My name is Iron. I backpack a lot. Over 100 days a year, and in this video
I'm gonna show you guys the exact clothing layers that I find to be the
very best for lightweight backpacking.
I've spent close to a decade now trying to perfect this layering system.
Like this video. Subscribe to my channel to see more backpacking videos.
So this my Outdoor Research Helium jacket. Love this jacket.
This is the lightest rain jacket available... One of the lightest rain jackets available.
I think it weighs about 6 ounces. This thing has just been absolutely great.
It's got a lifetime warranty. I've had it for over a year now still no tears.
You know what I really like about having a thin rain jacket is...
It's also a great form of bug protection. Usually when the bugs are out it's pretty warm.
Having this be so thin I can wear this to protect myself from bugs
and not just be sweating my butt off. Yeah this my rain jacket,
this is my windbreaker, this is my upper layer bug protection.
It fits super nice. It's got a nice hood. One single breast pocket.
Yeah, great piece of gear. That said if it's raining really really bad this thing will wet out.
There's just no way around it. I do a lot of hiking in the rain forest...
and you know, there's not really any jacket that's gonna keep you dry
if you're in rain for hours. Especially if you're hiking a lot.
Most waterproof jackets don't breathe very well so you might get wet from sweating.
So what I've found to work extremely well, is to have this rain jacket
and I also carry an umbrella on my trips. This umbrella is made by Six Moon Designs.
Super love this thing. So if it's raining really bad I can
shield myself with my umbrella. My whole body ends up barely getting hit
with rain. That enables me to stay completely dry, which is really nice.
So this thing weighs about six ounces. The combination of these 2 weigh
about the same as like an Arc'teryx jacket or a lot of other rain jackets on the market.
Very versatile rain system here.
You might notice the silver color here. That is to reflect the Sun back up.
So it can also be used for hiking in the desert. When I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail
I used this umbrella. This thing was a lifesaver. I think it takes off about
20 degrees of heat so if you're hiking in the desert or an area
with no shade, this umbrella is also great for that.
I love gear that's multi-purpose. All right so you guys are gonna notice that
my layering system is comprised of a bunch of thin layers. You are way better
off having multiple thin layers that work together, then you are a few bulky layers.
This allows you to adapt to the conditions better.
Alright so my down jacket of choice is the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer.
This thing is freaking awesome. One of the lightest down jackets available.
Filled with DownTek so if this were to get wet it would still keep me a lot
more insulated than a down jacket that did not have treated down.
This only weighs about 8 ounces. Incredibly warm, but not to warm.
It's just a perfect down jacket really in my opinion. It's got a great hood on it.
You'll notice that almost every piece of gear that I have has a hood.
I find that to be very useful. Worth the weight always. Love this down jacket.
My fleece here, this is a fleece made by Marmot. I like this thing so much.
I wear this fleece almost every single day. I wear it every day at my house...
It's just absolutely incredible. It's super thin. It's made out of Polartec. One single pocket.
It's got a nice hood. If it starts to cool down this is usually the first
layer I put on besides what I'm wearing under this. Love this thing.
Super comfortable. Oh yeah, just so you guys know it is
the beginning of July. The temperatures have been anywhere from I'd say highs of 70.
Lows of about freezing. We've been getting some rain out here on this trip.
Yeah pretty much just all across the board with weather.
This is my hiking shirt of choice. The Columbia Silver Ridge Lite button-up shirt.
Yeah this thing is great. Button ups are really really nice for hiking.
As soon as it gets hot out I'm able to unbutton the front to get air flow coming in.
Full sun protection. You can roll the sleeves up and they got a
little hook here. Then on the back... A little air vent here. Yeah it just helps
keep you cool. They make one that's not a Lite version. I would definitely
recommend the Lite version. So this is my go-to hiking shirt. Super love this thing.
You know something I see a lot of backpackers do is they'll bring
an extra shirt or a base shirt to change into. There's no need for that.
Buy clothes with antimicrobial properties. Yeah, enjoy the scent that you've worked
so hard for. Cool, let's talk about what's covering my legs up here.
These are a pair of Montbell Dynamo wind pants. I just love these pants.
They've got side zips here, so I can take them off very easily.
All right so these pants weigh less than 2 ounces. They pack down incredibly small.
Yeah they're super nice. They're not waterproof, but if I need extreme
sun protection, bug protection, or wind protection I throw these on.
If it's really hot out and the bugs are really bad these are so nice.
They're so comfortable. They're just as comfortable as my pair of Niki running shorts.
The only thing I don't like about these pants... There are no pockets.
But you can't win them all. Yeah you'll notice I don't have a pair
of rain pants on this trip. That's just because it's summertime. I do own a pair
of the Outdoor Research Helium pants that I will wear in colder temps when
I'm expecting rain. Even if it were to rain really hard on this trip my legs
would still stay plenty warm with these on even if they soaked through.
That's the only outer shell that I brought on this trip. These are extremely fragile.
You'll notice mine are pretty torn up around the leggings here.
That's from off-trail hiking... These are not not the pants you want to wear
for off-trail hiking. They will tear pretty easily there.
I just bought a pair of a Prana Stretch Zion pants. Those are my go-to
for off-trail hiking. My Niki running shorts... Absolutely love these things.
I've been hiking in Nike shorts since about 2012 when I did the PCT.
I always cut the liner out of them. I'm usually hiking in just these unless
it's a little bit colder. Then I'll wear my smart wool thermal leggings
under these and I still have a full range of flexibility.
I just throw these thermals on as soon as it gets cold or when I'm hanging out around camp.
I also wear these thermal leggings
to sleep. I really hate the feeling of my legs touching each other.
Thermal leggings are great for that. Love these things.
They're not super durable. They do tear up after about a year or two of use.
I've tried synthetic thermal leggings out in the past. I just don't like them as much.
So the antimicrobial properties of these are amazing.
I can wear these for 2 weeks straight. They won't smell very bad...
At least it seems that way to me. One of my all-time favorite pieces of clothing are
the boxers that I'm wearing. Those boxers are MeUndies. I listen to the
Joe Rogan podcast a lot. He was talking these up for a long time.
Last year I tried them out. I've been wearing them every single day since.
Whether I'm at home or I'm hiking. The MeUndies boxers they are incredibly comfortable.
They are the most comfortable pair of boxers that I have ever worn.
They are made out of a material called MicroModal. They are antimicrobial.
I will wear the same pair for up to 2 weeks hiking without changing them out.
They also don't stretch out. You know I've tried Smartwool boxers in the past, ExOfficio,
Nike Dry-FIT boxers. These are far superior in my opinion. They stay tight
to my legs. My legs rub together while I hike. These help me not chafe at all.
They're great. Super awesome. Could not recommend trying out a pair of these enough.
So that covers all of the clothes that I am wearing.
I have one more Smartwool top here.
If it's really cold, I will throw this on as my base layer and then layer up with
everything else that you guys saw there. I will also wear this to sleep.
So as far as socks go... Darn Tough socks have just been absolutely amazing.
They have a lifetime warranty. After you wear through them you can
actually send them back and they'll give you full credit to buy a new pair.
They hold true. I just sent back 8 pairs of socks. Yeah, they gave me a full
credit to buy more socks, which is pretty wild. Yeah they stand behind their
warranty and they make really, really nice socks.
I prefer hiking in their thinnest 1/4 ankle socks. I usually bring
2 pairs of these to hike in so I can alternate between the 2 pairs.
Let my feet dry out and to clean a pair after they get dirty.
Yeah, I bring 2 pairs of these to hike with on most all of my trips. Then I have a slightly
thicker pair of their 1/4 length socks, and I wear these to sleep.
I only wear these to sleep. The reason for that is if my feet get wet from hiking all
day and both of my hiking pairs of socks end up getting wet... I can go to sleep,
put these dry socks on & my feet will recover and be happy... The next day if my other
socks are wet, I just put those wet socks back on. That's just a really good system.
So no matter what trip I go on, I bring 3 pairs of socks and those are the
socks that I bring. I purchased an Outdoor Research
Sun Runner cap. I actually just prefer the comfort of this hat more.
But I still use the the neck piece. I'll clothespin this
to my hat here and that will protect my neck & protect my ears.
2 more pieces of gear here. My beanie. This beanie is made by a company called MERIWOOL.
It was the thinnest 100% merino wool beanie I could find that wasn't
super short. So yeah, this covers covers my ears real nice.
It's super lightweight & incredibly warm. Then I have a
Sea to Summit mosquito head net. You guys can see here, all of these layers take up
very little space. It's very lightweight. This is gonna protect me in the rain.
Tt's gonna protect me from bugs. It's gonna give me super comfortable options
to hike when I'm sweating a lot or when it's super hot. This has been the best
system that I could personally come up with over the years. Give this
video a LIKE if you haven't already. That helps me. That helps other people
find this content. Alright I really hope you guys found this video useful.
If you guys have any questions about the clothing that I just showed you...
Leave me a comment. Say hi. Always stoked to talk to you guys.
Super stoked you're here. Yeah I'll see you guys on the trail soon. Peace.