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How to choose the right hiking clothes

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shane jo
How to choose the right hiking clothes

How to choose the right hiking clothes

More and more we choose one of the many online mountain clothing stores to buy our clothes, tools, and accessories for hiking. This has many advantages such as not leaving home, being able to see a large number of offers in a very short time, etc. But it also has some disadvantages, the most serious, not having the advice of someone who knows what you need.

I am going to show you how to dress appropriately to go on an excursion so that when you enter an online hiking store you know where to move and what to buy exactly.

TOP: THE THREE LAYERS THEORY


Surely many of you have read the famous three-layer theory that consists of a breathable layer, another that shelters and finally one that protects us from inclement weather, through some website on the subject. Well, let's explain this theory that any hiker must know to properly buy their hiking clothes.

The first layer must be breathable (synthetic materials), that is, a cotton shirt is totally prohibited. Why? some will wonder, and the answer is very easy: when trekking we sweat, so a breathable technical t-shirt allows sweat to pass outside and dries quickly, giving us more comfort. Also, if we sweat, the temperature is low, and our skin-tight coat doesn't perspire well, the feeling of cold will increase dramatically.

The second layer is the one that will provide us with shelter, preventing the heat produced by our body from escaping, so that even if it is cold we stay warm. Normally, polar upper jackets are used for this purpose .

Finally, we have the layer to protect ourselves from the outside, this layer will prevent rain, snow, wind etc. penetrates into our body, but we will also need it to be breathable. Now we have many garments made with membranes that allow both. And there are many jackets that provide us the second and third layer at the same time and they are detachable. Personally I go for these jackets when I buy mountaineering clothes in an online store.

PANTS AND FOOTWEAR

For the lower part, in very low temperatures or in places with very changing weather, it is also convenient to use the theory of the three layers, with a thermal mesh and a mountain pants would be covered. In warmer areas, long or short hiking pants are sufficient, depending on the time of year.

As for footwear, the first thing to take into account the climate, for dry and hot climates you have to look for breathability, instead of in wet and cold climates, impermeability. In addition, there is a wide variety of shoes and boots to choose from in any online store with hiking equipment, so we will explain the 4 main families that we will find:

The hiking shoes are light and flexible although they do not provide the ankle support that the rest offer, ideal for short walks and without any accidents.

- Mid-calf boots are also light and flexible but, in addition, they offer us more support in the ankle, they are ideal for people with a certain tendency to ankle injuries and who do not have to bear a lot of weight.

- High boots are, perhaps, the most used for long routes, with very good support of the joint allows you to carry enough weight in the backpack and go through rough terrain with a low risk of twisting your ankle and injuring yourself.

- Finally, we have hiking boots, suitable for very extreme situations such as approaches to high summits s and land ice and/or snow, for normal routes they are too heavy and rigid.

I would just like to add that it is always convenient to carry all three layers in your backpack, especially in unknown terrain and climates, you never know what will happen in the mountains and prevention is better than cure.

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