What to Wear Hiking

my hiking wardrobe really hasn't changed that much in the last few Ike's but that's a good thing now I've done the work I've gone through all of these hikes I've taken the time and made a lot of mistakes and change to the point where I feel really good I'm prepared I feel like I know what I'm doing as far as what I'm wearing if I know the temperature and have an idea of what the trail is I know what to bring I'm no longer getting blisters no longer getting sunburned and I want to help you prepare so I'm just gonna share what I've learned this past year about what I wear when I go hiking I think it all comes down to something I call dirty layering you have to be okay with the fact that you're going to be dirty on trail if you try to stay clean like normal clean I guess you're going to be bringing a lot of extra clothes and washing it's just something that I don't do anymore I have a base layer that's just like a Sun hoodie underwear shorts or pants socks boots and then I layer on top of that what I need to stay warm or protected it really comes down to those two things mobility and protection I want to wear the least amount of clothes possible get your mind out of the gutter but still be protected from the elements temperature sunlight terrain and bugs like mosquitoes so I'm really trying to maximize my freedom and yes there's an element of minimalism and that but you got to be okay with being dirty and if you go for a hike for a week you know and you don't shower it's not the end of the world I think it's part of the fun to just like put up with being dirty while on trail and when I hike I go hard I'm a little aggressive athletic competitive and I try to go fast you know I'm sweating especially uphill so I eventually start to stink and I'm pretty gross but what does it matter there's really no one else to smell me or judge me I'm hiking by myself but even if there were you know people at camp what's it matter yeah I really don't care at this point I'm out there to hike it's just a part of it so I think this is one of the best things that new hikers can do to lighten their pack adopt dirty layering so I'm gonna go through a timeline of my hikes like how I prepared what I've learned through it all and it all starts down to choke akita in Peru this was my first hike I really was not prepared for the heat in the Sun because I didn't have a hat which is dumb dumb dumb dumb I was getting sunburned on my forehead my ears my back of my neck especially my arms my thighs I was applying the sunscreen but because it was so hot and I was sweating so much it was just like coming right up off of me like you can see white marks on my black shirt and stuff because the sunscreen was white and just dripping right off my nose I also had really really terrible boots I booked this trip last minute and just expected to buy hiking boots when I got to Peru in Cusco and I did and they were expensive and were not the right size so I could not find large size boots so they were too small they cramped up my toes I got blisters of this hike on the heels of my foot and my big toenail fringe alert fell off it took some time but it got black and blue on this hike just because the shoes the boots were so small and they hurt a lot like you can kind of tell on my face when I'm crossing the bridge at night I was not feeling good and when I had to go up the desert side in the direct sunlight the last day with all that elevation you know I was dehydrated going a little crazy and the Sun was just getting to me so I was that was the least prepared I had ever been for a hike but it makes sense you know I was beginning I was learning second was Half Dome a bit easier temperature an easier hike I was in the forest a lot so it was easier but I did get hiking zip off pants which are great because you can turn them into pants so you can turn them into shorts go either or I wore shorts a lot that that hike but still no hat terrible boots terrible terrible terrible Lawrence trendier was next and I still had no hat once again you see the pattern I did have a beanie because I knew it was a colder hike so I did bring some Warner warmer clothes but I actually was wearing the beanie just to protect my forehead as much as possible just because I didn't expect it to be so sunny I definitely should have had like a normal hat because I was getting a little sunburnt for sure you can see after the hike when I'm in the hostel like my skin is so tanned I wore pants and a shell with the hoodie up to protect against the bugs they weren't biting they were just like tiny gnats that would follow me around and just try to get up my nose my ears attack my eyes because of the moisture that was not fun I was not protected against that should have had a net or something and then I take off my pants and socks and shoes to cross streams and then walk walk barefoot on the beach when I could actually strip down to take a dip in a pond at one point it was nice it was cold um but yeah it that trail was actually much wetter then I showed in the video so my boots and my socks were getting pretty soaked during the day I dried my socks on the outside of my pack while hiking which is pretty good I suggest that socks are the one thing that I would bring an extra pair of on hikes because if they get wet you want to help them dry quickly on the outside of your pack and then at night at camp you know if you can try to dry them out as much as possible Iceland during the summer is perfect because the Sun never sets it never dips low the horizon so I was able to dry more than usual then and I still had terrible boots it took some time but a month later I I did toured a Mont Blanc and this is where I really stepped it up on a lot of fronts I finally got a Sun hoodie because I was copying Curtis my brother who does a lot of hiking and he suggested that I use Sun hoodie there's like a long-sleeve shirt the thumb holes in a hood so this protects you from the Sun and gives you a little extra warmth if you need it you just unravel the sleeves and it protects you from bugs it's just pretty good all in all and this is my main base layer I always wear a Sun hoodie now so the 360 brim hat I know looks lame but did really well to protect me from the Sun I didn't keep it I moved to a different hat but it was good and then finally running shoes I got away from the boots so these were just like Nike running shoes and they helped me to do like 20 plus miles a day this was the first time that I didn't get blisters while on trail I think my heels were a little calloused from Iceland but still I felt so good on this hike that I was just crushing mile after mile and yeah running shoes so much better than boots and then ironically so many people in the comments of that video made fun of me for wearing those shoes they're like get some hiking boots it's just silly it's funny I'm definitely more of a trail runner shoe kind of person than boots this is also where I got a sleeping bag liner which is super important for all of this for keeping clean sleeping bag liner it's like a very thin sleeping bag inside your sleeping bag and if you're dirty which I am you just go inside that and it keeps your normal sleeping bag clean which is harder to wash the liners machine washable and that's that you know I use a sleeping bag liner on every hike now just to keep my sleeping bag clean and I wash it in between hikes and also I sleep in my underwear spoiler in the liner in the sleeping bag just because if you wear too many layers you start to sweat and it's not that fun of an experience of course if it's super cold I'm going to wear layers to sleep but by taking off all my clothes except my underwear I let those dry overnight in the tent and then if you take your you know you take your boots off at night or your shoes make sure to take the insoles the inside layer out to dry that helps it all dry faster overnight next was the Adirondacks and the New York state high peaks I established my look the white hat I like it because I never see anyone wearing white hats it's very lightweight it dries quickly and then you know forward it protects my eyes and my forehead from the Sun and then backwards it protects my neck I got my light gray hoodie my slight gray Sun hoodie from Amazon it's got thumb holes it's very lightweight it dries quickly it's just the best I love it it's my secret weapon for sure but it rained a lot that trip and I had a Uniqlo shell like a black rain jacket says it's waterproof not really I was just soaked that entire first day because to Europa in Spain was after that my favorite hike to this day oh it was such a good experience so I tried these Columbia hiking shoes they were a little too stiff for me I finally got good socks the ones that I'm actually wearing right now thin ish wall wicking athletic socks compared to the thick wool socks or cotton socks that I was brand before you should never work on stay away from cotton when it comes to hiking because wool stays warm when it's wet and it dries faster my son hoodie so Kurtis was making fun of me because I was wearing my son hoodie underneath the white hat and he said that looks really stupid and you shouldn't - but I hate it when you wear the hood on the outside of the Hat because it just like blows off in the wind I've tried both I might go back to a hoodie underneath the Hat just for a utility sake but I'm sure it looks lame let me know Grand Canyon was my first really cold hike apparently it gets really cold in the desert during the winter and it was dropping down like single degree digits at night so I had a winter hat gloves at a neck gaiter and I only bring them on the hike if I need them you know I know the temperature and then I give or take plus or minus 10 degrees Santa Cruz was when I established my Brooks Cascadia trail running shoes once again stolen from Curtis you've seen the theme here Curtis does something and then I steal his idea so these are trail running shoes they protect me pretty well but they're lightweight I'm very nimble and they're definitely runners you know they're not boots and if they get wet I think they dry considerably fast compared to other boots that I've had before and especially the Columbia hiking boots shoes that I had before this so is very happy to get those shoes and this is what I'm wearing today I've gotten two of those so far Mount Hood was interesting because backcountry sponsored the video and helped me get some new gear the North Face gore-tex shell the rain jacket they got me is the one thing that has stayed in my kit its gore-tex so fancy expensive but it helps protect me from water and rain you know rain jackets do both they're nice because they're very thin and don't heat you up too much if you want protection from the rain or the wind because you don't want to be sweating in those situations Kilimanjaro was next which started hot in the jungle and ended cold up towards the top of the mountain I did not get to the top if you faust have it here but almost the whole hike was wet so I tried to stay dry as poss Oh Linette gore-tex shell came in and II for sure the Nano puff was the my new addition for this hike so it's like an orange down jacket from Patagonia very warm for its weight which is why I bring it on almost every hike now if I need some warmth especially a camp once I stop walking I'll wear it at night if it's super cold and it's like bright orange so add some color to my black and gray color palette so I like it because it helps me to stand out a little bit also on this trail a Sherpa was wearing um no he was using an umbrella whenever he started raining which was super quick compared to everyone who had to stop take a jacket out of their pack put it on put the pack back on and start walking this guy would just whip out a umbrella and he was the driest person in the entire group throughout the entire hike so it makes me reconsider umbrellas for hiking so we'll see makkal hose in Hong Kong was after that is a pre temperate hike a little on the warm side so I didn't bring as much stuff you know no no winter gear nothing really changed about my wardrobe Mardi Hamal colder hike I wore extra warm clothes but nothing really changed torres del paine once again nothing changed except i was at the airport and a Muji store this Japanese minimalist store and I found a black winter hat beanie and I just had to have it so I swapped that out and that's the only thing that's changed in the last like for hikes except the trekking poles which I broke but that's not something I wear so doesn't count but yeah that's such a good sign that my wardrobe has stopped changing I feel prepared once again I'm not getting sunburned not getting blisters which are the worst so I feel so prepared I feel good so I got the Hat beanie shades shell down jacket sweater shirt gloves pants underwear socks shoes dirty layering you know I'm getting dirty it's ok if I'm not showering if it's okay if I'm not you know smelling like roses if I pass a stream constantly like filling my water bottle taking a drink washing my hands I'll give my hair a scrub if it needs it wash my face my arms my legs but hey I'm out here you know my pits smell it doesn't matter helps me be lightweight helps me pack way less things and you know I'm a minimalist I'm all about eliminating distractions so and that is what I wear when I go hiking I would love to make more videos like this breaking down different topics maybe animals food setting up tents just maybe reviews of just packs so let me know if there's anything that you want to know it's quarantine time so I've been doing a lot of podcasts and I think it would be fun and great to go back through these hiking videos and answer any questions that you have so send me an email leave me a DM on Instagram or leave a comment on this video I actually got the idea for this from a previous comment that someone made so thank you for that of course if you want to listen to the podcast version of this episode you can go to Craig Adams comm special thank you to all of the subscribers on YouTube who clicked the join button on my home page to become sponsors of this video you guys are helping me move away from traditional sponsors and just make more videos so thank you in addition to getting little gold stars next to your name when you comment on the channel or if I go live depending on how long you've been joined as a member you get featured right here at the end of every video that I post I'm going to post all the people who are helping me make these videos and I'm actually in between cameras right now so Sony lent me out this camera and lens and I'm actually really really liking the sony a6000 with the 10 to 18 ultra wide oh man I miss wide-angle I think this is going to be my go to camera next time I get back on trail hopefully within a month or two we'll see so yeah that's it I want to get back on the trail but we got to be good we got to stay inside thank you so much for listening and take care [Music] we are here you I'm a youtuber leave me alone I'm working I'm working here might be basic but I am proud of this this is my first fried rice it's a boy we out here walking I've been doing like two hour walks every day [Music] [Music]

Channel: Kraig Adams

Views: 509,165

Rating: 4.9677534 out of 5

Keywords: Clothes, What to Wear Hiking, Kraig Adams, Kraig Adams hiking wardrobe, best clothes for hiking, minimalism

Id: XLMFJS28jHk

Length: 16min 38sec (998 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 24 2020