Do you wear blue jeans on the hiking trail?

[TollerMom]

I never wear jeans on the trail. Aside from the 'cotton' factor, I don't think they are comfortable enough. I prefer Sahara hiking shorts/pants (with a loose fit) from REI with the legs that zip off as soon as weather permits. Otherwise I wear the Columbia stretchy omni-heat pants in cooler weather.

[rig]

No cotton, not even poly cotton, in anything, ever. I don't find it warm enough, it gets wet too easily and takes forever to dry; so my jeans stay home when I go out hiking.

[Bobo Uzala]

I may wear cotton if I was dayhiking and less than an hour from my truck. I would never suggest to someone to wear blue jeans while hiking, there's just too many other fabrics to consider and regardless of season, when jeans get wet it can take a long time to dry out. It doesn't have to be just cold weather for cotton to be a problem, consider breaking a heavy sweat on a hike, drenching your cotton clothes, and your body temp drops in the afternoon/evening. Also, because of the potential for rapidly changing weather patterns (especially at higher elevations) what starts as a hot, sunny day can instantly turn into something much worse.

[Todd Estes]

Great advice - as i get started out this thread helped

[grizzled]

Maybe just old school here, along with just being old, but I still wear jeans backpacking most of the time. Yes, I always have a pair of fancy pants in the pack for backup but they don't get used that much unless I do get wet. However, the rest of the wardrobe doesn't contain any cotton.

[Bobo Uzala]

HaHa - Mr. Fancy-Pants! grizz - That deserves a pic.

[jshanks24]

I agree with basically everyone here. Cotton is a poor choice for hiking. It is has almost no wicking ability in the summer and absorbs heat from your body in the winter. I actually never wear cotton t-shirts at all but that is just a personal choice. I wrote an entire series on clothing on my website. The Secret to a Good Base Layer covers many of the common materials for clothing.

[Bobo Uzala]

I'm with PaulMags regarding a poly/cotton blended base layer. I find the blended layer more comfortable and little problem with drying out quickly.

jshanks ~ nice write-up, you mentioned in your blog how polyester takes on that funky odor, couldn't agree more - 3 days of activity and my polyester funk starts to become toxic. Gotta deal with it if you gotta, but the blended shirt thankfully doesn't reach the toxic stage.

It's an interesting topic, coming down to bonafide individual clothing solutions when comparing principals of base layering with unique personal profiles. People can certainly be at different places on the spectrum and still have a trusted solution.

But hey, Yeah, well, you know, that's just like, my opinion, man.

[PaintedBear]

Cotton kills, the only time ill wear it on the trail is in camp on dry days. Even then there are better options. Though i hear cotton is popular with desert rats.