Do we need spare clothing?

[andrewa]

I used to always take spare dry clothing when bushwalking/ski-touring, "just in case". Someone once told me that everyone needed to take spare dry clothing (and also "emergency spare food.....a different topic), and I never really thought about it again.

A few years ago, I rationalised this, after realising that I had never really needed to use any of it over 20+ years of outdoor activity - sure, it was nice to put on something dry and clean, but it wasn't actually "needed".

These days my trips are either long weekends ski-touring or bushwalking, or 10 day wilderness trips to NZ bushwalking, fly-fishing and packrafting. I've given up on "spare" clothing, with consequent significant weight savings.

When skiing, I stay in my clothes, putting an insulating layer over them in the evening to stay warmer (BMW Cocoon Parka , and Montbell pants), and then sleeping in all of this, together with my inner boots from my Scarpas, with an 800g quilt over me. Underneath I use a torso length section of 8mm foam, and a torso length insulmat (bought to suit the floor of my packraft a few years ago), and my pack under my feet. Plenty of warmth, and v v easy to get up for a pee in the middle of the night.

In NZ, we fish during the day, and raft back downstream, getting thoroughly saturated in the process. Choosing lightweight, quickdrying clothing allows them to dry easily next to a fire, and, again, a jacket, and quilt is enough to keep you warm, although I have downsized the underneath insulation to the insulmat and some 3mm foam for these trips.

Also had one extraordinarily comfortable night on an upturned inflated packraft, which I'd happily do again under a tarp, and planning to experiment with a Hennessy Hammock next year, as the raft option does not provide the bug protection at night in NZ.

I suppose this is just one of those "mind-sets" where people need to rationalise what they actually need. In my pursuits, spare clothing is just extra weight, so we now don't take anything beyond what you would wear as one outfit.

Andrew A

[corvus]

Couple of things Andrew total saturation of clothes in Winter in a fuel stove only area? not everything is super fast dry and I suggest you would not be very happy in our Tasmanian Mountains today (snow to 600m) if saturated with no change of clothing
Also what would you do if you beshat yourself ? go commando ? horses for courses and I really think that the minimal weight of spare jox,soxs and thermal top are worth it for safety and possible comfort reasons
corvus

[walkinTas]

A few years ago, I rationalised this, after realising that I had never really needed to use any of it over 20+ years of outdoor activity - sure, it was nice to put on something dry and clean, but it wasn't actually "needed".

If you are wet, cold, and getting colder, and you are by yourself, then dry clothes might just prove to be your saviour. There are two things I try to protect above all else when I walk; spare dry thermals and my sleeping bag. I have pitched camp on many nights where I was grateful for the dry bed. The dry clothes might not have been essential, but they did help warm me up. ....And the hard part, getting up the next morning, taking off your dry clothes and packing them away, and then putting on your not so dry thermals and wet clothes from yesterday, so you still have dry stuff the following night.

[corvus]

snip: More recently I've been using a 10l milk bladder, in a home made "pillow case", wih one or two "spare" items of clothing between the bladder and my head, to reduce sweating, and it is fantastically comfortable.

I also noticed you used "spare clothing " in your pillow set up wonder what that was
corvus

Mod edit: fixed quote.

[mattmacman]

I completely agree, if everyone followed that mentality where would it end, spare tent, spare stove, litre extra fuel? Of course as you go lighter you do have to discard some safety items (I DONT CARE WHAT YOU ULTRA LIGHTERS SAY IM BETTER EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH A SITUATION THAN YOU!) but really its all about how helpful an items going to be in an emergency, i carry my merino gear because i know even if i am soaked i wont get sick (not sure how it works but it does). The things i discarded after my first ever 5 day hike
-Matches (already had striker and lighter)
-WHOLE role of duct tape (carry a little now)
-5 shirts and pants!!!!! (i only carry one or two now) I LOVE MERINO!

[mattmacman]

EDIT* Carrying a towel is also amazing, they suck up water like theirs no tomorrow and pack down to nothing.

[hikingoz]

I always keep thermal top, pants, beanie and socks (sometimes a down jacket) stuffed in a drysack with my sleeping bag. It doesn't matter how wet I get during the day because I can just wack this gear on and dry my day wear out in the evening. The gear also serves as a backup should I need it and keeps my sleeping bag from getting dirty.

Just for reference:

Top and bottom wiegh 100g each
Socks and beanie 50g each
Montbell Down Hoodie 250g

550g to sleep warm and dry every night. Not to much to carry IMHO

EDIT* Carrying a towel is also amazing, they suck up water like theirs no tomorrow and pack down to nothing.

I carry a chux mostly for condensation. Cheap and light. If it gets too dirty I wash it in boiling water for a couple of minutes

[andrewa]

The "spare" clothing I use for a pillow is what I ain't wearing. There's usually something I don't need to wear at night, and at least I'd use my small microfiber towel, or nothing. To the other responses, if soaking wet, wringing out polypro thermals allows them to dry quickly by body heat, and normally I wouldn't be wearing my insulated outer jkt and pants during the day - they are nighttime reserved - maybe they are my "spares"! I have never "be-shat" myself, and normally go commando anyway.

Anyway, the point is only to stimulate the thought process of why someone thinks a particular piece of gear is important.
Andrew A

[whiskeylover]

10 days!? Obviously a man. Do you sweat when you walk or are you too cold? Hope you take it all off from time to time for a wash. Stinky!
Our kit - one set of spare merino under layer, plus in winter - down jkt for camp, extra beanie, socks and gloves. Wet and cold = hypothermia. Even with a good sleeping bag there is a high risk here, which you may think is acceptable, but the people that come searching for you might not. You may get away with it for years - good luck, but if I've had to come looking for you because you were ill prepared I won't be super happy.

[gayet]

Having fallen into a Tasmanian creek, most of pack and top of head remained dry, I would never go without 'spare' dry clothes. As it was already raining and rather cold, it would take a damn long time for what body warmth I had left to dry out anything. I still had a far way to go to get to camp and nothing dried off in that section of the walk. By the time I had the tent up and suchlike, all I wanted was something warm and dry and rung out thermals weren't going to do it!
My experience, for what its worth.

[Nuts]

and normally I wouldn't be wearing my insulated outer jkt and pants during the day - they are nighttime reserved - maybe they are my "spares"!

I dont take a spare set of day use clothes, if wet weather they get wet but chances are the second set will also. Iv'e walked with people who insist on a spare set for each day, can make for a very heavy pack when its all wet.. Been using those MB pants (and the hoody) (they are no heavier than a second set of thermals) Last walk i tried them in the sleeping bag, too hot in 5mins, i'm thinking a lighter bag is in order. So i have walking clothes during the day, thermals and this down stuff for night. Clean enough system.

I tried forgetting the concept of dry feet last walk. Took a pair of cut down scented bin liners for using wet walking Shoes around camp with spare dry socks, works well in the cold I normally carry crocs but would have had to wear them for hours to avoid calf deep water.

Pleanty of weight can be dropped without much compromise... still too heavy though, i dont have much that is 'ultra' light, just 'less'.. Finally got around to finding some tiny nalgene bottles, save a bit of space and weight, no compromise.. I had 9 days food, kg of camera gear, kindle, satphone...Duct Tape 16kg, aint rocket science (or religion...)

[andrewa]

Nuts, re the feet issue, have you looked at hydroskin socks? (and/or some of the other paddling shoes). I've normally also taken crocs for camp, but they are v bulky. Found some light neoprene paddling shoes with grippy sole in HK recently, and they will go on next NZ trip for nighttime use, but also going to try some hydroskin socks - was reading an account of the recent Alaskan Wilderness Clasic, and Dave Chenault commented that his hydroskin socks were great - in fact, it's quite an interesting article.

Glad you were too hot with all that gear on at night - that's exactly the point I'm trying to get across!

A

[Nuts]

Yer, just got some (NRS thin neoprene socks). More for using inside runners for wading on an upcoming river trip. Got a cheap climashield summer bag (no hood) that i might be able to use, only weighs half kg but should work well (with the MB down on colder nights)

[ULWalkingPhil]

I take Merino Long sleeve shirt, Merino longs and light nylon pants as spare clothing. I'm working on reducing my pack weight down as much as possible. If it's cold I take my Macpac Down Jacket and track suit pants for night wear. I take two pairs of light weight Merino jocks with me as well.

So far, I've got my base pack weight less than 10kg. That is if my gear fit's into my deuter 28litre pack. I'm going to see if I can fit all my gear in the pack shortly. Otherwise add another 1.2kg onto the weight with my Aarn Load limo pack.

[forest]

I had the same thought's with spare clothing and after many trips without using some of it I made the same call and ditched most of it.
Down garmets can be a world changer, really warm (Heaps more than thermal clothes like merino and polypro of similar weighted garmet), packs down to nothing.
Just don't let your down gear get wet which isn't that hard with a dry bag in your pack for sleeping bag and spare clothes.

I used to do the whole change into dry clothing each night, downside was next morning I had to put the wet "walking" clothes back on.
Just leaving the wet gear on lets it eventually dry anyway when you get to camp (pending what clothing it is and how your system works for you)

Main things I changed are:

- Ditched the MH Canyon Shirt for a 150 gsm pale coloured Merino shirt, Serves as both camp thermals and walking shirt eliminating taking both walking shirt and thermal shirt. (150gsm merino dries really quickly and is warm while still damp yet cool if it's hot.... ???)
- I take a pair of merino long johns, they mostly come out at night if it's cold.
- MB Down inner jacket for extra warmth. Put that on over a sweat damp 150gsm merino shirt and ther merino is dry before bedtime anyway (Dries the merino in under an hour and I don't feel cold when wet in merino anyway).
- Windshirts are great and quite warm, even when wet.
- My only long pants I will "normally" take are eVent rain pants, they are nice and warm over merino thermal's. If it's cold walking I do the whole longs johns and shorts... Love that look !!
- Rain jacket if it's extra cold and I need layers around camp. (Other than as actual rain gear)
- Beanie (Blackrock down beanie)
- Possum gloves
- Spare walking socks x 1
- Bread bags on feet if its cold and I have wet walking shoes in camp. (I use Inov-8 Roclite 315's so they are not waterproof)
- Spare pair of undies, normally walk in Merino undies anyway so they don't get so stinky.

I used the same system in the snow and rain this year and it worked great on a 4 night trip down to -7°C at night. (I did use 200gsm merino though)
My quilt is rated low enough that I don't need anything other than a base layer to be warm. (I use a hammock to camp in with TQ and UQ)
I don't think if my clothing didn't dry before sleeptime I'd wear it too bed.
Wet clothes in bed just aint no fun....

It's an interesting process when you try to shave pack weight, some things just don't mesh with the traditional mindset and take some time to change even when deep down you know it's not needed.
If you are happy with what you use, Great.
That's all it's about.

[Dale]

Nice system Forest. I've recently started hiking with 150gsm merino and very happy with the results - nice versatility for hot / cold environments, dries quickly and doesn't smell. For comfort I prefer to change into something else for bed, this is where thermals and a nice pair of thick socks come into play. In complete agreement with previous posts, for not a lot of extra weight you can get a lot of extra comfort and down as an insulation layer weighs zippo. Of course we should all remember the key reason for going lightweight is so we can carry more wine

[hikingoz]

I'm dubious about popping on a down jacket or jumping into a sleeping bag with damp clothing on. Over a week or more this would a) reduce the loft of the down and b) make the down item pretty smelly. After a couple of weeks eating dehydrated beef mince my down bag actually smelt like beef on one trip I love down stuff but I make the compromise of protecting it from moisture and dirt.

There are a lot of synthetic lofting jackets and bags on the market. A bit heavier but safer to use in dirt and moisture. Personally I'm sticking with keeping a spare set of dry clothes and sticking with my down goodies....

[Moondog55]

Well Yes and No
Always carry one set of spares but usually it is just a second set of long underwear plus sox ( and the Finnish cowl in the snow)
Taking EXTRA clothing is also a given if it is part of my layering system.
Depending on what season and where I am headed that spare set of longjohns can range from silk-weight to extreme expedition weight tho so there is a big range of temperatures covered but usually it is the warmest set I own and the extra kilo doesn't worry me

[north-north-west]

My spare clothing is one pair of walking socks and some clean knickers. Plus a pair of thick merino socks and a set (or two, in winter) of merino thermals for night. The night gear is kept dry and separate.
That way the down jacket and sleeping bag are kept as dry and clean as possible. Shirt and pants get pretty grubby and smelly by the end of a long trip, though.

[sailfish]

Well generalising here I find that if I take all the clothing I might need for the worst conditions of the season, I automatically have spare clothing. It's just not likely to get that bad. Around here, we may get -10 or so in mid winter. If it's raining, it's going to be warmer so you will have spare dry stuff to sleep in. If it isn't raining you may need everything on but then it's all dry anyway. While walking, you definitely don't need to be wearing everything so will have spare dry stuff when you stop. I never wear thermals while actually walking, only after stopping and then only if its not raining as it's not cold enough if it is. So automatically thermals are sleepwear. I don't have a down jacket but do use a synthetic quilt around camp instead but only if it's not raining so again, this is a dry part of my sleeping system. I don't deliberately camp in snow either but sometimes that can make things a little damp but not wet like rain. If I need a fire to be warm and dry, that is a survival requirement so I will light one regardless and legal in NSW anyway. I also carry a chamois towel so can get most of the water out of clothing if I have to and finish off with body heat and exercise or a fire. Fire is sometimes difficult in rain with little shelter, overhangs are golden in the wet.

Of course folk walk in many different climates so what works for me west of the range is not necessarily going to work for everyone everywhere.

Regards,
Ken

[Son of a Beach]

I don't take 'spare' clothing as such (apart from a spare pair of socks to be able to wear dry socks at camp, and spare undies for longer trips).

However, I carry/wear 3 or four layers of clothing. I never wear all of them while walking (and only occasionally do I need to wear all of them at camp). I figure that the chances of falling into deep water while at camp are pretty slim. However, it is essential to keep some of these layers packed dry while walking. I have fallen into deep water and gotten very cold on a couple of occasions (the last time it was covered in snow, and I didn't know it was there). If that had been at the end of the day, just before reaching camp, and if I was exhausted, and if I had no dry clothes to put on, there is the potential for hypothermia. Of course setting up the tent and getting into the sleeping bag quickly would help, but that can be very hard to do when freezing cold.

[phan_TOM]

Obviously it ultimately depends on personal preference, travelling style, distance, climate etc. For example some people wear all their clothes, walk until the very last minute & then climb, fully clothed into a bivvy, wake up and repeat but I find its always nice to have a clean set of clothes for around camp or at bedtime, appropriate socks and long or short underwear depending on the time of year for me, seeing as happiness depends on both my physical and mental wellbeing & I usually keep the change in the bottom of my sleeping bag, takes up virtually no space/weight for the piece of mind. Nothing bolsters my morale like clean dry socks and undies after long hot/cold and sweaty days. Nothing worse though than getting back into the wet stuff the next day!

[Orion]

Definately need a spare pair of underpants. Otherwise, what are you going to wear on your head while drinking the evening whisky?

[Tony]

Definately need a spare pair of underpants. Otherwise, what are you going to wear on your head while drinking the evening whisky?

Hi Orion,

I thought you took beer on a hike.

I take what some would call spare clothes, these extra clothes are usually for the cooler evenings and I usually wear all of my so called spare clothes on a trip and therefore I would not call them spare.

I did read a statement by a walker in North America that "he does not mind being wet as long as he is warm and wet".

Tony

[Orion]

I thought you took beer on a hike.

I did. Then I took whisky on another hike.

I've hiked at least twice now.


I tried taking 75% ethanol (Bacardi 151) on a trip recently to save weight and that was a mistake.

[phan_TOM]

I did read a statement by a walker in North America that "he does not mind being wet as long as he is warm and wet".

Yes I would agree Tony, but its the getting out of the warm dry stuff in the morning into the cold and wet stuff thats hard to do/funny to watch if its not you. Maybe some whiskey might help to numb the pain but I don't know about being tipsy on the trail

[Orion]

...but its the getting out of the warm dry stuff in the morning into the cold and wet stuff thats hard to do/funny to watch if its not you. Maybe some whiskey might help to numb the pain but I don't know about being tipsy on the trail

I've spent more than one wet warm night in synthetic clothing and a synthetic bag. Nothing was dry, not a stitch. The hard part is getting out of the wet warm sleeping bag in the morning in the still wet but now no longer warm clothing. No whisk(e)y to dull the shock. I never thought of this as a North American thing though.

In all seriousness, I try to limit spare clothing to what I perceive as being needed for the likely worst case scenario. Not the very worst worst case, just the 90th percentile. If it hits 95th percentile or higher I'm going to have to struggle or maybe die (hopefully not). Almost all of the time the extra stuff is just ballast, good stuffing for the pillow under my head at night. Recently I took a thick fleece shirt and a lightweight down jacket and they more or less were only used to support my head at night. But I couldn't have known for certain that the weather was going to be so nice the whole time. Right after I got out things became much colder and wetter. So they were "spare" and unnecessary. But still needed.

[Moondog55]

Oh dear I've done it again
Changed my mind while packing
Because there is a qualitative difference between a long bushwalk and a base camp plus bush walks I have for the first time added a complete set of "Spare clothing" and not just the set of expedition weight warm underwear and as the ultimate in emergency clothing I have (again at the last minute) a set of XXL Tyvek overalls for an extra 139 grams

[stry]

Oh dear I've done it again
Changed my mind while packing
Because there is a qualitative difference between a long bushwalk and a base camp plus bush walks I have for the first time added a complete set of "Spare clothing" and not just the set of expedition weight warm underwear and as the ultimate in emergency clothing I have (again at the last minute) a set of XXL Tyvek overalls for an extra 139 grams

Depending on how you are getting your stuff to the base camp, I'm all in favour of a little luxury. Good for a recharge between side trips.

Otherwise I go with what seems to be the majority view of only one complete set of clothing, including layers and shell, to wear as needed during the day.

Spare dry thermals, and some sort of down top for warmth around camp and a nice dry cosy sleep. Only extras are a minimum of one change of socks. Wear the socks in bed.

I'm very focused on the feet - if anything goes wrong with your boots, or to a lesser degree, your socks, you have a major problem.

Don't worry about spare jocks for short trips.