I recommend clothing that can be comfortably worn day after day for a wide variety of activities while still looking good. When in the outdoors no one cares how you look, but in urban environments it can make a difference in how people treat you. When in doubt, dress up rather than down.

My clothing is typically made from technical fibers or merino wool which provides good mobility, light weight, fast drying, and odor/stain resistant. I use mostly the same clothing for daily urban life, travel, done in a day outdoor activities, and extended time in the backcountry. Given my mixed use, I generally constrain clothing styles and colors to be something that would be considered “business casual”, acceptable in a typical business meeting or at a nice restaurant. For example, no cargo pockets on the thigh. I use some specialized clothing when engaged in vigorous exercise because these activities benefit from more specialized clothing.

I use my everyday “urban” clothing on trips that mix cities with the backcountry. When my backpacking trips leave and return from home my backpacking clothing tends to be hand-me-downs from daily life. When a clothing item is looking a bit too worn or stained to wear to a nice restaurant, they get relegated to my “backpacking clothing” bag. I can get more use from the old clothing in situations no one cares about apperances, and avoid excessive wear on newer items which is caused by many outdoor activities.

Below are some general recommendations. I have a number of posts with a clothing tag that have more detailed recommends including:

• Pants
• Base Layers (next to skin)
• Insulation
• Shells: Wind, Soft, and Rain
• Hats
• Footwear
• Handwear

Layering

Conventional  wisdom is that you should dress in three layers: a base to manage moisture, a middle to provide insulation, and a shell to protect you from the elements such as wind and rain. In colder conditions it is common to have multiple insulation layers which can be added or removed to maintain comfort over a range of conditions.

A slight variant of this system is to use a windshirt over the base layer. When people are engaged in high output aerobic activities the combination of high breathable base layer like the Patagonia’s Thermal Weight Capilene Hoody and a light weight unlined windshirt such as the ArcTeryx Squamish or a rain shell that has high MVTR such as those made from Gore’s Shakedry fabric can keep the wearer comfortable for a surprising range of conditions. When activity level drops or if the conditions turn harsh (significantly below freezing), insulation and/or a heavier shell can be placed over the wind shell. Softshells are the cold weather variant of a base + windshirt, providing more insulation while maintaining good breathability. Softshells work well when the wearer is highly active facing variable conditions

Minimize Moisture Absorption

Managing moisture is critical to comfort and safety. Heat lose in water is 24 times more effective than if you are standing in still air. This means that a soaked garment can chill you more than standing naked. Ideally, you want clothing to stay dry. It’s not always possible to keep clothing dry, so the best mitigation is to select clothing which minimizes water retention and dries quickly. Polyester absorbs the least water, followed by nylon (which is a bit more durable) and then wool which has the bonus of resisting odor. There are a variety of wools including sheep (merino particularly nice, icelandic warm), goat (cashmere – luxury but very fragile), alpaca (warmest/weight), and possum (found in AU and NZ). Cotton is an inappropriate material for highly variable conditions.  Cotton can absorb more than four times of its weight in water and can take five times as long to dry as some synthetics! Silk, Rayon, and a host of other fabrics are better than cotton but not great. The article why cotton kills explores this topic in more detail… and I have results from simple experiments in the page Water Retention In Clothing. There are several treatments that can be applied to these materials which make them even better at resisting water absorption such as Schoeller’s nanospheres. 

A nice side effect of quick drying clothing is that on extended trips in the back country or when you are adventure traveling you can wash your clothing in the sink or river and be able to wear them almost immediately. This reduces the amount of clothing you need to carry without being grubby or smelly.

Select the Right Amount of Insulation

There are four things which effect how warm you feel: your base metabolism (do you run “hot” or “cold”), the environmental conditions you are experiencing (temperature and wind), the amount of insulation you are wearing, and your activity level! Richard Nisley posted a wonderful graph illustrates how these factors are inter-related as does his revised paradigm for estimating garment comfort limits.  I found Richard’s graph very helpful in selecting the right set of garments for a trip or event. My caveat is that I seem to require around 1/2 the insulation Richard recommends except when I sleep. When your activity varies so does the amount of insulation you need. You want to avoid wearing clothing which is too warm. Most people take 10-20 minutes to “warm up” from their activity. If you are going to be highly active like going for a run or an uphill hike, you want to wear clothing that will be comfortable once you are “warmed up”. Either you need to plan to remove a layer after a short bit, or be prepared to be chilled / cool at the beginning. When engaged in multi-day activities like wilderness backpacking I often bring insulate which is warm enough for “light activities” in the evening, but does not keep me warm enough in the middle of the night. I will often eat “dinner” early and then hike at a moderate (no sweating) pace until dark and then immediately get under my quilt. In the morning I immediately start hiking and eat breakfast once it warms up a bit. This means I need clothing that are much less insulating than something that would keep me comfortable when sitting around at the coldest time in the day. I have also found Richard’s graph is a great reminder that besides adding or removing clothing layers, a highly effective way to maintain a comfortable temperature range during the day is by altering activity level.

Know How Much Durability is Needed

People are often concerned about the durability of clothing that will be worn in the back country or for an extended period of time while traveling. Many manufacturers encourage people’s fear and sell seriously overbuilt clothing, often  labeled “Expedition Proven” or some such thing. The truth is, very few people, even those on expeditions, need clothing that is so overbuilt. Unless you are facing continuous hard-wearing conditions, lighter weight clothing will have close to the same lifetime as the over-built clothing. There are many advantages to selecting items which aren’t overbuilt: you save weight, save space, often get better performance and spend less money. It is possible to go so light that durability is effected. Several manufacturers make clothing which is aimed at extreme athletics looking for the lightest weight performance, which comes at the expense of durability.

How “Dressy”?

In the outdoors, no one cares about what your clothing looks like. Function, not form or style matters way more. Stains are often a badge of honor indicating you actually got “out there”. When we come back to urban environments you will often be judged by the clothing you wear. Clothing covered in dirt, stains, or holes (that weren’t fashionably applied) often results in the wearer being treated less well than they would if they were “dressed up”. It’s useful to have some clean clothing, or be able to clean your outdoor clothing before engaging with “polite society”. To some extent, people who are considered particularly attractive or powerful/high status can “get away” with more casual clothing. You can almost never be too dressed up, but you can easily be not dressed up enough.

There are many areas in the US and SEA where clothing can be very casual: sandals, shorts and a tee-shirt are normal and acceptable for both men and women, and won’t get a second look in sophisticated restaurants and important event. On the other hand, there are many places where this sort of attire would be perceived as in appropriate if not disrespectful. It’s important to know what are the expectations of the environments you are in. For example, in some locations, men don’t wear shorts, only boy do this.

It used to be that in nicer venues men were expected to wear closed toe leather shoes, nice slacks and a blazer, women nice shoes or sandals, a nice skirt / blouse or dress. Venues / events which have higher expectations explicitly state their requirements: semi-formal, formal, black tie, etc. Since COVID I have noted that in most situations men and women can get away with a loose business casual.

Men can be as informal as clean running shoes, nice jeans or slacks (but not joggers), and a button up shirt. Some places a polo shirt is ok, but personally I won’t “risk it”, and I find button down shirts more versatile. I love these evolving standards because well styled high performance clothing appropriate for outdoor adventures are also acceptable for more urban activities.

Standards in many place have also loosen for women. Nice sandals or shoes, attractive slacks or skirt, and a nice top. I am note specifying top… women seem better than men at understanding what looks nice. My wife has found a sleeveless hiking dress which can optionally be combined with a blouse works really well. In some countries, especially when a distance from “international class” cities, women are expected to be “modest”. This means wear skirts or dresses which go below the knee and tops that at least cover the shoulders. Women not so clothed are assumed to be prostitutes or “loose” and could find themselves harassed by local men.  In many Muslim countries women are expected to keep their heads covered with a scarf or a hat.

In cooler weather, a nice sweater is often perceived as being more dressy than wearing a shirt covered by an outdoor jacket / fleece. A blazer is better still. I recommend suits and blazers made from super 140 wool and for people who travel a lot, the clothing from Bluffworks. Recently a “Chore Jacket” has become fashionable alternative to a blazer, though I don’t really “get it”.

Price / Performance “Tiers”

My experience is that clothing (and most other products) comes in a number of “tiers”. Generally they go up in performance and cost. In my experience “value” products are the best products in terms of number of uses / cost. Generally the ratio of performance / cost starts to go exponential as you approach “the best” performance. With expensive products I generally look for the “knee of the curve”, were I am getting the best performance before the prices start to raise exponentially. Often the price difference between cheap and best clothing is small enough for me on an absolute scale, that I am willing to go for “the best”.

• Fast Fashion: All about the “style” TODAY and quickly becomes dated. Cheap (almost disposable) fabric, poor workmanship. Great if you want something that looks like the cool kids and will be worn out by the time the new style comes out. H&M, Zara, Shein, Boohoo, etc. Bad for the planet and the workers. I never buy these.
• Value: Typically use classic style, decent material, decent workmanship maximizing performance/price. In the 1980s this was Land’s End and L.L. Bean. These days I think of Muji, Uniqlo, Kirkland brand at Costco, Everlane, maybe Old Navy. This is what I historically purchased and still do if I am going to put excessive wear on the item.
• Name Brand: Clothing that used to be good quality materials, good workmanship, that are designed for a specific application, performance characteristic, and are stylish. The first company that comes to my mind is Nike but there are many. I rarely see an advantage of name brand these days. It used to be it guaranteed better quality than value priced items, but that is not alway true now. A lot of name brands attach their logo to clothing which doesn’t have the same quality are their core / original productions… especially items sold at “factory outlets”.
• Top Performance: Clothing that uses top materials, excellent workmanship, and great design. When you put it on it just feels right and the garment feels tailored to move with you. The seams are a thing of beauty. Often uses innovated techniques. Many products from Arcteryx exemplify this level of clothing. I often find there are numerous little details that they pay attention to that other companies don’t. Taken together it elevates a piece of clothing from something that gets the job done to something I love every time I pull it out. I am lucky enough to be able to afford these items when I really care.
• Luxury: The logo makes the item cost >5x what any normal company would charge for an equivalent product of the same quality. Prada, etc. I never purchase these for myself nor would I normal wear them.

My Choice

I go into greater detail in each of the above posts and in my personal gear page, but a quick summary of my clothing:

• Icebreaker Anatomica Tee-Shirt (Merino Wool). Comfortable wide range of temps. UPF 20-30. Dries overnight. Very odor resistant. Adequately durable.
• OR Astroman Button Up. UPF50+ shirt that is reasonable comfortable in hot weather, keeps bugs from biting me, and looks like a dress shirt when under a jacket. A jack of all trades, master of none.
• Outlier AMB Merino Wool Button-up. ~UPF30, resists wrinkles, looks like a traditional dress shirt, very comfortable, dries overnight.
• Icebreaker Anatomica Briefs. Most comfortable briefs I have found.
• Outdoor Research Ferrosi Transit Pants: Decent looking pants made from nylon but don’t have that “swish” of some technical fabrics. Durable, reasonable fast drying. Can wear with a sport jacket or on the trail.
• Xoskin Toes Socks: No blisters!
• Smartwool Socks: Durable, Comfortable
• Luna Sandals: Light, comfortable, durable. What I would wear all the time if I could get away with it.
• Inov-8 Trailfly G 270 Trail runners in all black: when the route is too technical for the Luna or when I have to wear close toed shoes. I get 1500 miles / pair, about triple most trail runners. Has been accepted in 3-star Michelin restaurants and at many dressy events.

Outerwear

• Macpac Nitro Hoody (Polartec Alpha Direct) Comfortable in a huge range of conditions depending on how much you block air movement. Dries super quickly. Reasonable warmth/weight ratio. Reasonably compressible. If never going into backcountry would likely replace with a cashmere sweater which is more dressy looking.
• Gore Shakedry shell. Most breathable waterproof material I have used. Doesn’t wet out in long rains. Can double as a wind shell.
• Montbell Plasma 1000 Vest (Down) Light and compact insulation for core.
• Patagonia Micro Puff Hoody Jacket. Keeps me comfortable 25F lower than whatever clothing I am wearing. Typically layered over other clothing when in sub-freezing conditions.

When engaged in vigorous physical activity (running, bicycling, fastpacking, etc) items are part of my mix

• De Soto Mobius Tri Shorts or XoSkin Compression Shorts + Sun Protection Leg Sleeves: reasonably comfortable when wet, minimized chafing, pockets on the thighs and hips which keep things from bouncing when running.
• Xenith Delta Tee + sun protection arm sleeves. Dries perfect speed to help keep me cool. Very good odor control for a synthetic. Doesn’t bind when soaked.
• Black Diamond Alpine Start Jacket. CPM somewhere between 40-60 making is perfect for high output activities. NanoSphere treatment makes it quite water resistant. One of the highest MVTR measured in a wind shell.

Additional Thoughts

Ryan Jordan’s The Dirt Catwalk: Modern Layering, and Andrew Skurka’s Core Backpacking Clothing are proven and field tested examples of clothing systems for a wide range of conditions. Understanding Layering Using Patagonia as A Guide by Nick Gatel is insightful and a bit of a history lesson. Keith Conover is an MD at University of Pittsburgh Department Emergency Medicine who has devoted several decades to search and rescue in the Appalachians. Keith has regularly updated his Clothing Materials page since 2000 and also has usefulcontent in chapter 4 of his Search and Rescue Handbook which covers clothing and other equipment. Richard Nisley’s article A Revised Paradigm For Estimating Garment Comfort Limits provides an in-depth model for evaluating clothing.  I would also recommend checking out the somewhat dated articles Andy Kirkpatrick’s (aka pyschovertical)  The Art of Not Suffering (2008) and BPL Clothing (and Sleep) System for Mountain Hiking (2001). I would also look at the the various BPL forum posts by Richard Nisley and Steven Seeber. There have been some wonderful research done at the institutes housed U.S. Army Natick Soldier Systems Center (NSSC). Alas, finding their publications is harder today than it was in the early 2000s. DeputySean’s Guide to Summer Wear is an opinionated set of recommendations for good sun protection for hiking in summer alpine conditions. Frank Revelo’s clothing theory, clothing rejected, and clothing current is a an interesting take… very appropriate for the treks he takes.

I wonder if clothing which makes use of graphene such as graphene-x and vollebak could be a game changer… but for now I am highly skeptical. I am unlikely to spend my own money to test it out given I think it’s just hype. The only real user review I found was not exactly positive.

I am just starting to learn more about sun protection. A good starting paper about properties that impact the protection of fabrics.

My Stay warm notes might provide some insight into clothing choices.  Finally, I would recommend the tips in winter running for people who engage is very high energy activities in cold weather. See my others posts with clothing tag for specific recommendations.

Low Cost

Performant clothing doesn’t have to be expense. Most of my pages identify reasonably priced options. If I was asked to build a modestly priced wardrobe to handle a wide ranges of conditions I would recommend:

• Trail running shoes (all black)
• Costco Merino Wool Socks (6) $22
• 32 degree mesh boxer briefs (6) $25
• 32 degree airmesh tees (4) $20
• Nylon or Polyester Hiking Pants (2) – $25/pair at Costco, Sierra, etc
• Long Sleeve Nylon Button Up Shirt – $45 from Sierra
• 100wt Fleece – $25
• Down Puffy – <$80 Uniqlo, Costco, Decathlon, Sierra
• Either a light rain shell with pit zips or a wind breaker + poncho – <$100