Date: 2015-10-31
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Miles today: 0.0
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Apologies for the long wait, but here is finally my hiking clothes review.ShoesShoes are arguably the most important item of clothing and I used the merrill moab ventilator, low model (not ankle height) and non-waterproof. I bought my first pair of these a couple of years ago and loved them for their light weight and instant comfort. No breaking in or anything like that, as with heavy duty boots. I used 4 pairs total (the fourth pair is still in use post-hike) and would use them again if I were to do another long distance hike. The only criticism I have is that the insole is very flimsy and prone to breaking down early. I tried mitigating that with a pair of Super Feet insoles, but the pair I got were most definitely not right for me and only made my feet feel worse. I have met a number of people who were very happy with their Super Feet insoles though, so I'd be open to trying another color (=style). I didn't want to mess with it any further on the thru-hike so replaced the shoes earlier than I perhaps otherwise would have. The only pair that showed any outward signs of wear was the third pair, which went through the Pennsylvania rocks (enough said!). Lynn of Two Bad Dogs had the same shoes and found the traction to be very poor, but I was very happy with the traction on all four pairs, so your mileage may vary. Traction is certainly important, especially on the rockfaces of the Whites and Southern maine.SocksI started the hike with 2 pair of smartwool socks and finished with 2 (other) pair of smartwool and a pair of Darn Tough. The Darn Tough turned out to be my favorite, but they were a lighter weight than the ones I had before the hike that cramped my pinky toe. I haven't seen the lighter weight ones in many places though. I also at one point briefly had a pair of Wigwam socks which I really liked, but I stupidly left those hanging in a tree at a campsite. One of the original pairs of smartwool wore through at the achilles, the other pair became too warm and I gave them to Gary to take home at some point. I bought really short socks to alleviate hot ankles under the gaiters which caused a bit of a rash, and that worked fine. I replaced those with ankle socks again in the Whites, when my Achilless needed more protection. Darn Tough is supposed to never wear through but I met a few hikers who did get holes, which I think is only to be expected. I also had one pair of sleep socks, bought at Neels Gap because I mysteriously forgot to pack the ones I had selected at home. I wore these every night for the first few weeks, but almost never at the north end of the trip, as my feet were always warm by then. These socks were never used for hiking and were kept dry at all cost.PantsI started out with an ancient pair of Ex Officio convertible hiking pants that I loved (still do) but I changed to running shorts in Waynesboro. The convertibles were on the heavy side, and too warm. They also were too big after I lost some weight. I did love the two zippered side pockets for wallet and directions, and I actually started out with the legs zipped on many mornings, only to zip them off at some point during the day, which was quite convenient. I still have the convertibles, but I doubt I'll wear them much because I bought new (lighter) long pants and would use running shorts for warm weather again.When I was home from Hapers Ferry, I bought long pants at REI (REI brand, don't ask me what model though) and I love these. They are super comfortable and I have actually worn them post-hike, just to run errands and such. I don't think I ever hiked in them during the thru hike (though I did yesterday when hiking up Old Rag here in VA), but they were my camp pants, protecting me from bugs, and I slept in them as well. They have a draw string which is handy when you lose weight and your pants are at risk of falling off your ass. They can also be converted into capris, but I never did that (because bugs!).ShortsThe highly recognizable orange running shorts that made people say I was so color coordinated were actually a very old pair of shorts I used to run in (back when I ran regularly, which is a long time ago). The brand name is Hind and I think they are out of business. I loved hiking in these, they were very lightweight and airy, and dried super quickly when wet. I got the idea to hike in running shorts from Outro and it is definitely what I'd do again. I was worried the seat would wear through after I had to butt-scoot down rocks many, many times in The Whites and southern maine, but while they are definitely the worse for wear, they are still intact.Short Sleeve ShirtThis is the one thing I ended up changing a couple of times during the hike. I started out with an old Columbia hiking shirt of my mom's, but it had seams in annoying places (shoulder) and it was also too big. Plus it started smelling early on. I bought a replacement shirt in Franklin, a North Face tech fabric. This shirt held up really well, and actually still looks good, but by mile 700 or so it stank so badly I could barely stand myself. Washing it would remove the smell only for about 10 minutes, until my body heat reactivated the stink. So again when I was home from Harpers Ferry, I ordered an Icebreaker wool shirt, their thinnest weight. This shirt was both comfortable and kept the stink to manageable levels, but the wool shirts are not as resilient as the tech fabric ones. I saw many (on other hikers) that were in shreds or had many holes in them. I only got one hole in mine towards the end of the hike, right where the bra strap closure would rub against the shirt because of the pack. But I didn't start using this shirt until I picked it up in Duncannon, which is about halfway. Still, I would definitely go with light weight wool again.Long sleeve shirtI ordered a midweight wool Icebreaker shirt before the hike and I wasn't sure I liked it, but it turned out to be one of my favorite pieces of gear in the end. I used this to hike in during cool weather, and at the end of the hike this was also my camp shirt. I'd consider this an essential for any hike now.Fleece layerIn addition to the long sleeved wool shirt, I also had a fleece sweater that was about the same weight. I sent this home from Damascus and wouldn't take it with me on another hike. Fleece is actually pretty heavy for the warmth, and I found that it didn't really add much to the Icebreaker shirt. PuffyI love my puffy! Pretty much every hiker had one and mine was a Sierra Design one I got on sale. I think it was the first piece of gear I bought. It is warm and lightweight and indispensible. It will probably be my winter jacket this year. It got washed by accident at Three Springs hostel and I was worried it would not recover (being down), but if there is any loss of loft, it is very minor. Sleep shirtmy sleep shirt was a lightweight long sleeve wool shirt from Patagonia and it did not hold up well. I don't know if the holes were caused in the laundry or what, but I think there were about 9 or 10 by the end of the hike, and I only ever slept in this shirt! It was comfortable and warm enough without being suffocating, but also very thin and slightly see-through.Bonus sleeveless shirtAt the Hikers Welcome Hostel in Glencliff, I emptied the dryer so I could put in my clothes. It contained hostel sheets and towels and 1 icebreaker singlet that didn't belong to anybody present (I checked). The hostel caretaker suggested I put it in the hiker box, but I kept it for myself. It became one of my favorite pieces for the last stretch of the hike. I put it on under my heavier camp shirt, and if it was a cool night, under my sleep shirt. I feel bad for whoever lost it, it is really nice. Icebreaker stuff is not cheap, but I really like their shirts.Long Johnsmid weight Icebreaker wool long johns I used for sleeping in the early part of the hike, and only wore once (while hiking up mt. Washington) after Waynesboro. A couple of very small holes appeared really early on (in the Smokies), I have no idea how. They are an ugly maroon color, but they were cheap on clearance at Sierra Trading Post. Rain suitI did not spend a lot of money on rain gear, thinking (correctly, as it turned out) that pretty much all rain gear will get you wet if you wear it long enough. The brand name is White Sierra and I think the model is Trabagon. I paid $25 each for the jacket and the pants. The pants soaked through at the butt if it was raining long enough, but they did keep me drier than I otherwise would have been on more than one occasion. I didn't carry the pants from Harpers Ferry to Killington and didn't wear them after Killington even though I had them (and it did rain). They did come in handy to sit on though, since I didn't carry a sitpad. The jacket would soak through on the sleeves first, but I don't think it was worse than other people's fancier rain jackets. Hat/Buff/mittensI carried my (wool) buff throughout the entire hike, the hat until Damascus and again from Killington and the mittens only until Damascus. I wore all of these in the beginning and frequently slept with both hat and buff as well (remember my sleeping bag does not have a mummy hood). The mittens were handmade and convertibles and while they weren't much to look at, they were quite practical and useful. UnderwearI started with two pair of underwear, one from Ex Officio that every female hiker seemed to own as well (which was always fun when combining laundry for a full load, heh) and one from Patagonia. I prefer the Patagonia ones and bought an additional pair halfway through, as two wasn't very convenient (duh!). The bra was from moving Comfort and I affectionately called it my miracle bra (stop laughing). The reason for that was that it never, ever, after hundreds of miles and who knows how many gallons of sweat, stank. Ever. I have no idea how this is possible, but it is true. (Southpaw and Pony Puncher were brave enough to smell this thing and had to admit it smelled of detergent rather than nastiness). I had decided before the hike that there was no way I was going to wrestle a sports bra over my head every day, so I searched for one with an actual clasp, which was harder than it should be. The bra is the only piece of clothing I wore every single day of the hike (as I had only one) and it held up pretty well. The only downside to it was that it took a long time to dry, which stopped me from using it to swim in a couple of times. If I could still find it, I'd buy myself a couple of these just for daily life. I think I carried more clothes than many other hikers (definitely more than Yoda) but aside from the fleece sweater, I'd take it all again.