Clothing Reviews

For spring hiking this year, I’ve added a Patagonia R1 pullover fleece layer to my wicking system to give me a bit more warmth under a technical shell and to replace a synthetic vest that I’ve been using for the past few years. …

I plan on using gaiters in Scotland to keep the bottom of my pants from getting soaked when walking over boggy ground. Since, I’m going to use trail shoes instead of boots, gaiters will also keep rocks and sticks from getting into …

The Patagonia R1 Hoody fleece pullover is a great mid-layer sweater for use in combination with waterproof shell better for winter hiking and mountaineering. Why this obsession with thermo-regulation? It’s simple really. Being too warm accelerates dehydration and chilling/hypothermia from perspiration. This …

I mostly wear my MontBell UL Thermawrap Pants in camp during the winter when I’m melting water or cooking, but I put them on today when we got to treeline on Mt Chocorua (3,500 ft). With a gusty wind and temperatures in …

I’ve met a few hikers who prefer wearing kilts instead of hiking pants. Hiking kilts are a practical hiking garment for men and it’s surprising that more hikers and backpackers don’t use them. They’re great way to avoid moisture build-up and chafing in those …

Wearing long pants can be a challenge when the weather warms up and you start to sweat more. It’s times like these when you need good wicking underwear that will move moisture away from your skin and prevent thigh chafing. So far, …

Marmot makes two styles of Precip Pants: Full Zip Precip Pants and Regular Precips. The Full Zips are designed for winter hiking, backpacking and climbing. They are sometimes called “New Style” Precips by online retailers because they were introduced after regular Precips (also called …

Hiking and Lyme Disease Last year, I switched to wearing long pants for all of my day hiking and backpacking trips to lower my risk of Lymes disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. I have an alarming number of friends who’ve contracted …

A lot of hikers contact me about gaiters, so I thought I’d write a post about high and low gaiters, when they’re appropriate to use and why you might use them. First off, there are high gaiters and low gaiters. High gaiters …

  One of the most versatile pieces of gear I’ve tried this year are Buff Bandanas. They make excellent hats, headbands, scarves, potholders, bug masks, and so on. A buff is a tube of polyester fabric. If you slip it over your …

I’ve tried oodles of base layers and nothing makes me feel better or warmer than my Capilene baselayer shirts and pants. They are an excellent wicking base layer for many different activities including backpacking and whitewater kayaking. I’ve hijacked the Patagonia graphic …

I’ve tried hiking pants from a number of different manufacturers like REI and RailRiders, but the ones I like best are EMS’ cargo zip off hiking pants. The price for these pants is $55, but EMS often has them on sale.  At …

  It seems like every outdoor clothing manufacturer or retailer on the planet has their own branded wicking layer. Picking between them is a complete crap shoot and I recommend that you try out a few of the brands available on the …