Tough, but light clothes for desert hiking

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I've got a couple of light, long sleeve Railriders shirts I bought for warm weather hiking. They're "tough" but I don't think think they're meant for that severe abuse (based on my limited but unpleasant experience with Cholla balls).

I've been amazed at how undamaged my Patagonia Baggie long pants and pullover stayed over three decades of use and abuse. Note the CLOTHES were fine, while the person might get stabbed or poked.

I think, from memory, they were 41% nylon, 38% poly and 21% cotton. Lightweight, pretty quick drying.

I'm afraid for crawling through catclaw and the like you'll have to do some compromising on weight. Standard lightweight desert hiking clothing I normally wear won't stand up to that kind of abuse.

Look into protective clothing. For example I bought some large protective arm sleeves that were large enough to go over my lower legs. Very tough stuff and cheap.

If you have plenty of spending money, check out Tuff n Light protective clothing.

Great suggestions – thanks!

I think this is an instance where canvas Carharts are worth their weight.

Most folks in S. AZ have designated one of their shirt as a "bushwhacking" shirt. It'll look like hell (with small tears and fabric pulls) after one or two outings, but hey, you're bushwhacking — nobody's gonna see you! For whatever reason, I've never had too much trouble with regular nylon hiking pants; even the catclaw doesn't seem to damage them.

While not the lightest stuff, Triple Aught Design makes some really awesome gear. When I'm bushwhacking in the desert near my house I like to wear their Covert RS Pants and Overland Shirt. The durability is worth the weight to me. Keep in mind that no matter what you wear, you're best defense is to keep alert as to where you plant your feet. This sucker went all the way through my pants and shoes when I didn't look before I stepped.

Any tight weave nylon supplex should work. I have throwaway gear and try not to spend much on my desert bushwhacking stuff. I found though that after a few years of abuse my Arc'teryx rampart pants got a single tiny thread pull. They got more damage for using around the house (stains) than desert catclaw.

I will throw a wild card suggestion: Duluth Trading company Fire Hose Logging Pants. Check them out at
Duluth Trading Company

Nothing will prevent the penetration of spines, especially prickly pear. I have personally experienced mesquite spines going through truck tires. If heat is not a big issue, traditional denim works about as well as anything, including the Duluth Trading material.

>"Nothing will prevent the penetration of spines"

True that.

And sometimes those spines can be on your face, backside or behind your thigh where you can't see.

So in addition to a good pair tweezers, BRING A MIRROR.

Really. I learned this in Baja one time. Some had to wait until I got back to the car and could use the rear-view mirror.

You don't have to have super heavy material to have long lasting, durable, protective clothing. "Tough N Lite" type stuff, for an example, is usually a blend of nylon, UHMWPE (aka dyneema, spectra, etc), fiber glass, kevlar, some steel, and/or sometimes some natural fiber too. Depending on the specific ratio of the above fibers, you can have both very durable and fairly light weight clothes. Their tests with their fabrics is pretty impressive.

Protection against spines though is much harder to accomplish, you would need multiple very tightly woven thin layers of tough material to protect against that. Not sure if there is any such material or not currently made.

Thanks everyone for your input and insight. I have been taking the thrift store approach: buying white LS shirts and convertible pants whenever I find them and wearing those. I've shredded a few shirts and pants thus far, but the monetary loss is negligible although one hike I arrived back to the TH with virtually no pants left. Looking at the price of the various brands, I think I'll continue with my thrift shop approach.
I'm not sure there's anything out there that justifies the cost.