Cotton Clothing?

[jaymar]

I would think Carhart, for cotton.

Just remember: cotton kills

If only all these legendary explorers who summited Everest, made it to the south pole, crossed deserts and oceans before synthetics existed, had known that... Cotton, wool, down and leather worked for them...

 

[jaymar]

Why Cotton?

Carhartt though when i was younger and ranching full time.

I like the feel of it, I even like the sound of it. It won't melt into my skin if things get toasty, and it won't leach toxins through my skin.

 

[jaymar]

To be fair, flannel is cotton.

I dont own one but Vermont Flannel is on my list.
For now, my flannels consist of L.L. Bean (including one of the thick chamois types) and Weatherproof Vintage.

You didnt specifically ask about socks but the ONLY socks I buy now are "Darn Tough" from the Cabot Mills in Vermont. Unconditionally Guaranteed for life Marino wool blends. There is one exception in my drawer and that's a Smartwool pair. I liked the colors so my girlfriend bought them for me, so my original statement stands.

I'm just at that place in life where I will pay a little more for fewer, better quality items whenever possible.

Same here on Darn Tough!

 

[jaymar]

I live in Merino wool. Light, never stinks. Lasts forever. But $75 for a t shirt does hurt. Darn Tough for socks. 19 days in Madagascar- 1 pair of socks and 2 underwear. No stink for real.

Buy once, cry once.

 

[ThundahBeagle]

If only all these legendary explorers who summited Everest, made it to the south pole, crossed deserts and oceans before synthetics existed, had known that... Cotton, wool, down and leather worked for them...

Cotton kills. Most of those explorers were wool. Wool is super

 

[ThundahBeagle]

If only all these legendary explorers who summited Everest, made it to the south pole, crossed deserts and oceans before synthetics existed, had known that... Cotton, wool, down and leather worked for them...

Everest, south pole, Donner Pass...um...

Theres a place for cotton for sure. I love it. Have many clothes made of it. Someone else said hot and dry, I agree.

Just, if I'm going out into the cold and theres a chance I'll could get wet, I stay mostly clear of it

 

[JaSAn]

If only all these legendary explorers who summited Everest, made it to the south pole, crossed deserts and oceans before synthetics existed, had known that... Cotton, wool, down and leather worked for them...

The only cotton mountaineers used was oiled canvas, and that was only if rain was expected. Most used natural wool (with the lanolin still in) that was almost completely waterproof or oiled or waxed leather. Cotton could be used next to skin if wool was not tolerated but it was not optimal.

'Cotton kills' was already an old mantra when I started climbing in the '60's.

 

[jaymar]

The only cotton mountaineers used was oiled canvas, and that was only if rain was expected. Most used natural wool (with the lanolin still in) that was almost completely waterproof or oiled or waxed leather. Cotton could be used next to skin if wool was not tolerated but it was not optimal.

'Cotton kills' was already an old mantra when I started climbing in the '60's.

At the moment I'm most concerned with the weather in the Southwest, so cotton or cotton over light merino. Would be interesting to really look in detail into what these guys used when the going got cold though. You've given me some good search terms there!

 

[Rovertrader]

“Would be interesting to really look in detail into what these guys used when the going got cold though.”

Sadly long gone (after over 100 years) but worked for Rosevelt, and serious explorers for numerous decades- Willis and Geiger!! I have had a couple of their shirts pushing 50 years… (yea, very old fart that loved climbing, hang gliding, etc since the 70’s)

Willis & Geiger Outfitters - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[JaSAn]

At the moment I'm most concerned with the weather in the Southwest, so cotton or cotton over light merino . . .

For desert wear best to look at what natives living in the desert wear (wore): Native Americans and prospectors in the American Southwest, inhabitants in the Sahara regions.

It gets cold in the desert and the problem with cotton is it provides NO insulating value when wet. It in fact will rob heat away from your body.

 

[jaymar]

“Would be interesting to really look in detail into what these guys used when the going got cold though.”

Sadly long gone (after over 100 years) but worked for Rosevelt, and serious explorers for numerous decades- Willis and Geiger!! I have had a couple of their shirts pushing 50 years… (yea, very old fart that loved climbing, hang gliding, etc since the 70’s)

Willis & Geiger Outfitters - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Yeah I pick up some good-condition used W&G when it comes along, an occasional NWT item. So far as I know, all of those old REAL outfitters got bought up and turned into mall junk or closed down. W&G, A&F, Banana Republic, Land's End, Eddie Bauer. There's Filson, but it seems a lot of the good stuff has been downgraded or discontinued or (in some cases) patterned into something that looks like a unicorn puked on it (and prices jacked to the skies). Did I miss anyone?

 

[Inyo_man]

For outwear, oiled or waxed canvas works well. We tend to have rather large campfires while winter camping...no worries about flying sparks burning holes in your Gortex coat if you're wearing oiled or waxed canvas.

Cheers

 

[GHI]

To be fair, flannel is cotton.

I dont own one but Vermont Flannel is on my list.
For now, my flannels consist of L.L. Bean (including one of the thick chamois types) and Weatherproof Vintage.

You didnt specifically ask about socks but the ONLY socks I buy now are "Darn Tough" from the Cabot Mills in Vermont. Unconditionally Guaranteed for life Marino wool blends. There is one exception in my drawer and that's a Smartwool pair. I liked the colors so my girlfriend bought them for me, so my original statement stands.

I'm just at that place in life where I will pay a little more for fewer, better quality items whenever possible.

I was a huge fan of the Darn Tough socks when I first got them. They were stink free for a few days without washing and just felt like the perfect match with my Danner Mountain Light II hiking boots. I only wear socks when hiking or if there's more than half inch of snow. Otherwise I'm wearing Rainbow sandals most of the year..

My first 2-3 pair were/are good to go. Maybe they changed their recipe, but the last few pair I purchased didn't last more than a few months before they developed major thinning turning into gaping holes.

My wife saw me using the church socks, the holy one's, to wipe the dust and wasn't amused. She promptly sent 4 pairs of my church socks to Darn Tough and they gave me an $81 credit to purchase new socks on their website. It was hassle free according to her. So there's that. Again, my first couple of pairs from years ago are still going strong.

 

[lucilius]

Cotton still makes a lot of sense sometimes, no fabric is good for every condition. Check out Fjallraven, Patagonia and Filson and hope for a sale. Old milspec NYCO 50/50 ripstop camo is durable, dries quickly and can be surprisingly good across a range of conditions and is usually inexpensive, if you can find it.