We have a new eBook planned.

Just for a bit of fun.

It will be a giveaway on Our Hiking Blog.

It is designed to help people starting out.

We want to help them get setup with the best hiking clothing for a multi-day trip.

The mini guide will be a slightly expanded version of the “What  clothes to wear on the Overland Track” section of our How to hike the Overland Track guide.  Some of you may be familiar with it, and hopefully found it useful.

Gratuitous  photo of naked person hiking in an attempt to be funny…..

End of gratuitous naked photo, hope you laughed…..

So, why write about it here?

There are a few hundred of you that receive an email each time we publish a new article. Many of you are experienced, many are building your knowledge, many of you have bought new clothes or have a system that works for you.

We would love to hear any tips, tricks, ideas, suggestions or read about what works for you in relation to clothing.

• do you have a list you always follow?
• hot climate must takes?
• cold climate must haves?
• where do you find bargains?
• what is the best piece of clothing you have in your kit?
• what is your most expensive purchase? Was it worth it?
• what do you walk in, sleep in, keep warm with?
• you get the idea……….

Your knowledge, experience  and ideas are invaluable so please share them with the world!

We will then go through the replies,  picking the best ideas to include in the mini guide. All published ideas will be attributed to you,  the idea genie.

Once the guide is finished we will let you know how to grab it.

It will be free for anyone who wishes to download it.

So, come on all you clothing junkies, please drop us a note below.

Oh, and for the moment, please  focus from the socks up, we have some great footwear articles around here written by Georgie Bull. Why knows, there might be another mini guide in those  one day.

Gaiters are like boots, with different ones designed for different jobs.  But are they just handy little accessories or wouldn’t-go-withouts?  

With a good range to choose from according to durability, weight, length, latest technology and price, have a look at the gaiters available in your local outdoor shop and online.

My gear criteria are fairly minimal – I like gear that is light – but I am not fanatical – airy, and that will keep me dry, and even though I tend not to wander off the track, I want protection from prickly scrub if nature calls.  So my new gaiters had to be light, waterproof and reasonably durable.

I like to buy from Australian companies, so I first checked the Sea to Summit range.  I struck it lucky, because their Alpine Gore-tex gaiters met all my criteria, and were reasonably priced at $76. Since I bought mine, the waterproofing has been changed to eVent, but the price has stayed the same.

My gaiters have done the OT twice and have so far lived up to their promise, as they kept me and my pants dry on the very wet and muddy track last year.  They are lightweight and easy to put on and get off and the Hypalon boot strap shows no sign of wear.  To store, I just scrub the mud off,  re-waterproof,  dry thoroughly, and toss them in my boot box with Hippo.  I volunteer at the Woodford Folk Festival, and last December it  was steaming hot, wet and extremely muddy.  I wore my gaiters comfortably every day for the whole week – which really tested their breathability.

My husband and sons prefer the heavier Sea to Summit Quagmire Canvas gaiter, because the wide front Velcro crossovers give their shins good protection rock scrambling.  Being canvas, they weigh a lot more than mine, but the boys seem happy to trade the weight for this extra protection and durability – and the gaiters are so far standing up well to the heavy use.  They cost about $70.  If you are not keen on the weight of canvas, Quagmire also come in lighter, breathier eVent.

There are many other brands available, so when you are in need of some new gaiters, or want to buy some to give them a go, have a bit of fun searching out the common and the obscure.  Here are a few sites to tempt you – in alphabetical order.

Cactus – these canvas gaiters brag they are tough, but they have a cute little cactus logo on the top of the stiff legs, just near the wire closing hook.  These brutes can be posted anywhere in the world from New Zealand for $99.  Sizes are small, medium and large.  Check out these gaiters with grunt at www.cactusclimbing.co.nz

Crocodiles – from Outdoor Research. Come in men’s and women’s fits.  They are double stitched on the front opening, and the women’s ones have a little embroidered flower on the side.  I saw a girl buy a pair of these in lilac, which looked great new, but I don’t know how they would look after a bit of wear.  Crocodiles cost about $100.  www.outdoorresearch.com

Macpac –gaiters that also come in blue!  Torlesse are made of light nylon that is fine for muddy, non-scratchy walking, but maybe not for prickly treks like the OT.  They come in regular, long and women’s fit and cost about $55.  Heavier duty Cascades are made from waterproof AzTec and cost about $80 – but you buy the nylon boot straps separately for about $15.  www.macpac.com.au

Sea to Summit – 8 types to choose from – from the ankle length Spinifex to top of the range Summit.  Priced from $30.  www.seatosummit.com.au

Tatonka eVent Knee Highs – with no zips or Velcro, they are extra light and you have to put them on before your boots.  They only weigh 190 grams, so might be a good option for you superlighters.  Cost about $110.  www.outdoorsurvival.com.au

Let us know what you think about gaiters – are they just handy little accessories, or do you never walk without them!

Researching Nordic Walking got me enthused about getting fit (again) – especially as a few sites say it is not that hard.  Over the next four weeks I will explain how I should train for walking, using an interval programme to get me fit without injury.  Does that appeal?  

Regards
Georgie

Choosing the right boots for hiking is a challenge faced by most outdoor people. In this article, Georgie highlights some hard earned  lessons on her quest to find the best hiking boot.

Boots are a favourite topic of conversation in wilderness huts each night, as walkers hobble in and peel off smelly wet socks to reveal tender, prune-like skin and painful blisters.  The socks don’t often rate much of a mention, but the praising or colourful cursing of boots gets plenty of air time.

I bought my first pair of real hiking boots to walk the Overland Track in 2009.  I liked the blue colour, they were comfortable, and I was assured they were waterproof and suitable for the OT.  And they were 20% off.  However, after 6 days on the OT with constantly sodden boots, wet socks and wrinkled feet, I realised that the colour should perhaps not have been such a big influence in my decision.

When the boots eventually dried out I took their wrinkled corpses back to the retailer, who suggested the boots might have a waterproof lining fault.  He offered to swap them for another, identical pair – an offer I tried to decline but had to accept, due to a No Refund on Sale Items policy.

Two lessons were learned here:

• Buy boots for ALL the things I want them to do, not just because of any one feature, such as colour.
• Pay full price, so I have control over what happens next if the boots need to be returned.

I decided to bite the bullet and buy new waterproof boots.  A trip to Fortitude Valley in Brisbane had me in K2, being fitted with a pair of mid weight Vasque Wasatch GTX boots.

These wide-fitting boots were comfortable and the salesman absolutely guaranteed they would handle Tassie’s wet and muddy conditions.  So I bought them and tried to ignore the fact that they were brown.  They took about 4 weeks to thoroughly break in, but  are now extremely comfortable to wear all day on all terrains.

I did the OT again in Nov 2010.  I knew Tassie’s very wet winter and spring meant there would be a lot of mud and deep water puddles the whole length of the track, so I applied multiple coats of Sno-seal to the waterproof suede outer and hoped the Goretex liner would perform as promised.

Thankfully, my new boots didn’t let in a drop of water for the whole 6 days.

• they were still soft and flexible
• there was little obvious wear on the Vibrim soles
• the laces hadn’t frayed or broken from using my gaiter clip
• And the knobbly soles worked very well as downhill brakes

The boots cost $350, but after that very wet trip I feel it was money well spent.

Most walkers have great horror stories about boots, or  favourite old boots.

We would love to hear yours, so we can have a laugh and learn from your good and bad experiences. You can share by leaving a reply in the box below.

Till next week,

Georgie

Image: Mirsasha – via Flickr

Not sure if you have ever had a good look around Flickr.  It is a huge community of people who love to share their photographs and enjoy the work of others.

Flickr also has a lot of “groups” where you can join like minded people and “pool” photographs on different subjects or topics.  There are groups for Tasmania with 5000 plus photos, a group for Trangia’s (600 + images), Love of the Outdoors (30,000 + images) and Backpacking (9000+ images).  There is even a group for Travelling Toys (21,000 + images)

Even the Track marker is wearing gaiters!

Image: Calypso Orchid

So we shouldn’t be surprised there is a group that celebrates people who wear Shorts and Gaiters and/or Shorts and Long Johns, after all, it is our standard fashion wear when hitting the bush!

This combination is  the perfect bushwalking outfit for your legs!

Practical, quick dry, protect your lower legs from scratches, keeps the mud out of your boots and means you don’t have to hike with wet pants clinging to your legs.

Gaiters, Shorts & Long Johns! - snowshoeing, Walls of Jerusalum

Ok, if you are like us and love the shorts / gaiters / long john look, we’re sure you’d love to to join this group and share some images of your stunning attire.

As the group membership “rules” state:

The one and only and long sought after group dedicated to poor fashion (but fashion which clearly places function over form!!) in the backcountry!

Wear them loud! Wear them proud! Shorts and Gaiters and Long johns!

Leon, Alan & Frank - pick the odd man out - May 08, about to start the Overland Track - Tasmania

Frank wears shorts and gaiters summer and winter. If it gets really cold he adds some thermal long johns.

Sue wears shorts and gaiters unless it is cold and then she adds thermals (and waterproof pants over the top)

What do you wear out on the track? Shorts? Gaiters? Long johns? Long pants?

Shoot us a comment and share your “out bush”  fashion secrets.

Ok, it’s Frank here. I don’t usually hike in anything but shorts, no matter what the season.

I don’t walk in a skirt and neither does Sue. We’ve never found a good reason until a few days ago.

Heading into the Walls of Jerusalem - Tasmania - the one on the left is wearing the skirt (Hi Rhona & Simon)

We came across an article at Dressed in Dirt.  

This excellent site,  subtitled the tips and tales of a female backpacker is run by Adelaide Brown.

Adelaide is a writer currently living in Portland, OR, she  runs the Portland Women’s Outdoor Club and has done “a good bit of travel” including  a few months on the Appalachian Trail.

Anyway, back to the story, what is the big advantage of wearing a shirt hiking?   Drumroll…… pee-ability (a new word invented by Adelaide)

I am NOT going into the details here,  as I am NO expert on female peeing issues while hiking (and never plan to become educated….. ever) but Adelaide makes a great case in her article –  Why you should hike in a skirt (or at least think about it) Hint, there is more than one reason, all pretty good, even for males….

p.s. If you want to read another funny post by Adelaide – check out this one titled: I am not cute , it made me laugh, a lot!

All right you fashion guru’s, question time.
Have you ever done a long distance hike in a skirt? (we’re not talking a day stroll here)
Would you wear a shirt now you have been fully briefed?
Any males out there, what is your opinion of wearing a skirt on a multi day trip?
Females, can you see the advantages?

Keep it nice.

What is the best layering system for winter hiking or bushwalking?
Are you chasing a warm layer or a waterproof shell?
Looking for quality products at a reasonable price?

Berghaus have been in the outdoor clothing industry since 1966 and are  renowned for creating some of the worlds most innovative outdoor clothing and equipment.

They have a staggering range of jackets, a couple of example are:

RG1 Light Jacket:
Their lightweight summer shell is an ideal choice if you want to save carrying extra weight in your day pack.
It features 2 Zippered hand pockets to keep items secure. The hood folds neatly into the collar when not in use.

Features:

• Rollaway Hood
• 2 External Pockets
• Adjustable Cuffs
• Adjustable elasticated drawcord hem

Cornice IA men’s Jacket