How to Dress Ourselves
on a Hike in the Mountains

The art of taking what is necessary for the transition comes with the accumulation of practice. Depending on the weather forecast and the planned transition, we will carry more or less clothing,food, special equipment, and a larger or smaller backpack. It is necessary to take time to sort the backpack tightly, reducing all the excess, to evaluate which items should be most accessible, which ones will only be used in extreme cases or in emergency situations that we will need in the hut and based on that, to perform a stowage that will provide maximum functionality and reduce excess digging.

With the development of technology in recent years, tourist equipment is constantly being improved. In the early days of mountaineering, clothing was mostly made from natural fabrics that work somewhat, but their drawback is that they easily absorb water. Cotton, for example, is pleasant to the touch and comfortable to wear when it is dry, but is able to absorb a large amount of water, wet loses its thermal insulation properties, dries very slowly, and this is a prerequisite for creating hypothermia in cold weather.

Modern enrichment trends include a combination of thermal insulation, brzosneshchi, wind and water-resistant and breathable fabrics. Currently, the most popular is the principle of dressing layers, in which three layers of clothing-basic, intermediate and external provide maximum comfort even during physical exertion, while substances do not pass moisture and wind, retain body heat, while simultaneously removing moisture (sweat) and unpleasant odors to the outside.

The main first layer is the layer with which the body directly contacts – the so-called thermal underwear. Its main task is to ensure a constant body temperature, as well as to remove moisture from the body, because well. breathe.

Merino wool thermal underwear is exceptionally suitable for this purpose-it is soft to the touch, not prickly, light, and does not retain odors.

The intermediate second layer has the main purpose of retaining heat, especially when there is no movement, during rest and in cold weather. There are various fabrics,but recently the most widely used material is polartek or the so-called fleece (on Western sites-fleece).

The fabric is characterized by good thermal insulation properties, good breathability and easy to carry. Its disadvantage is that it passes the wind, but this is compensated by the outer layer.

The outer layer is the one that keeps us from the vagaries of time. It should protect us from rain,wind, snow, and anything else that the weather can bring us. At the same time, it must have good breathability, so as not to neutralize the effect of the lower two layers, otherwise unpleasant condensation will be obtained from its inner side. To do this, most high-quality jackets and trousers have ventilation holes under the arms and on the hips, which can be undone and fastened if necessary. Most suitable for the outer layer of hardshel (for winter) and their softshel jacket with a membrane that does not pass water and wind, and removes moisture and sweat outside-the most famous membranes Gore-Tex, Dermizax, eVent, Bergans Element and much more.

The use of high-quality equipment significantly reduces the weight and volume of the backpack, because, in addition to its lightness and compactness, good fabrics reduce the need to wear spare clothes.