Rookie wondering about hiking clothes

I agree with hikerjer. Wool is great, but synthetics can do the job at much lower cost, and usually with less weight. If you're just getting started and concerned about cost, I suggest waiting until experience refines your wardrobe selections before taking the plunge on anything other than socks.

FWIW, I wear wool socks, carry mid-weight wool base layers and a wool stocking cap. The base layers have a slight warmth advantage per unit weight, but they have a great odor advantage on longer trips. In everyday life, I wear wool almost constantly.

It's a shame that Helly Hansen gear isn't more widely distributed in the US.  I've never been disappointed in any of my HH stuff.

I sweat like a pig, then get cold in camp. Here's what I use:

I hike in a synthetic button-up sunshirt. But a cotton-poly dress shirt works pretty well too (used those for years before dropping money on the high tech stuff). Pants: light nylon hiking pants, usually convertible but that's just because I can't find any one-piece pants that fit (I almost never take the legs off; I value the bug and sun protection too much. You can't see it in my avatar, but I'm a redhead with very fair skin). These are both loose-fitting garments that allow for good ventilation, since I overheat easily when hiking.
Also wear: High-tech synthetic undies. Wish I could find a bra that wicked as well as my ExOfficio undies do, because that soggy bra is a killer. Smartwool socks.

In camp, I shed the sweaty clothes, take a dip in the nearest lake or stream if possible, and put on synthetic base layers. If it's chilly or buggy, I add rain pants and/or fleece pants, and rain jacket and/or down jacket.

Cover my head with a Sunday Afternoons hat while hiking, and a Buff around camp, until it gets cold enough for a heavy fleece hat.

I don't do much wool besides the sox, because I can't take even the good stuff next to my skin in the more sensitive areas.

[asking for my wife] Do sports bras not do the trick?

Sadly, no. Not when you sweat buckets. They all claim to be wicking, but in my opinion that isn't enough when they are wringing wet. Only solution is to take it off when reaching camp.



I agree with Tigger. Usually as soon as camp is set up, we bathe and change to a thermal layer. Shirts, socks and underwear get rinsed (I wash my bra and shirt only if I'm sure they will get dry before morning. Otherwise, they get hung out to air as best I can). I carry spare socks and underwear, more than is strictly needed, so that I always have one for wearing, one for washing, and one clean to sleep in. On a week-long trip, my pants may get washed once, but I don't worry too much about it one way or the other.