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Hiking Information
Hiking Boots and
Hiking
Shoes
Hiking
is Walking and walking
is done with your feet.
To protect us from the
possible damage the
outside world can do
to our feet, we use
Hiking
Boots.
Hiking Boot Aspects
Hiking Boots have a couple of characteristics that determine how they perform in Hiking:
Hiking Boot Weight
The lighter your boots, the easier your walking will be.
Moisture is one of your biggest enemies when it comes to Hiking. Moisture causes Blisters. There are a couple of things that can improve the chances of keeping your feet dry.
Backpacks or Rucksack
Backpacks are made for
many different outdoor
activities. They can be
specifically designed
for short day trips,
long camping trips,
skiing, cycling, or
mountaineering. They can
be made with an internal
or external frame, made
to maximize carrying
capacity or
minimize weight, and be
designed to either stay
close to or away from
the back.
Day Packs are small
sized backpacks intended
for day hikes. Day Packs
have no shoulder straps
and hip belt. Its volume
is about 15-35 liters.
Hiking Poles - Hiking
sticks
Your own feet are a
great mechanism for
maintaining balance on
uneven terrains present
in the outdoors. In many
Hiking conditions,
however, it helps to
have more than your own
two legs to provide the
needed balance. That is
where Walking Sticks and
Trekking
Poles come in. Hiking
Poles are rapidly
replacing the good old
wooden walking sticks.
Hiking Poles generally
have better grips, are
extendable, and have
better shock absorbing
mechanisms. For serious
hiking, they are
definitely the way to go.
The typical Hiking Pole
looks like the
illustration given here.
Most poles consist of
two or three parts that
compact into each other.
By counter-rotating
these parts, you can
either loosen or fasten
these parts. This
enables you to increase
and decrease the length
of the pole. Most poles
have scales written on
the extendable pieces
that allow you to set an
exact pole length.
Higher quality poles
have a lock system which
prevents the pole pieces
from getting
compressed as you are
using them.
Hiking Socks:
Together with the right
Hiking Boots, we wear
good socks to protect
our feet.
Hiking Socks need to be
able to perform the same
functions that our
everyday normal socks do
but only much better:
Hiking Socks
should reduce friction
between your feet and
your boots, thereby
minimizing the wear and
tear on both your feet
and boots and
reducing the chance of
Blisters. Socks should
provide your feet with
an additional cushioning
layer which further
protects your feet
from bumps, scrapes, and
chafing. Socks should
protect your Hiking
Boots from all the
possibly damaging
materials our feet shed
during walking like
moisture. Socks should
help your feet maintain
their thermal
equilibrium by
insulating against heat
loss while at the
same time letting
through excess heat and
extracting moisture from
the skin surface.
Outerwear Hiking Jacket:
Using this Three Layer
System gives you the
best possible protection
from outdoor conditions.
At the same time, the
system is flexible
enough to change
specific parts for
better, worst, or
specific conditions. In
most cases, the Three
Layer System pertains to
upper body
clothing. The torso and
neck area are the most
important things to
insulate as they protect
your body core. In
extremely cold
conditions,
however, this
Three-Layer System can
be used for full body
protectio
Base Layer Materials
The materials used for
Base Layers change
constantly as
manufacturers come up
with new high tech
synthetic fabrics or
re-invent
older materials like
wool. In general, they
all have common
characteristics:
The materials absorb
only a very small
percentage (< 1%) of
their weight in moisture.
In practice, this means
that they retract
moisture
from your skin and dries
very quickly.
The fibers are very
lightweight but very
durable.
Hiking Underwear
(Base Layer)
The Base Layer is the
first layer of clothing
you put on and it is in
direct contact with your
skin. For Outdoor
Activities, it is very
likely
that you will be
sweating, cooling down,
sweating, cooling down,
etc. It is important
that your clothing works
in a way that it can
cool
down quickly but not too
much. This is where the
base layer comes in:
Purpose of the Base
Layer
A common problem in many
Outdoor Activities is 'after-exercise
chill'. Cotton T-shirts
and other common
underwear capture the
moisture of sweat in
their fabric and after
your body has already
cooled down and stops
sweating, the wet cotton
will keep on cooling
your body down. Not only
is this uncomfortable,
it also forces your body
to increase its heat
production and it
increases the chances of
under cooling. The base
layer should not retain
moisture but transport
it away from the skin,
thereby countering 'after-exercise
chill'.
Fleece /Bunting /Pile
(Insulation Layer)
The Insulation Layer is
the second layer of
clothing which is put on
after wearing the base
layer. The purpose of
the Insulation Layer
is to retain body heat
and the best way to do
so is by creating a
layer of still or dead
air around your body.
This still air will
seriously
decrease the heat
exchange between your
body and the outside
world.
Fleece / Bunting /
Pile
The Insulation Layer
mostly consists of
polyesters that are
treated in a way that
makes the fibers stand
up and trap air between
the
fibers. This trapped air
forms the protective
layer of still air
forming the main
insulation. The most
popular materials are:
Fleece
Fleece is mostly made
out of polyesters. A
dense knit of polyester
fabric is taken and
passed through a 'napping'
machine. On one side
of the fabric, the
machine will pick out
and rake up the fabric
loops, creating a fabric
with a tight solid weave
on one side and a fluffy
air retaining surface at
the other side.
Bunting
This is fleece that has
been 'napped' on both
sides, creating a tight
solid weave with wooly
air retaining at the
surfaces on both sides.
Pile
This is single-sided
Fleece that has
undergone more 'napping'
and has been processed
further to create a much
thicker open fabric.
Characteristics of
Fleece / Bunting / Pile
Fleece, Bunting, and
Pile combine a few
characteristics that
make them so suitable as
Insulation Layer
materials. First of all,
they
posses the ability to
retain still air which
insulates and prevents
body heat loss as
outlined above. Besides
this, the treated
Polyesters
used have almost the
same
moisture-transporting
qualities as Base Layers.
They transport moisture
to the outer layer and
dry very
quickly.
Outer Shells
The Third and final
Layer in the Three-Layer
System is the Outer
Shell which is the only
layer with direct
contact to the outside
world. The Outer Shell
serves three main
purposes:
Protection from wind and
outside moisture like
rain and snow.
Getting rid of body
moisture
Protection from chafing,
cuts, scrapes, and other
outside damage.
Before high tech fabrics
were developed, these
purposes were performed
by separate pieces of
clothing. Nowadays,
however, Outer
Shells can be waterproof,
shock-absorbing, and
breathable windbreakers.
Outer Shell Materials
The theory behind Outer
Shell materials is the
fact that a water drop
is much larger in size
than a water vapor
molecule. In essence,
combining waterproofness
with breathability boils
down to finding a
membrane with a pore
size much smaller than a
water drop but
much bigger than a water
vapor molecule. In 1976,
Gore-Tex was developed
which is a membrane of a
petrochemical polymer
called
polytetrafluorethylene
(PTFE). Since 1976, many
variations of Gore-Tex
have been developed
which fall under the
category name of
PTFE laminates.
Judging
Waterproofness
Keeping outside moisture
out is probably the most
important task and,
unlike breathability,
waterproofness depends
on more than just
the fabric. Here are
some guidelines on
judging waterproofness:
The most important
factor remains the
fabric. As explained in
our section on Tent
Characteristics, the
waterproofness of a
fabric is
measured in pounds per
square inch (psi) of
water pressure. Standard
ISO 811 signifies the
testing of the
waterproofness of
fabrics
under their actual usage
conditions. For an
outdoor clothing Outer
Shell, a score of 40 psi
would signify a good
state of waterproofness.
Seams - Just like in
Outdoor Tents, seams are
the vulnerable spots in
Outer Shells. Seams
should be sealed and
coated well to prevent
leaking. If possible,
look for as little seams
as possible and avoid
seams in vulnerable
places such as shoulders
and upper back.
Zippers - Zippers are
another weak point in
your defense against
moisture. Nowadays,
waterproof zippers do
exist so ask around.
Otherwise, look for
zippers that are
well-shielded.
Hiking Pants
These type of pants are
mostly meant for use in
combination with normal
or short thermal
underwear and are
normally sold under the
name of Hiking Pants or
Outdoor Pants. They
often combine multiple
of the Three Layer
functions in one light
fabric. They are mostly
breathable and water-
and wind resistant. Many
of them come with
convenient bottom parts
with zipper that allow
you to convert them
into shorts. These types
of pants could be
considered as suitable
for three seasons.
Hiking Preparations
Getting started with
Hiking could be as
simple as putting on
your shoes and heading
out of your house to
your nearby forest.
Although it can be as
simple as that, it is
still wise to get
familiar with its nature
and its different
aspects.
Hiking Weather
Conditions - Weather &
Temperatures
Do not underestimate the
effects of bad weather.
Be informed about the
Weather & Temperature
conditions! Here are
some guidelines on
Weather and how to get
informed about the local
weather conditions and
temperature.
As you increase the
altitudes that you reach
in your Hiking trips,
you will want to take
the higher altitudes
into account and be
aware of the possible
risks. L
What ever you plan on
doing while Hiking, the
basic rule
applies: take what you
need and try to minimize
the weight and volume of
your baggage. Take a
look at how to determine
what to bring and what
factors have to be taken
into account.
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