I’ve been thinking about hiking clothing a good bit recently. I’ve got a ton of it. And so much of it is worn out. The stuff I wore on the PCT is ruined. The sleeves on the tshirt ripped off, the shorts are extremely faded and the elastic is shot. My CDT clothing is ruined. I’m tempted to repair the pants. They’ve got rips on the lower legs, and the seams on the crotch and the butt are busted open. The shirt is permanently brown and the sleeves have shrunk to the point that they barely cover my wrists.

 

Another pair of pants has patched holes in the butt. Another has a six inch rip in the leg. Another, my softshells, have three busted zippers (including the crotch), a half a dozen burn holes and another six inch rip. They’re so busted and stained that they DEFINITELY need to be trashed.

 

I could use some new hiking clothing. One thing that I now for sure is that it won’t be made of wool. Wool baselayers and t-shirts are extremely nice. They’re so comfortable. They wick well. And they do well in a wide range of temperatures. It’s much more expensive than synthetic and in my experience lasts only a third as long. My wool products have consistently torn faster than any of the products I’ve mentioned above.