What I Wear Now After 5 Years of Living & Hiking in Europe

Hi man, i’m going to iceland in late october and wasn’t sure on what type of pants i should get, what’s your recommendations

I just wish more companies would make high quality no-water-in-or-out-jacket that has zippers for letting moisture out. This, together with a light breathable wind jacket should be all you need for the mountains in my view (20+ years of experience). This goretex trend is getting out of hand and we all know that rain gear will wet out eventually ... so the trick is to have best of both worlds by actually having the two worlds in your pack -- one breathable and one non-breathable.

Hi Chase. I really like the Blue Ice Firecrest 28. Would you see this for day hiking in Europe, during summer? Thanks

Good info. You've applied a lot of experience. I've got a Patagonia puff jacket. I can't think of any other piece of kit I have that stinks faster and stays stinky until it's washed. I leave it in my car just in case. Buying it was a mistake. I'm not just being cranky. I just spent a month sailing across the northern Pacific (Japan to Canada) bathing about every five days, wearing the same t shirt and underwear for those five days, but over these, layers of merino wool (two on top, medium and heavy; leggings on the bottom) - I wore these for 30+ days 24 hours a day. They still do not stink. I keep sneaking up on them thinking that I've just gotten used to the stinky. and if I come in from a day out I'll be able to catch a whiff. Nope. They are still good to go. No synthetic can do this (especially the junk that claims it can.) Over this I also wore a dense wool sweater from the Aran Islands. It too doesn't stink. I did find that a cheap plastic Japanese rain jacket was warmer, blocked the wind, than my much nicer goretex Berghaus rain jacket. And it did pick up some stink (with all that wool between it and my body. ) Mostly I just wore both jackets. Berghaus outside, it was bigger and had more and better pockets, and it is more versatile. (Tip you can buy clothes in Japan. Montbell has really good stuff. Right now I'm wearing some nylon pants I got there that I just love. I'm 5'8" most sizes Large. In Japan I'm XXL and the arms and legs are often just a bit short. I think you can find one size bigger, 2XXL but not everywhere.) Nylon as you know you can wash in the sink, wring out, then put on and it'll dry in an hour. My apple green nylon travel shirt is at least 15 years old. It was in China in 2004 and it went to Vietnam to pick up the boat. (And my students had a good laugh when I showed them photos proving I'd been to the Great Wall - and five years later I was wearing exactly the same clothes, including that shirt.)
Hoods are all great. Sometimes you just wear them all. I have a Mustang drysuit that has no hood. And could use more pockets. I got a thin merino buff on Amazon that was too impossibly small. I sewed a spandex patch. I regret having thrpwn out a polo shirt style wool sweater a couple of months ago. It was a 40+ year hand me down (cigarette burn holes). That would've made a terrific buff.
On my legs after the leggings was cheap thick fleece sweat pants, then cheap plastic Japanese fisherman pants and then a better, softer pair. Gil sailing boots, about 1.5 sizes too big. There's not a lot of hiking on a sailboat, so probably not for the mountains. The extra room allowed me to add another layer of socks. If I can't freely wiggle my toes my feet get cold and numb (I"ve got bad circulation hands and feet.)
I would've worn this winter hiking and in the rain. I'll always put on a cheap rain poncho. Rain jackets like the Berghaus do keep you dry, but it I expect a lot of rain, I try to keep it dry. On the boat rain is not a problem. What's a complete drag is having to do something forward and get hit by a saltwater wave. It takes three days for the raincoat to dry enough to wear and it never really does dry it just gets kind of greasy damp.
Good point about the flat shoes. I used to buy all those inserts. Then I read about the Tarahumara Indian runners in Mexico. Everything flat since then. My feet have never been better. The bindings on my expensive snowshoes just rotted away (stretchy plastic good for about two years.) So I made new bindings out of webbing, and then I found out that my shoe size had gotten bigger. My new hiking boots didn't fit the bindings. (I made some mistakes in this process). So I just put on my knee length SealSkinz and my rubber/neoprene kayaking boots. Worked great, feet warm. And everything was higher and tighter so snow getting in wasn't an issue. And most importantly -- I could wiggle my toes.

Busted! Your pack contained the basics- clothing, some food, thermos of hot hydrating goodness,......where's your first aid kit?!? Ack!

Haha Ternua 😂. 糞フィット

Hey Chase any thoughts on barefoot style shoes for an Aussie backcountry fisherman? I typically hike blue mountains in colder months with many river/stream crossings with water up to waist. Have tried many styles of footwear over the years. Hiking Boots, Trail runners, wading boots but yet to find something I’m comfortable with. I do like the idea of being able to feel a lot more with the barefoot style but do understand that no specific type of footwear works in every situation. Absolutely love your channel mate and your wellness insights have helped me immeasurable

"Just vent and you don't sweat."
Who are these people?
I can be butt naked there doing a hike and still sweat.

More useful for people like me
Use stuff that keep you warm even when you sweat.
Merino
Or even better
The fishnet merino shirts
Looks dumb but works amazingly under a normal merino shirt.
Quite common in the nordics

I just do it naked

Cataluña is part of Spain, just in case you didn't know

This channel is just a whole load of nothing

One big thing about barefoot shoes... they suck and are bad for you feet.

check out Ridgeline from NZ - excellent gear

Hello Chase,
how can I contact you to have more information about one to one training?
Do you have a work email adress?
Thank you.

I am flying in from Canada and starting the GR11 in August of this year. Just wondering where I can source Isobutane for my Soto Windmaster along the trail?

Why are you differentiating between Catalan and Spanish products?

ever considered Pertex jackets? ultra lightweight, pack away tiny, windproof (not waterproof), but the thing is, in snow conditions, it wont rain. but the real good thing is with Gortex you can get Ice forming inside the jacket, however with Pertex Ice cannot form.

Catalunya is not a Estate. It's a part of Spain. LEARN GEOGRAPHY... st_pid

Merino wool glove liners—same concept as your two hats.

Thanks so much- always love your videos! Quick question, I live in Pennsylvania and it is notorious for small rocks that stick out of the ground and are often pretty brutal on the feet and ankles (see how many people curse Pennsylvania on the Appalachian Trail lol)... do you feel the vivo's would be thick enough? I do love to feel the trail but trying to find a good balance in dealing with the spikey rocks. Thanks so much

Nice video, I'm always wearing my vivobarefoot when going for long hikes in the beautiful mountains here in Catalunya. And indeed, seeing show on Montserrat.. very cool

Happy to see you wearing it! 💪🏻

Re your 5 beginners gear video. Please, hope it's okay to ask here. Hi Chase. Can you tell me, why not Spon battery banks? I assume you mean Toospon? It's what I use. A 30000mAh.

Anymore feedback on that Cortazu Insulated Hard Shell? How does it compare to Gortex alternatives?

You couldn't go outside during Covid? 😮 that seems unreasonable and unscientific.

This is unrelated to this video but do you have any suggestions for patellar tendonopathy? I hurt my back recently and started walking more to soothe it. I went from 10000 steps a day to 14000 in a few weeks and my knees began to feel worse and worse. Turns out my 6 year old running shoes and my well loved hiking boots were causing poor walking mechanics that ultimately contributed to my knee pain and also my continued back pain. I had brand new shoes and boots sitting in reserve so I’ve switched them out now and am walking less. I also do the cracr hamstring stretching 3 times/week and the daily movement for hikers routine. Any suggestions of something I should add or subtract from my routine?

This is great and, as ever, very helpful - THANKS. However, for so many (me included), winter and early spring is not snow; it's cold and wet; it is rainy, soggy and muddy. It looks like most of your gear would transition to that, apart from the boots. In that event, how might you amend your boot choice for days of rain?

I'm a bit newer to your channel and looking for some advice. I am going to be doing a backpacking trip up Pikes Peak in CO this year, do you have a video on safety advice, or general advice, for summiting a 14er?

? One pic shows you wearing a shell 5 yrs ago, and now a Patagonia puff coat?
Micro spikes?
Patagonia and micro spikes go very very well together, but neither have an iota of use in the mountains, forest, camping, hiking, and I'll now add just one personal note...
They both do belong in the garbage.

Microspikes are one of the best inventions for winter hiking. The popular trails in the North Shore mountains near Vancouver are so well trodden that snowshoes are almost never needed. They're great for firm snow or flat(ish) ice, not so good in softer or slushy snow (learned that the hard way). I don't have too many issues with grip on ice but my wife does as she weighs less than me.

I find layering difficult in winter as I overheat so easily on the uphill. I'm often down to my t-shirt, which I supplement with the pull-on sleeves that cyclists sometimes wear if it's cold. A mid-weight fleece and puffy jacket are always in my bag to cover up when I stop moving. I have insulated winter boots but it has to be well below freezing for me to want to wear them so I often wear my summer hiking boots, although they can wet through if the snow is wet (as it often is here on the BC coast). As someone else mentioned, gaiters are invaluable for off-trail travel in soft or deep snow.

A Thermos of hot water (or tea or hot chocolate) is also one of our mandatory items for winter hiking. Even if we don't drink it hot from the Thermos, it's useful for warming up the water in our water bottle. Definitely going to get one of those electronic hand-warmers though.

What do you think of a soft shell jacket for hard scrambling/ easy rock pitches? I’m thinking it’s more durable than a thin rain layer but should still keep the worst of the weather off you when belaying up the second if you need to pitch things out. Easy rock climbing can be quite abrasive on your clothes

I appreciated your content and the advice on the handwarmer/battery is something I'll seriously consider but on the microspikes I'd like to know how much did you put those "no-brand" chinese imitation to the test.
I personally wouldn't trust my safety to anything which I can't check the safety standards and quality.
There are quite a.few reputable brands out there, I own Nortec spikes and they're amazing, quite strong yet lightweight, fast to wear, rustproof... but CAMP for example make very good if slightly heavier (and cheaper) ones.
Please let us know.

You lost me when you said don't fill your thermos with coffee! Madness

Babe wake up, new gear video dropped

You should really be carrying an ice axe when doing winter hiking with any significant snow. I saw you had two climbing axes but they're not appropriate for that still of hiking. Self arresting is no joke

Im planning on hiking the Chimborazo 6 months from now, what kind of shoes, clothing will you recommended? Looking forward to get the Mountain Proof knees program.

You guys werent allowed to even leave to enter the mountains? what on earth - what idiot came up with that idea?

Hey chase, could you make a similar video for summer hiking please

Can't level the house 🤣

❤

Barefoot shoes were the missing piece nature lovers didn’t know they needed

Amazing informational vid! 😎👍

Cortazu is very expansive, would take other brand name that are as good, Columbia, North Face, OR, Rab, Arc'teryx but that one also is expansive!

Based in Scotland, I'm a fan of the combination insulation-windshell, to replace that 'midlayer' you have - examples like the Buffalo Mountain shirt or Rab VapourRise jackets (my favourite) - as they're warm but breathe well enough to prevent overheating.
I don't know if I'm as open to an insulated shell that traps moisture.

How do you like the Magna FGs vs the Magna ESCs?
What's been the pros and cons of the different outsole/lug styles in your experience?

I own a pair of kahtoola microspikes, but I've recently learned "hillsound" does their own in an interesting design I'd also like to try at some point.

I laughed at how joyful you were about snow! In Montana, I am ready for spring but we still have two months to go of off and on snow.
I wear my Altra sneakers all winter in Montana. I put gorilla duct tape over the fabric toe box to keep air out, and by itself this helps with warmth and snow, but if it’s really cold, I stick a toe warmer on top of my socks at the toes. The tape reduces the air which keeps the toe warmers from over activating. If it’s really cold I can wear two pairs of socks. Lastly, I can slip on rubber grippers from Costco or Amazon to keep from falling on ice.
Thank you for sharing your gear!

Fantastic video! I live in Pyrennes too (Huesca side) and Im using barefoot style shoes for my everyday hehehe although I still have my rigid boots for Alpinism... Im wondering if you have tested any brand or model which is at least wider than others, so we can get that aspect of barefoot shoes...? Im currently using one model of Kayland too, but man, my feet get so tired after the kilometers...I am trying now Altras Lone Peak for less winter mountaineering... But in winter with the need of crampons... Idk.
Thanks mate and keep going!!

Stellar video! Thanks