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Thread: Clothing weight

  1. #1
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    Default Clothing weight

    Looking to get some sense of what others carry for clothing and the weight -
    I’m going with
    Down coat - 11oz
    Wool top and bottom layer - 14oz together
    1 or 2 spare underwear and socks
    Poncho and rain pants - 17oz together
    Maybe a spare t-shirt?
    Gloves and hat

    It’s coming in at around 3 pounds of non-worn at all times items, despite my best efforts to shop for highly light weight items. Is this typical or is there a way to downsize more?

  2. #2
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    What kind of season are you looking at? For me, here's where I'm at for "unworn clothing", including rain gear, for a multi-night trip:
    • Winter - 4.9 lbs
    • Fall/Spring - 2.9 lbs
    • Summer - 1.47 lbs


    That's with my base weight ranging 11-14 lbs depending on season.

    I go with one extra pair of underwear, an extra shirt, and usually 2 extra pairs of extra socks.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spring.Bear View Post
    Looking to get some sense of what others carry for clothing and the weight -
    I’m going with
    Down coat - 11oz
    Wool top and bottom layer - 14oz together
    1 or 2 spare underwear and socks
    Poncho and rain pants - 17oz together
    Maybe a spare t-shirt?
    Gloves and hat

    It’s coming in at around 3 pounds of non-worn at all times items, despite my best efforts to shop for highly light weight items. Is this typical or is there a way to downsize more?

    For a thru hike? Where and when? Is some of that for sleep?

  4. #4
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    Sobo starting early June. I hear some nights get cold in the mountains and I’m very sensitive to cold. I figure the Woolf too and bottom layer would be the sleep layer unless things get really cold during the day.

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    Wool layers - sorry autocorrect on my phone.

  6. #6

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    I went SOBO in early June as well, and yes had some pretty chilly nights. You probably know, you want to keep your sleep clothes sancrosect, just for in camp unless it is a matter of life and death. I had a 30F quilt, an R3.8 pad, 200W tops and bottoms, thick socks and a balaclava. A pretty light weight fleece, no puffy. I'm a medium sleeper, and did have a couple of nights that were a little uncomfortable in Maine, although I did sleep. By the time I got thru the Whites in July, that was just fine. But headed into TN/NC/GA in Oct, I added a puffy, warmer cap, warmer gloves and 260W tops and bottoms, without getting rid of the 200W. But I stuck with my quilt. I had replaced my R3.8 pad with and R4.2 due to a leak. On colder nights I wore both sets of base layers, and that worked fine even when temps dropped below 30F. I decided to add weight in clothing rather than swapping out my quilt. So there is the sleeping perspective, FWIW.

    Spare clothes, I carried a spare T-shirt, hiking socks and pair of underwear.. Although slightly handy in that I could shower, change into those and rain pants if they were clean and do chores while rest of stuff was in laundry--in retrospect the underwear and t-shirt were superfluous, although light. Would skip those, but keep the spare socks. Might save you a little bit there.

    Rain gear, I read enough about the short comings of breathable technology for backpacking that I went with a Lightheart jacket at 6oz's and a pair of Ultimate Direction pants that were supposedly breathable but only weighed 4oz's. They were sort of a last minute whim, on clearance at REI, but I am glad I had them on some wet windy days, for the warmth rather than the dry. So I think you could probably shave a little bit off in your raingear choices.

    Poet at Shaws is very helpful in dialing in your gear after your first 10 days. His shakedowns are very entertaining to watch too. Yes, he does have a gear shop and benefits from resultant sales, but I didn't see that he was a hard sell at all. Also Monson PO has decent hours, so it is easy enough to send gear home that you realize you don't need or replace. For instance I sent home a 6oz knife and bought a 1oz Swiss Army mini, among several other things. You don't have to be fully dialed in at Katahdin, and you probably won't be.

    Hanover is another convenient town to swap gear, in terms of the Post Office at least. It has good hours, and the trail goes right by it. And you are through the part of the trail with significant cold night risk at that point. No outfitter there, so any gear swap has to be preplanned at that point.

    If you are cold natured you'll probably want to winterize back up at some point in VA. There are outfitters of various scale in Harper's Ferry, Front Royal, Elkton, Waynesboro, Daleville and of course Damascus. I didn't use the PO anywhere in VA (my parents live near Damascus, so mailed to/from them) I was in VA for most of Sept, and had some cooler nights.

    FYI, the outfitters in both Front Royal and Elkton have showers and laundry, which are great for quick resupply and clean up without spending a night in town. Neither charge for it, but obviously hope you will spend a little. Both carry a decent food selection, so I found them to be perfect for keep on keeping on. Which at that point you'll probably want to do.

  7. #7

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    Have a great time. I really enjoyed the SOBO experience.

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    Great question. Hank IV has given excellent advice, that is, to consider your spare clothing as part of your sleep system. For spring and fall section hikes, I carry a warm bag and pad, and the following: mid-layer (7 oz,) down hoodie (10 oz), mid-weight sleep clothes (12 oz,) two spare underwear/socks (5 oz,) raincoat & pants (12 oz,) and wool buff & mittens (3 oz.) In addition, I carry rain overmitts (1.5 oz) which help keep my hands warm even when it isn't raining. An extra tee hasn't been worthwhile to me. Your list sounds "spot on." That's the perspective of a female hiker

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    Thank you!

  10. #10

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    Whoops, forgot to mention that I also sent all my clothes to InsectShield for their permethrin treatment that is supposedly longer lasting than do it yourself. Socks and base layers. No underwear, they won’t do that. Just one tick, and it was pretty punchdrunk. YMMV.

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    I certainly see people listing clothes they pack at much lighter weights than I’ve been able to find them. 8oz rain pants for example, is the lightest I could find without shelling out a couple hundred bucks. And even then I wasn’t finding them at 4oz.

  12. #12

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    Looks like they are out of stock, but maybe a chain might have some.

    https://ultimatedirection.com/ultra-pants/

  13. #13

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    REI Outlet has Small and X Small for $70, FYI.

  14. #14
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    I wear a lot of fishing pants and shirts. They are quick dry and are lightweight. The only downside is the clothing wears out quickly and needs to be replaced.

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