In this installment of our JMT gear guide we dive in deep to take a closer look at our trail wardrobe! Enjoy!

Ps: Sorry we’ve been bombarding you guys lately with all of these posts! We just wanted to be sure that everything rolled out together videos/supplementary blog posts for the JMT since a lot of people have requested the info!

The video is long but below are the cliff notes! Each clothing item is linked (the title of each is the link) as well as has quick bullet points covering features and our thoughts on each post trail!

Columbia Omni-Shade LS:

Women’s Columbia Omni Shade | Men’s Columbia Omni Shade

• fabric is comfortable, soft and lightweight

• antimicrobial treatment that protects it from bacterial growth

• light weight so I never felt like I was overheating in it

• breathable and wicking fabric remains comfortable no matter the temperature

• UPF 40 sun protection

• love the roll-up sleeves and added ventilation vents

• the lighter color of the fabric shows all the dirt

Patagonia Women's Capilene:

Women’s | Men’s

• 3.6 oz

• synthetic fabric feels like cotton and has a soft

• incredibly moisture wicking

• breathable and antimicrobial

• looks like a regular tee but has the features and functions of a technical garment

Lululemon Running shorts:

*Closest thing the have now*

• long time favorite shorts to hike in

• love the large leg opening great for a full range of motion

• no binding and no chafing

• bonded inseam gave out (but they’re 8 years old)

• flat waistband was very comfortable under my pack’s waist belt

• great breathable liner

La Sportiva Climbing Pants:

*Closet thing they have now*

• longtime favorite climbing pants

• great protection against mosquitos they can’t bite though the thick fabric

• fabric is resistant to abrasion of sharp rocks, ice, and thorny plants

• high waist band comfortable under pack

• warm for wearing at night

• easy to roll up when it gets hot

Arc'teryx Atom LT Hoodie Jacket:

Women’s | Men’s

• warm while being lightweight

• packs down really small

• perfect warm layer to add on at camp

• great insulating layer for early morning hiking

• wore and loved these everyday!

Patagonia Houdini WindBreaker:

Women’s | Men’s

• perfect light layer

• great for adding a little sun protection when crossing snowfields

• our favorite windbreaker, but wind protection wasn’t something we really found we needed

• not the best breathability because it’s a windbreaker

• packs down to fit in your palm

• in the future we might find something slightly more breathable, but it’s still our favorite windbreaker

Arc'teryx Hard Shell Rain Jacket:

*Closest thing they have now*

• never really used it on trail due to fantastic lack of rain

• this is the best rain jacket I’ve ever had

• not at all breathable, so I imagine unless it’s cool out it would be hard to hike in it

• still glad we had it just in case!

Underwear:

Branwyn Essential Bralette | Branwyn Essential Thong | Lululemon Sports Bra | Kuhl Thong

• the Essential thong and Bralette by Branwyn are made of performance wool

• (branwyn) extremely comfortable

• (branwyn) Merino wool construction is naturally odor-resistant and moisture-wicking

• (branwyn) never bagged out or got looser

• (lululemon) my favorite sports bra but was higher impact than I needed, it was tight and made my shoulders hurt as the day went on

• (Kuhl)I really like them, the mesh is really breathable and lightweight

• (Kuhl) comfortable but they did bag out and got too big on the second half on the trail

• In the future, I will opt for all Branwyn goodies for on trail

Socks:

Stance | Injinji

• both are made of performance wool

• total performance wool convert after using the underwear and socks!

• (stance) loved the crew height because they protected my ankles from scratches

• (stance) most excited to wear the stance socks

• (injinji) great for when I got a blister in between two of my toes, naturally separated the two toes

• (injinji) great to wear paired with my Bedrock sandals

• (injinji) wished they were crew height

• neither pair of socks ever bagged out or had any issues with smelling! Performance wool for the win!

La Sportiva Bushido Trail Runners:

Women’s | Men’s

• always preferred trail runners to hiking boots, I find hiking boots to be overly heavy and bulky

• these are incredibly lightweight and insanely comfortable

• it takes six times more energy to move weight on the feet versus your back: for instance, wearing two-pound shoes versus 4 lb shoes is the equivalent to removing 12 lbs from your pack

• these Bushido’s weigh in at just 8.8 onces

• my second pair: require no break-in period, they’ve never given me a single blister (in-between toe blister caused not caused by shoes)

• they dry out surprisingly fast which is great because we didn’t go a single day with dry feet on trail

• can’t recommend these trail runners more!

Bedrocks Cairn Pro:

• long deep and passionate love for Bedrock Sandals

• we opted for trail runners for the trail due to the high snowpack

• wore them for major river and creek fords as well as around camp

• cairn pro: Vibram sole which holds tight to rocks in the fast-moving water

• endlessly comfortable

Other:

• wide-brimmed hat that was handed down to me from my grandfather for sun protection on my face and neck

• bandana which my mom wore while she was doing Outward Bound as a teenager for added neck protection

• would soak bandana in the river to cool my neck

• good luck charms ;)

Owen’s Clothes

For the most part MAK and I carried the same clothes so I’ll try not to be too redundant. I also carried the Columbia and Patagonia shirts, Houdini jacket, Arcteryx Atom, Bushido trail runners, and Bedrock Sandals and have similar sentiments on all those items.

Patagonia Baggies:

• wore them everyday

• performed fairly well

• lined, intention was to not wear underwear with them

• the scrunchy waistband started to hurt when being compressed by the hip belt of the backpack

• wearing a pair of underwear with the shorts solved the problem

• in the future I’ll find a pair of lined shorts that has a flat waistband

Patagonia Base layer:

• chose a base layer legging instead of a pair of full pants to save weight

• used these around camp and under shorts on cold days or during snow crossings to protect from the sun

• did save space and weight, but didn’t offer protection from mosquitoes

• in the future I could go either way pants vs leggings

Saxx Boxer Briefs:

• Sinconly brought one pair of underwear due to lined shorts… that backfired

• performance Saxx boxer briefs

• they were great, no complaints

Stance Wool Socks:

• carried two pairs of Stance socks

• didn’t really get a chance to test them pre trail

• performed admirably

• best socks I own

Patagonia Rain Jacket: 

• it’s not great, does it’s job well enough as long as we aren’t getting torrential rains

• hardly had any rain, it didn’t really matter

• probably recommend a better jacket if you have the extra money 

Patagonia Trail Running Hat:

• I love this hat, but it wasn’t the right hat for the JMT

• should have brought a wide brimmed hat to protect ears and neck

Buff:

• used it for ear and neck protection due to lack of protection from hat

• when the buff was on my face it would absorb sweat and get salty and then the coarseness would start to chafe the back of my neck and face.

• the solution was to rinse it out in a creek every night

• buff is still very helpful when crossing large snowfields as the sun reflecting off the snow

Clothing Care:

• never really “washed” our clothes on trail

• we would rotate our clothes on and off every day

• would rinse them out in a nearby creek or stream without any soap

• soaking them in freshwater was enough to freshen them up for our next wear

• particularly important for our underwear, shirts, and Owen’s buff

• dried everything out overnight on a length of emergency 550 cord strung up between two trees

Alright my friends! That covers our clothes for the JMT. Next week we will be releasing the food installment of this series. Have a great week, and if you read all the way to this part, you’re a champion!

<3 MAK

NOTE: Some of the links provided in this blog post are affiliate links. If you end up purchasing some of these pieces of gear we get a very small portion of the sales. Thank you all as always for supporting us and our life on the road, it gives us the opportunity to share so extensively with you all! - MAK & Owen