Aside from the obvious purposed of clothing; to keep us warm, dry and protect our modesty, the extreme conditions that we encounter when hiking or trekking may demand we take more care selecting our clothes. Outlined below are three main things that we should look to achieve with our outdoor clothing.
Maintenance of Thermal Equilibrium
The purpose of your clothes is not to increase your body temperature when it is cold; they should help you maintain a thermal equilibrium. In maintaining thermal equilibrium your body will lose as much heat as it is generating without having to either produce extra heat or lose it through sweating. The more your clothes help you maintain a thermal equilibrium, the less energy your body will use in trying to achieve this. A good quality base layer is very effective for this, especially as we enter into the colder months. I am a fan of Regatta base layers, which are extremely good quality for the price and if you shop around you can get them for a quite a lot below the RRP.
Keeping Dry
Whilst keeping dry is desirable in normal life, we can normally survive being caught in the rain without an umbrella. For trekking or walking expeditions, however, this can become a much more of a necessity as it helps to preserve often necessary body heat. Good outdoor clothing will not simply protect you from outdoor moisture (rain, show etc.), but also protect you from body moisture; moving perspiration away from your body.
This combination of protecting against outside moisture and moving perspiration away from your skin means that clothing suitable for trekking or walking trips should be both waterproof and breathable. For me, the Crahoppers Ladies Madigan IA jacket is a must have as it is fairly low cost for the quality, extremely comfortable and looks good on too.
Protection and Padding
Any regular outdoor adventurer will know that you encounter a lot more bushes, nettles, spikes and dangers to your skin than on a stroll through a city or town. Padding is, therefore, necessary to protect our delicate skin from terrain or chafing of equipment.
These basic purposes of outdoor clothing are designed to help anyone new to outdoor life, select appropriate clothing for there impending adventures!
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
