With overnight lows that will freeze a water bottle and afternoon highs that will have you sweating buckets, it's not always obvious what to wear when backpacking in the mountains. That task becomes even more challenging when you need to carry your entire closet on your back. Here’s our guide on what to wear while in the backcountry.
There are 4 main ways that your body loses heat.
To know what constitutes “proper clothing” in each situation, it helps to first understand the four primary ways that the human body loses heat.
1. Radiation.
Your body constantly radiates your core body temperature out and away from your skin. To prevent heat loss through radiation, wear clothing that traps the escaping heat. Fleece pullovers and down/synthetic puffy jackets (more on the difference below!) are highly effective at retaining radiated heat, helping you maintain body temperature in cool conditions.
2. Convection.
Convection occurs when water or air moves across the surface of the skin, drawing away heat. Windy days and water exposure are the primary culprits for convection heat loss. Even when the temperature is mild, high wind and wet conditions can cool your core temperature rapidly. Keeping your base layers (the ones closest to your body) dry is essential for staying warm in cool weather. Wind shells (thin, technical outer layers) are designed to block wind, preventing convection. In hot environments, clothing that allows air movement and promotes convection is ideal for keeping your body cool and comfortable.
3. Conduction.
Have you ever sat on a concrete bench and realized it made you feel way colder? That’s conduction – heat loss due to direct contact with cooler surfaces. While conduction isn’t directly related it clothing, it’s a good reminder to use a high-quality sleeping pad with a solid R-value to stay warm through the night.
4. Evaporation
When moisture on your skin turns to vapor (evaporation), it draws heat away from the skin. This is most obvious with your body’s primary cooling mechanism: sweating. When it’s cold outside, it can be a big mistake to dress too warm. If you pack on too many layers, you’ll quickly start sweating excessively, even if it’s well below freezing. When you come to rest, the sweat will begin evaporating, rapidly cooling your body in an already cold environment.
5 Tips for Dressing in the Mountains
Here's what you'll want to wear when backpacking
1. Stick to layers
You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating: dress in layers! When it’s cold outside, multiple layers can combat different methods of heat loss. When it’s warmer, layers allow you to regulate your environment quickly. Here’s a quick rundown on different layers:
Base layers are worn at skin level. These are typically thin long-sleeve shirts and tights designed to be breathable and moisture-wicking. They evaporate sweat quickly, keeping your skin surface dry when sweating.
Functional clothing is worn over base layers. Think: your typical shorts, pants, and shirts. When playing outdoors, it’s best if these are made of breathable fabrics that allow moisture to evaporate quickly.
Fleece can be worn over regular clothes to retain some of your radiating body heat. Fleece layers are typically thin, often breathable, and very warm for their weight. Plus, they’re form-fitting, allowing for good movement on trail.
Down layers add some serious insulation around fleece. Think: puffy jackets. These can be filled with down or synthetic materials and are excellent insulators that will hold much of the heat your body is generating. Compared to fleece, they’re a bit more restrictive, but they provide more warmth.
Outer shells are weather-proof layers designed to keep the rest of your layers dry. These layers block both wind and water. More expensive Gortex options are “breathable” – they allow air underneath to escape, but prevent water from entering.
Don’t forget gloves and hats! Remember, your hands, feet, and ears will get cold before the rest of your body. It’s perfectly common to be warm enough to strip down to a fleece or even clothing layer and still wear gloves and a hat.
While this is the standard order for layers, you don’t always need to wear each one. If it’s warm but windy, I’ll throw a wind shell outside of my regular clothes and wear nothing else. And unless it’s going to be really cold (this comes down to personal preference), I’m usually OK skipping the fleece layer and wearing just a light down jacket.
2. Go natural
Nowadays, there are a ton of highly advanced synthetic materials on the market. While those have their time and place, they still have a hard time beating the materials that have kept humans warm for thousands of years: wool and down.
Wool has several advantages over polyester and nylon. It’s great at regulating temperature (i.e. it feels cool when you’re warm and warm when you’re cold), it can absorb large amounts of moisture without feeling wet to the touch and can still insulate when wet, and it’s highly resistant to odor.
Natural down is a superior insulator and can pack down much smaller than it’s synthetic cousin. It’s an excellent option for really cold, dry weather.
One important distinction: although natural down is a superior insulator, it does not maintain any insulation when wet. Synthetic down will. If you’re going to be in an extremely wet environment, synthetic down might be a better choice.
The ultimate upside to natural fibers? They are biodegradable and natural, unlike polyesters and nylons, which are plastics and made from oil.
3. Focus on staying dry
If it’s precipitating, you’re gonna get wet. However, that doesn’t mean that you should be wet. The key is to let your clothes take the beating and keep yourself (and your sleeping bag!) nice and dry. Always bring a rain jacket. Even if the weather says there is a 0% chance of rain, always bring a rain jacket. This is not the piece of gear to ditch to save weight.
If it looks like weather is approaching, be proactive and protect yourself and your gear. Throw on a rain jacket right when a storms. While many mountain storms are downpours that pass quickly, you never know for sure how long it will rain. Hot and sweaty while hiking, I’ve attempted to tough out a rainstorm without a jacket because I thought it would pass quickly. An hour later, I was soaked to the bone, cold, and far beyond staying dry.
4. Be bold, go cold
When camping, I’m always coldest in the morning. While it’s fine to bundle up during breakfast, it’s a mistake to keep those layers on when you start moving. Once you throw a pack on and start hiking (especially if it’s up hill), you temperature will rise rapidly and your body will kickstart it’s cooling mechanism (sweating) even if it’s cold. Keep your breakfast layers on and you’ll almost certainly be taking your pack off around the first bend to remove a layer.
Right before you start hiking, strip down to a layer that makes you feel uncomfortably cold (not freezing, but not comfortable). Then, start walking. Within 15 minutes, you’ll be warmed up and happy you chose wisely.
5. Learn to be uncomfortable
We live in a world filled with sparkling technology and quick fixes for most of our problems. It’s easy to assume that with enough time and money, we can make any situation comfortable. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, depending on your viewpoint), there is no magic bullet for protecting yourself from the elements. Mother nature is raw,
Part of being outside is embracing discomfort. If it rains hard enough or long enough, that $600 jacket will not keep you dry. If you’re climbing a mountain in intense sun, no amount of moisture-wicking fabric will keep you cool. Dressing smart can keep you alive and healthy, but it won’t necessarily ensure comfort. Next time you venture outside, make sure you wear the right layers, but be open to embracing discomfort.