Clothing

Highland Hiking's experience in the field suggest that proper clothing is key to a successful and enjoyable hike; be the day hike or over several days. Protection from the sun, hot and cold temperatures, rain and snow, your appearance and a variety of other factors play into this complex equation--What Do I Wear?

Regulating body temperature is the most important feature of clothing. Prolonged dampness may cause the body temperature to fall. Substandard winter clothing can lead to hypothermia. Inadequate ventilation in the heat can cause overheating leading to over metabolizing, muscle and joint fatigue.

The layering principle optimizes the effectiveness of clothing through all stages the hike offering comfort and temperature control. As the temperature or weather changes, a three layer principle would get you through the hike in the coolest of weather. Extreme cold temperatures under 32ºF and 0ºC require additional protection beyond the three layers. Please contact a mountaineering guide for your local store experience cold weather hikers to get their input. Mountaineering.com can give you some excellent ideas keep warm and extreme temperatures.

Layering can be done in three levels:

• The layer next to the skin: Allows perspiration to pass from the skin to this layer and evaporate through the material in a wicking process.
• The insulating layer: Traps the air next to the body. The thicker the body of air the warmer you will be.
• The outer layer: Protection from the sun, rain and cold.

Fabric	Advantages	Disadvantages	Uses
Polyester	Absorbs little water	Retains odor	Skin layer
Polypropylene	Retains insulation (wet)	Not wind resistant	Hats, Gloves, Socks
Wool	Good insulating Wind resistant Doesn't melt	Abosorbs water Dries slowly Bulky	Skin Layer
Nylon	Strong, durable Wind resistant	Dires slowly Slippery	Outer Layer Jackets, Parkas, Pants
Cotton	Good in hot weather Breathes well Comfortable	Very absorbent Dries slowly Non-insultaing (wet)	Skin Layer

Materials for clothing have made great strides with synthetics and better designs. Traditional materials such as wool and fleece have seen major improvements as well.