lightweight fabric with maybe some running shorts style netting it might be comfy, but you lose pockets, you expose an awful lot of leg to the sun and to bugs, and in the end you're just talking about running shorts with pleats.

[Diane Pinkers]

I have started wearing the Purple Rain Hiking skirt, made by a thru-hiker specifically for female hikers, available on Etsy. Under it I wear spandex running shorts, usually commando. The pockets are great, and the yoga style waistband is comfortable under a hip-belt. My only "complaint" is that the fabric is a little heavy, but it is sturdy, wicking, water-resistant, and otherwise great. Before that I had a wicking skirt from LL Bean which is lighter weight, but required a belt and the snaps would sometimes pinch. I looked, and it is not being offered this season. http://www.runningfunky.com is my source for the spandex shorts. She has many lengths available, and will do custom orders–I get a little more rise, because I hate the sensation of the back waistband falling and needing to be hiked up–low rise styles are not my favorite. The only other complaint is that the spandex, being synthetic, is rather odiferous. But, not being a skort, I can slide Capilene 2 longjohns and/or Montbell wind-pants on if I need warmth.

[Author]

Posts