Outdoor Clothing  &  Equipment

There is no doubt that outdoor clothing and equipment in general are much more comfortable, lighter, and in many cases, safer than they used to be. Those of us old enough to have tromped the trails in combat boots, carrying a "Trapper Nelson" with iron skillet and #10 cans a-dangle, may revere the memories they helped to generate, but you won't see us on the trail with them. On the other hand, the current boom in adventure sports has contributed to the over-engineering of many items. The resulting "tweekie" products are better left at home. Some of them are dangerous, others just unnecessarily complicated. Invariably, they are expensive. I offer the following comments in hope that they save someone some grief, pain or money. The opinions expressed are my own, and are regrettably independent of corporate sponsorship.

There are two kinds of boots: those that fit and those that don't. Rule #1:If they don't fit, don't buy them. Fit is more important than construction or materials. If you are going to buy boots that don't fit, you might as well by the cheap ones. It doesn't help to know that you you are sporting $300.00 blisters instead of $49.00 blisters. One way of ensuring a good fitting in the store is to be sure to wear the same (heavy) socks that you plan to wear on the trail.

Hiking boots come in a bewildering array. Some weigh only a few ounces, while others weigh in at several pounds per foot. Lightweight boots or "approach shoes" are appropriate for city streets and walks through Discovery Park. This category includes any boot that has split leather uppers, suede or cordura. These boots are very comfortable and nonfatiguing. Walking in them feels like strolling in tiramisu, but they cannot be waterproofed, and they will not (no matter how high the tech) support your arches and ankles when you are carrying a load on your back. For general purpose hiking you need more protection. Probably the best all around boot for hiking and backpacking is the Raichle Eiger. It is lighter than most mountaineering boots, but provides plenty of support, has a rubber rand around the welt to keep water out, and can even take crampons. If your activities are likely to include off-trail routes, or you intend to climb on glaciers where cramponing is mandatory, the heavier, traditional Raichle Montangna is hard to beat. For actual mountain climbs, most mountaineers now use plastic boots when the route will cross snow. They are especially nice for those whose feet get cold, are ideal for kicking steps, and make a nice, rigid platform to ease leg fatigue when using crampons, but they dig your shins, and you need to carry an extra pair of "approach boots" for use on the way in and out. Personally, I prefer to wear my Raichle Montangnas, but I'm probably going to buy a pair of plastics this year because of their advantages on steep snow and ice.

My heartfelt recommendation is to wear two pair. Rule #2: The inner sock should be lightweight and slippery. Wigwam's polypropylene "Gobi" is ideal as a liner. Over that I wear a heavy sock made from a blend of wool and polypro. This combination is a winner. The socks slip against each other, rather than against the skin on your heels and toes.

Rule #3: Go with "fairy legs¹," consisting of synthetic underwear, usually midweight, top and bottom with nylon shorts over the top of the pants for modesty and cargo (handkerchief, lip balm, candy). I like the feel of Capilene, but polypro is warmer and more abrasion resistant. I wear this combination rain or shine, winter and summer. For winter conditions, I wear heavier polypro tights. In summer I pull the legs up over my knees or take them off altogether. A cotton sun shirt is useful in very warm summer weather, when evaporative cooling is great. Otherwise cotton is a Bozo no-no. Not even cotton underpants or bras. I mean it. [One hazard: Even if you peel the Nature Conservancy sticker off your car, this attire will give you away in Forks and Darington. Wear it anyway and act like you don't know any better.]

¹This is a sartorial, not sociological, reference.

Fuzzy fleece jackets have really caught on because they work. Versatile and comfortable, they are a great sweater all by themselves, and with a shell, become a parka. Fleece pants are fine for winter camping, and at base camp on climbs, otherwise they are too hot. If you get a pair, make sure they have full side zips. If you aren't sure why this is necessary, try putting a pair of non-zip fleece pants on while standing on your neighbor's 50⁰ roof in a pouring rain. It's your choice: freeze or fall.

OK, here it is: Don't waste your money on GoreTex. If you read the seven or eight tags that dangle from the sleeve of any GoreTex garment, you will discover why it doesn't work. It is basically a semipermeable membrane (remember Biology 101???). That means that water vapor from perspiration can diffuse through it to the outside. The net transfer of moisture will be with the gradient. Unfortunately, it also means that water vapor, as in "rain," can move in. If there is more moisture outside the jacket than inside, then the moisture moves in. On the other hand, if you are really perspiring, the moisture will move out, but, and here's the catch, not fast enough. Either way you are going to get wet. If you are wearing a pack over the GoreTex shell, then the water will quickly soak through under the shoulder straps and the small of your back. Even the company propaganda and the youthful staff of REI's well-publicized jacket testing shower chamber claim that the fabric is good for 30 minutes in a downpour. That's for a brand new garment. If the parka is older or dirty, it is 5 minutes to soak-through.

My solution: Synthetic underwear (see garb above) that keeps me warm when wet. As long as I'm moving, especially moving UP, I stay warm. I wear a rain hat to keep from losing heat through my head, but otherwise I go shell-less. When I stop for lunch, I may take off the wet shirt and pull on a dry spare, over which goes the fleece and shell. When it is time to move again, off come the fleece and shell. There is simply no way to stay dry, under GoreTex or any other "miracle fabric" if you are moving and it is wet outside. So Rule #4 is to stay warm from the exertion while moving, and warm from dry insulation and a shell when stopped.

GoreTex garments work very well under some conditions. One is when it is very cold (below freezing), so that the humidity outside the garment is very low. Under these conditions the outward transport of moisture works as the advertising claims. The second circumstance is wearing the jacket around town. If you aren't working hard enough to sweat, there is no moisture to transport, so, voila', you stay dry. Amazing, isn't it? Maybe that is why you see so many $375.00 North Face mountaineering parkas on campus. Even if the bearer of the garment thinks a couloir is for keeping drinks cold, the big logo on the shoulder is decidedly cool.

The best bet for a shell is 60/40 cloth or microfiber, sprayed periodically with a good water repellent spray. It is breathable and will hold up in a downpour as long as the more expensive alternatives (about 5 minutes, remember?). The other possibility is a coated, impermeable fabric, which is fine when you are in camp and not generating moisture inside your clothing at a high rate. By the way, all the above applies to rain pants, too.

Return to Hiyu Coulee Homepage