Hiking skirt (and other clothes quick to change out of)

[nudewalker]

I will be interested in a report on it's use. Misses Walker often complains that with the zipper in the rear and being unable to see material gets caught in the teeth. The fabric however looks and is described as perfect for outdoor use and the length should be enough for coverage while climbing. Wish there would have been more reviews however as the pocket thing seems trivial considering you'll be carrying a pack.

[jbeegoode]

After years of looking I finally bought a hiking skirt.


At the moment I need to sit down, take off my boots and socks, put on some knickers and trousers and then put my boots and socks on again after removing all the grass from the socks. With the skirt I can just step into it and put on a top in less than half a minute.

It's very light and will probably dry off quickly if caught in the rain.


    96% Nylon / 4% Spandex
    Knee length - 21" length
    Natural fit
    UPF 50+
    Quick Drying
    Wrinkle Resistant
    Stretch
    Dri X-treme mesh inside waistband (moisture wicking)
    Back zip entry
    Zip secured side pocket
    Mesh lined pocket
    Flounced hem

If wearing a pack, 10 or 15 seconds to pull on skirt and turn your back, or cover breast with arms or piece of cloth.

I found that I need to practice with my kilt and wrap. Those seconds happen very fast on the trail, whilst fumbling around hurried, and a bit of adrenal rush can drop coordination, like a boot catches on the hem, the pack throws you off balance. A short hike/walk is all that that practice takes and you don't have to wait for the weather next spring.

I like the wrap-arounds, but they do confuse, when twisted top becomes bottom, or the wind catches them while in a hurry to wrap them on, or reaching around the back to grab the other end with a pack on, etc. This step-in system that you have adopted, may cure some of these warp hassles. Please, tell us what you find.

It zips in back. Could you wear it backwards in a pinch, to make the zip more accessible and then your hands and arms are at better ready to cover the breast, or what ever your strategy is for that?

Now, to outfit Stuart?
Jbee

[stuart]

Now, to outfit Stuart?

I'll go with this look:

[jbeegoode]

Giving it some thought, I suppose that basket is more gentlemanly. I can't help but wonder if, it's like taking a knife to claymore fight. George Silver was over-rated. Although...ultralight enthusiast that I am, I can understand your choices. 
Jbee

[nudewalker]

"After further review" is a term that was heard many times yesterday as plays were confirmed or overturned. So after my review here are the following observations I made. As a quick cover up Karla's skirt could be zipped to the side then turned as necessary. I am assuming that no under garments would interfere with this movement. As for the step in feature that Jbee mentioned; that is the reason that the running kilt has become my garment of choice. The added advantage being if the opportunity presents itself it is not difficult to undress. With all the other features that Karla wanted (it's a woman's thing but I understand) I think the choice was well made. However a full dressed or undressed report is still wanted to see if my observations are correct.

As for Stuart; it is still under review but I like the light weight kilt part. I have tried to be a minimalist so the shirt and jacket have to go. With the onset of bad weather I plan to experiment on some remnant materials to make a lighter wrap or running kilt.

[jbeegoode]

Quoting Nuduke from the Selbourne thread here, just to keep things on track. "This is helping me make practical plans for my new location (E Midlands, Lincs) walks.  I won't expect a continuous naked walk and will review my naturist wardrobe (if that isn't a contradiction in terms!!) for suitable cover up items that can be donned quickly, are inconspicuous in style (i.e. not tropical flower tangerine and heliotrope bermuda shorts** in February!) and can be used to set out and finish up in.

I seem to recall either Larry or Alf having doctored pairs of shorts so the can be donned without putting the legs through.  I wonder if that can work for a pair of combats with long legs.  I guess not.  I can't quite remember the recipe but I think it involved removing the gusset!

Great word, gusset.  One of the honest, ancient, workaday, functional words like spigot, trunnion, flange and placket!

John

*if the use of that term is not now totally unfashionable!
** I must emphasize that I do not possess a garment with so tasteless a colour combination.  If I lived in CA, TX or AZ I would!!"

I looked up heliotrope. Your description of an outfit suitable for Arizona, or Texas could lead to trouble. One might get away with a dab of chuckles, or confused looks in downtown, or suburban Phoenix, or a golf course, but the vast majority is country and one would run risk of encountering laughter, but even danger and hostility. Moo Moo Man could get beat up! Times have changed. Older men can get away with much more than youth, having the option to claim bad taste, cruel get-back-attcha joke from wife, poor eyesight, or senility, BUT those colors just won't wash with MANLY FOOTWEAR and it would be seriously dangerous. A kilt could make trouble, as it is, but it must have masculine tones. Justta warning, after leaving the cities of tolerance and diversity.

So, what about the culture clash in your new woods and getting to and into them? It is good to blend in when dressed. More anonymity is practical, when one doesn't want to draw attention. What kind of hikers/walkers garb do they use there? Would a kilt be acceptable, or is it an area of one of those Scott/ English schisms, I've been told of, but know nothing about. There are all sorts of newfangled hiking this and that in new fabrics, shapes and utility. Utility kilts might work. People wear running short shorts  in all weather to exercise. Keeping the torso warm is the key, so minimal pants to get off and on, could look normal. Who's to know what the latest outdoors sports trend could be. What weather conditions would you encounter, up north? A calm, thick wood can be pretty mild weather even in winter.

Male bird plumage doesn’t do well with desire to be camouflaged. I have black and earth-based colors in my pack, but then the best ultralight pack happened to be  turquoise, unfortunately. My day bag is a camo sling.
What potential is there for waters like streams, or brooks up there?

You have rain there. Would a hiking umbrella be of use some way? Could some kind of stealthy SN fan dance be utilized in a pinch and in the interim be enjoyed naked without hypothermia? I’d think that there would be fewer other travelers in the rain. Can you get away enough to not become the village eccentric, or is it populous enough to have freedom to be diverse?

Getting out there should find many creative answers.

Jus’ sayin’, jus’ curious. Please, keep us abreast as it evolves.
Jbee

[nuduke]

Out & about in rural english midlands the dress is drab and uniform.  Lots of jumpers, gilets, fleeces with jeans or blue or green cargo trousers, barbour jackets, windcheaters, hoodies.  Very ordinary.  The people on this page are entirely typical https://www.ramblersholidays.co.uk/page/fjords-of-norway

Easier in summer when shorts are appropriate.

Umbrellas are a pain (although I do like to take a hiking stick), sadly, kilts, even in plain colours, would stick out like the proverbial sore thumb.  I've never seen anyone in a kilt outside scotland other than the odd wedding guest and theatrical actor.  Certainly never seen a kilted hiker.  The big disadvantage with kilts is that you have to wear huge socks up to the knee.  Hardly conducive to being quickly and conveniently naked.

Johnb(are) is an inveterate kilt wearer and very smart he looks too.  Can't remember, when we met a few years ago if he was wearing huge socks with the kilt.

John

[jbeegoode]

Whoah!, Those Norway outfits must take twenty minutes to bundle into!

It would appear that you would have to take a more avante guarde fashion tact. Keeping the torso warm, would necessitate a button up front, or zip for quick cover, or at least you could let the air get to you walking unbuttoned.

The Velcro wrap running kilt, might pass, because it is new-fangled sport jog attire. Something to keep the head warm.

DF and I did well, in a drizzly rain at HAppy VAlley east of the Rincons. That was green rolling hills, looking like Europe. Maybe you remember the TSNS post. It's not up on the new site yet. Five toes VFF and an umbrella. It was pleasant. I couldn't see dressing with one hand. There are hiking umbrellas that attach to the backpack, leaving hands free. http://francistapon.com/Travels/Advice/10-Reasons-to-Go-Hiking-and-Backpacking-with-an-Umbrella
They are instant cover-up. How about camo: http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?p_id=1128313&gen_cd=1

Jus' thinkin'.
Jbee

[nudewalker]

All I could think of is the poor mother that has only finished bundling her toddler in snowsuit, boots, hat and mittens only to hear "I gotta go potty!". good grief, it would cost a fortune in baggage fees to fly that amount of clothing on an airline. I swear I would overheat in minutes.

I may have to investigate the umbrella idea for the open fields when the sun is really intense. Or improvise a routine like a burlesque dancer and move the umbrella to conceal body parts until the textiles pass?  Or a Chippendales routine? Cue music!

[balead]

I may have to investigate the umbrella idea for the open fields when the sun is really intense. Or improvise a routine like a burlesque dancer and move the umbrella to conceal body parts until the textiles pass?  Or a Chippendales routine? Cue music!

Ha ha. An umbrella as a cover up is an interesting idea. Not sure I'd ever use it myself, but it would be virtually instant cover.

[nuduke]

You are right, jbee, there are too many layers on a regular walker to have any chance of getting dressed with any degree of alacrity*.  My tactic to look sufficiently like my fellow hiker to avoid suspicion is to only wear 2 garments.  Trousers (pants) and a button front shirt in summer and a fleece zipped up to the neck in winter.  I have a useful woodland green fleece and trousers both with zip pockets which means that I can make sure if I have to fling my clothes on or off that things don't get lost e.g. phone & car keys.  The problem is footwear. I don't go anywhere where long pants and walking shoes are not needed.  Woodland has brambles and nettles and plain ground often is muddy and not very conducive to bare feet so that prolongs the time needed to dress.

So the time factor for rapid dressing is: Can one get one's trousers over ones shoes quickly enough?  The answer is often no, so that is why a pair of trews that can be donned over shoes would be useful (obviously some walks get done in shorts but not in autumn / winter.  I am no tailor but maybe the front of a pair could be spilt and velcroe'd such that the lower leg portions are splayed and won't inhibit boots yet the semblance of trouserage can be reinstated very rapidly.  Similarly I guess one could velcro up the fly and rear to enable rapid breakaway or refitting!  Have to think about that one.  As I say my skills as a seamstress are about as good as my abilities as an international concert pianist, i.e. I can sew a button or play a few chords!

John

[johnb]

You are right, jbee, there are too many layers on a regular walker to have any chance of getting dressed with any degree of alacrity*.  My tactic to look sufficiently like my fellow hiker to avoid suspicion is to only wear 2 garments.  Trousers (pants) and a button front shirt in summer and a fleece zipped up to the neck in winter.  I have a useful woodland green fleece and trousers both with zip pockets which means that I can make sure if I have to fling my clothes on or off that things don't get lost e.g. phone & car keys.  The problem is footwear. I don't go anywhere where long pants and walking shoes are not needed.  Woodland has brambles and nettles and plain ground often is muddy and not very conducive to bare feet so that prolongs the time needed to dress.

So the time factor for rapid dressing is: Can one get one's trousers over ones shoes quickly enough?  The answer is often no, so that is why a pair of trews that can be donned over shoes would be useful (obviously some walks get done in shorts but not in autumn / winter.  I am no tailor but maybe the front of a pair could be spilt and velcroe'd such that the lower leg portions are splayed and won't inhibit boots yet the semblance of trouserage can be reinstated very rapidly.  Similarly I guess one could velcro up the fly and rear to enable rapid breakaway or refitting!  Have to think about that one.  As I say my skills as a seamstress are about as good as my abilities as an international concert pianist, i.e. I can sew a button or play a few chords!

John

Having been on numerous SOC walks in several counties across the south east of England, I find it hard to see why you cannot find a route without a significant bramble and nettle problem, and avoid the need for long trousers for protection purposes. I also think you worry too much about looking suspicious. I know that on an SOC walk where unusual dress is more or less standard, there is safety in numbers, but when I've been walking alone wearing a wrap around skirt I haven't had any problems. A few people might think its a bit strange, but that is up to them. Bearing in mind that you may need to cover up quickly, I would go for pair of wide legged shorts, (which could be further modified if necessary), if you want to avoid wearing a skirt or kilt, which is I think the easiest and quickest way of covering up ones bottom half.

Good luck though with whatever garment you settle on.

John

[John P]

This is a very interesting topic, and it pushes a few buttons for me about the lack of freedom that men have when it comes to choosing clothing, particularly when it's a question of anything that shows off the body to more than a minimal extent. One environment where we can ignore social rules or make new ones is when we're in naturist mode; after all, if you're with your friends and the agreement is that nobody needs to wear clothes, it's harder to claim that when you have something on, it's the "wrong" thing!

I've got some pictures which may be of interest. In the multiple images below, the left-hand column shows walkers on a Singles Outdoor Cub trip up Leith Hill, the highest peak in southeast England, back in April 2014. You can see a tartan kilt (I believe that's a Sportkilt model) a checked skirt or kilt, a tan skirt, and one man in a washed denim miniskirt, which I recall he said came from a charity shop. Then on the top right is my friend Dan on a backpacking trip in Florida, wearing a "Runningkilt" from Scot Action Sports, while I'm in the background in uninspired shorts. I also have a dull old pair of boots, while Dan shows off his Vibram Five Fingers froggy feet. Then at the bottom right, that's me on the upper slopes of Mt Monadnock in New Hampshire (considerably higher than Leith Hill) in a short sarong. Note that there's a red clip on my right hip, which I use to hold the sarong together instead of tying it. The sarong does work, but what I really want is a short wrap skirt with velcro fastening, quick and easy to get on and off and in particular, not requiring one to step into it, which can be a treacherous thing to accomplish in a hurry while wearing boots. Karla's Royal Robbins skirt doesn't look right for the trail; I'd call it too long, and it has to be pulled up over the feet. And I'd also say, it looks like regular clothing for the textile world--if we have to wear something at times, let's be a little outrageous with it!

[jbeegoode]

Kilts are now an accepted hiking gear. I have been getting newsletters from Gossamer Gear each week, with write-ups by some kind of professional and avid distance hikers. There are a few out there shown in kilts. Kilts are centuries of tradition, so it would seem that they would work well in the wet cold winter weather and fit in. If we are hiking in any place remote enough to be nude to any degree, then we are probably in an area that would accept any form of clothing without fuss. Our experience is that the more remote, the people that we encounter are overwhelmingly okay of a nude, so some unusual clothing is a given.

BUT here's my selling point. I have had several women with glazed over eyes seeing some kind of inner vision, or memory, tell me that they think a man in a kilt is SOO sexy. I refer to the pic above. I think that some kind boots may help with the "masculine thang." Just give out some confident quip about comfort, or free movement.
Jbee

[reubenT]

   I tried a kilt with full side attachment of velcro a few years ago.   wasn't too good because the velcro had to be carefully lined up before being stuck together,  made a stiff side strip.  picked up organic trash easily.     But I got a crazy ideer!      A small patch of velcro at the top might be enough,  with some magnets in the hem on one edge and little steel sheet metal pieces in the other side.    It'd be a quick coverup,  stick the top together and the rest would take care of itself.    Might be able to design some shorts after the same fashion.   Project for next winter when the weather is nasty.