Gear List Part 3:  Clothes

So clothes.  Kind of important (except for Hike Naked Day).  I'll be including water proofs and things like that here too.  Let's start form the bottom layer and work outwards.

Base Layer
Merino wool, I wear a lot of it. ,For those that don't know, merino wool is magic.  It keeps hot stuff hot and cool stuff cool.  It dries quickly, it offers immense breathability, but has no wind or water protection at all.  It's a great base layer.  I've two long-sleeve and two short-sleeve merino wool tops from Rab.  Some generic merino wool underwear from Amazon, and a pair of merino wool long-johns.  Seeing a pattern here?


That said, as my short-sleeves can show, wool - especially merino wool - isn't the most durable in thin layers.  The tops have started getting a little thread-bare on the shoulders from casual every day use and the odd hike over the past year.  They might get replaced eventually but they still work so they're hanging around for now.

Trousers wise I'll be using my old standard of North Face hiking trousers, preferably the convertible ones so I can turn them into shorts when it gets hot. There's not much to say here.  They do the job with a bit of water resistance and wind resistance but not enough to keep my dry and warm on a very wet and windy day.

On my feet, guess what?  More merino wool!  Bridgedale have some lovely merino wool sock liners, over which I'll put on their lightweight hiking socks.  The heavy variety are too much for my tastes.  The mediums are alright but a bit thick for hot or wet days, especially if I have the liners on as well.  I'm reasonable happy with liners and lightweight in the worst weather, and very happy in hot weather.

Thermal Layer
Arc'teryx has my new favourite fluffy coat.  The Atom LT Jacket is nice and warm, rather fluffy and cuddly and packs down nicely.  It gives a bit of protection against the rain, but is mostly there to keep me warm.  It doesn't have a hood though, so I'll be taking a merino wool buff for my neck, head or anywhere else that gets cold.  I may also take a generic lightweight pull-on jumper with me for that extra bit of warmth.

Shell Layer
There's a few things that go into this layer but not all of them need to be worn all the time.  I'll often wear my hat, but rarely wear my gaiters.  Let's start from the bottom. 

Rap Hispar Gaiters keep my ankles and calves dry and make sure water doesn't get into my boots.  They're a bit hot and a bit bulky though, so as Winter turns into Spring and then into Summer, I'll probably ship these home if I take them at all.  If I swap to trail runners, I might replace these gaiters with some lightweight fabric ones to keep dirt and rocks out.

On my torso, Arc'teryx again with the Beta AR Jacket.  I was incredibly lucky to find one doubly discounted in Cotswold a few weeks ago.  It's amazing, but it is a little big for me in the large size.  It's very waterproof, covers everything from the waist up - with a huge hood.  It doesn't impact my movement at all, and can be opened up all over the place for breathability and so forth.  It's a really good jacket, but with a high price normally.  The exceptionally large hood is meant to be able to go over helmets for aplinists, caving, skiing, or so forth.  For me though, it can go over my hat.

Most people have baseball caps or similar.  Not me.  I'm going with a wide-brimmed hat so I can pretend to be Indiana Jones.  Tilley makes the best fabric hats.  The hemp ones are waterproof, breathable, and windproof.  They also float and are very durable.  My old hemp hat got a tear in it after nearly ten years and Tilley replaced it with a brand new one for free, all I had to do was pay to send it to them.  I've also got a slightly lighter cotton one with a bit more airflow but a bit less waterproof.  I'd rather take the hemp one, but the USA can be a little funny about hemp sometimes or so I hear.