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... then learn from your experience.
By the way, I have been wearing darn tough socks for years and they are SO MUCH better than socks with cotton. Even soaking wet feet feel warm and dry.
They are merino wool, and they are better than even other "merino wool" socks.
My usual remedy is to wear army BD cargo pants, they're roomy and comfortable (one's less prone to chaffing), they've big deep pockets so things don't get lost as easily and they're rugged and take a lot of rough treatment. Moreover, they're only a fraction of the cost of spoofy/fashionable hiking attire (or at least the ones I use are).
That said, these army BD pants are cotton and like jeans will hold water although for some reason they dry much quicker than jeans even though the fabric weight is similar. To overcome the water/dampness problem I also carry a spare pair of pants made of lightweight synthetic quick-drying fabric. These I roll up cylinder-like and put in a watertight plastic bag at the bottom on my pack (the fabric is so light and flexible they takes up very little space). I also do the same with a spare shirt/T-shirt.
There are many tips I could give those who are thinking of taking up hiking but I'll limit it to one—for safety's sake don't hike alone.
Why does it seem like everyone on the internet is an extreme safety ranger nowadays? Everything you do must follow the exact best practices and maximum safety protocols Someone in this very thread is saying OP could die from wearing jeans hiking Its honestly ridiculous the exaggeration that goes on in internet hobby forums And the risk acceptance is arbitrary anyway You can argue that wearing jeans hiking is taking a…
I didn't wear cleats until I was almost 14 playing baseball.. I just used tennis shoes.. some of my friends gave me a hard time about it. I could hit dingers all day so no big deal. But you know what. I wore a helmet at every at bat. Did I really need it for every at bat?? No; But I had it. There's a long list of dead people who went into the wilderness or hiking under prepared. Just because it didn't happen to you d…
Sorry can you explain the situation where jeans lead to the death of a hiker? I don't buy it.
Unwaxed cotton absorbs water, stays wet, and shrinks when wet to make close contact with skin--three properties that one does not want when its wet and cold.
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> But safety should always come first. No it shouldn’t. Safety is almost always a trade off of real (or perceived) risk and reward. If safety came first, you’d never swim, hike, or drive a car.
Used to raid 25 man World of Warcraft dungeons with a Death Knight tank. His slogan was: "Safety first, then teamwork." That really stuck with me.
I disagree: setting yourself up for a miserable experience might cause you to lose interest, in the case of hiking. Surely you have something else than a jeans? That's the single worst thing to wear for being active.
That's essentially the advice here, get started instead of getting stuck researching and preparing.
I think preparing your mindset for setbacks and being open minded to learning from them is more practical than being overly prepared. Since you are new, you won't be able to account for all possible misery. Chalk off the easy preparation first then get out the door.
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Being synthetic, they also release microplastics into our freshwater when you wash them. I do my mountainbike trailriding in jeans. Have never experienced much of a downside. Also, big plus: jeans look rad when you patch and mend and dirty them!
A pair of trail pants that lasts you 20 years compared to a pair of jeans that lasts 4 and has to be replaced 5 times is probably a net win for microplastics when you factor in the amount of plastic used when manufacturing and shipping both items.
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sure, but the "do it first" hikes probably shouldn't be 7 day hikes through a mountain range.
Not GP, but hypothermia strikes more people in summer than winter. In winter, folks know to prepare for it. In summer, they wonder how they could possibly get hypothermia. Then a thunderstorm drenches them and washes out a bridge. It doesn't even have to be that cold to die of hypothermia. Just cold enough that your body can't maintain above 82°F. If immobile, like due to injury, that can happen at 50°F. Quite possib…
> Do It in Jeans First ... then learn from your experience. By the way, I have been wearing darn tough socks for years and they are SO MUCH better than socks with cotton. Even soaking wet feet feel warm and dry. They are merino wool, and they are better than even other "merino wool" socks.
doing the same thing right now - learning to skate. I got a cheap pair of skates from goodwill, well on my way into week 2 now. Once I know I got the chops down, I'm gonna go buy a nicer pair - but until then, can't beat a pair of $10 skates!