Clothing

As a teen, I had a friend who lived right next to a golf coarse. In fact, you could walk through a thin buffer of trees and there you were on the fairway of the 4th hole.My friend had a set of clubs and several times we attempted to get in a few free games of golf. For some reason, we would get reported immediately and were quickly asked to leave the coarse. There were plenty of other teens that golfed there regularly. How did they know we were not paying members of the club? They knew by what we were wearing.

Most country clubs and golf coarses have a standard dress policy that they require their members and members' guests to follow. The will usually provide some sort of card or brochure outlining their dress policy for using the golf coarse. These general rules for proper golf attire should help you to avoid any embarrassing situations.

Men: Proper attire for men includes collared golf or polo style shirts, sweaters, jackets (including pullover golf jackets), slacks, and golf shorts. Most of the time you will see other golfers wearing a polo style golf shirt with slacks or golf shorts depending on the temperature. Do not wear blue jeans or any other color denim on the golf coarse unless you golf like my buddy Tiger Woods.

 Women: Proper attire for women is pretty much the same as for
men with the exception of golf skirts. Most country clubs and golf coarses will
also allow golf style tank tops, but tank tops are generally not acceptable at
higher class clubs.

Climbing Gym

If you are new to rock climbing and and just want to get a feel for it before you start buying all of the gear for it, I recommend visiting your local climbing gym. Climbing gyms will have everything you need for your first go at climbing. The climbs typically range from beginner to advanced. So what should you wear to a climbing gym? The general rule to stick with is to wear loose fitting clothing that will allow full freedom of movement. If you are comfortable wearing it, the other option is to wear stretchy tighter fitting athletic clothing like you would see a jogger wearing. The climbing facility will usually require you to wear a simple sit harness in which you will tie into. If your clothing is too bulky, it will make it harder and more uncomfortable to wear the harness. If you have long hair, you will want to pull it back so that it is out of the way and free from getting caught in your belay rope. For footwear, you can just use tennis shoes or some other low top sneaker. It is probably better to start out with regular shoes instead of real climbing shoes so that you become more conscious of how to get your feet positioned on the different holds and crack on the climbing wall.

Getting ready for a relaxing canoe trip? Follow these general guidelines for a fun and save canoe trip. As with any outdoor activity, you will need to consider how active you will be during the activity. You will also need to assess the physical elements such as: will you be canoeing in rapids or on a calm lake, is rain expected or is sunshine in the forecast, is the weather going to be warm or cold? All of these factors will determine what you will want to wear while paddling your canoe. Also, because you will be on the water, there is always a chance of an unexpected dip.

Warm Canoeing:
One option to consider is the beach look, including a swimming suit and some sunblock. Not much more is needed. If you prefer not to dress down that much, you are pretty safe wearing some lightweight shorts or long pants and a t-shirt. Don't wear cotton as is will stay wet longer. Even on a nice sunny day, cotton pants and shirts take more than twice as long to dry than synthetic fabrics. Shorts or long pants made of lightweight nylon are great for canoeing. If water does happen to splash onto them, they will be dry again within minutes. Polyester or polypropylene t-shirts are great for water related activities. Helly Hanson makes a wide variety of polypropylene t-shirts that will dry faster than any other material you will find. Now, as for shoes, you might want to consider wearing lightweight sandals that won't slip off. There are many options in the footwear area so choose something you would be most comfortable with. In warm weather, sandals are great because they let your feet breathe and they allow your feet to dry out quickly if you happen to get them wet. Shoes are ok to wear, but if you get them wet, your feet will be pretty soggy by the end of the trip.

Cold Weather Canoeing:
In cold weather conditions, you need to be prepared for the worst. White water or fast flowing water means cold water. Even if you aren't planning on falling in, there are still plenty of chances of getting wet. When I was in high school, my friends and I decided to take dates canoeing down the last stretch of the Provo River in Utah in early spring. We had no intentions of getting wet and we therefore did not prepare for it. Well, about halfway down the stretch, there was a bend in the river that caused the water to flow rapidly to one side of the river. To make a long story short, 4 of the 5 canoes tipped over spilling us into the cold winter runoff water. We managed to get all of the canoes back upright and continued our journey. If our trip had been much longer than it was, we would all have suffered from hypothermia. Either way, our canoe adventure didn't turn out as fun as we had planned.

So, always plan to get wet. Go with the layering system. First layer-thin, lightweight, synthetic fabric. Second Layer-synthetic fleece insulating fabric. Third Outer Layer- Windproof and waterproof fabric. Canoe and kayak specialty stores sell products for the outer layer specific to paddle sports. They will have seals around the collar and the cuffs to prevent water from entering. Unless you are doing some aggressive canoeing, you can probably just use your waterproof ski parka or even a rain parka. This layering system will allow you to adjust your dress to control your comfort range. Using synthetic fabrics will keep you warm even when you do get wet. For footwear, you can get neoprene socks and shoes that work really well for cold water canoeing. A thin polypropylene sock liner will add some extra warmth if you need. Boots made for wet suits that have vulcanized soles are probably your best bet if you are planning on a long trip. For your hands, you will want some neoprene gloves. Thin polypropylene glove liners can be worn underneath them for added warmth.

Car Camping
Pretty much anything goes when you are just planning on packing your stuff in the car and heading outdoors for an overnight-er in your car. A few suggestions might help to keep your car a little cleaner in the process. First of all, it is a good idea to bring along some slip on shoes that you can put on when you get out of the car and then slip off and leave outside when you get back in. This will keep all of that unwanted dust and debris from ruining your nice interior. I would also suggest bringing some clothes to wear to bed. Unlike your tent, most car windows don't have a way to block out unwanted sightseers or the occasional passerby's that you will normally have while car camping.

Cold Weather Camping
If you are going to be camping in cold weather, most of the rules of layering are going to apply. If you missed the article on layering here it is again(click here). Wearing the proper layers will allow your clothing to provide more insulation thus keeping your body warm. Camping in general doesn't require any strenuous activity. Most of the time, you will just be sitting around relaxing and enjoying all of the peace and quiet that mother nature has to offer. In cold weather conditions, this lack of activity will make it easier to get cold. But, if you are properly layered, you will have no need to worry. I can't believe I'm going to say this but, with regular camping, you can substitute some of the clothing suggested in our layering article with regular cotton garments. These include wearing some thick cotton long underwear instead of a hi-tech synthetic product. You could also substitute your middle fleece layer with some cotton
sweat pants if that is all you have available. It is very important to keep in mind when substituting synthetic fabrics for cotton is that cotton does not dry very fast. If there is any chance that you could sweat or otherwise get wet, you do not want to wear cotton. But, if you are just going to be sitting around a campfire roasting hotdogs before heading off to bed in a cozy warm tent, then you'll probably be just fine.

Warm Weather Camping
The first thing I would state here is Be Prepared! You probably couldn't count the number of folks who thought that they wouldn't need that extra jacket or knit hat because they were going camping in the summer time only to have the temperature drop below what they were prepared for. It is always better to bring too much rather than too little. Especially if you are transporting it all in your car. Having said this, you can usually get away with wearing some shorts and a t-shirt so that you can enjoy the fresh outdoor air. If biting bugs are going to be present, you will want to wear a lighweight long sleeve shirt and long pants to limit your exposure to these pests. When I camp during the summer, I like to wear a pair of long pants that zip off at the knee for those times when I want to wade out into the lake a little or put my feet in a cool stream. Additionally, I always wear synthetic socks so that they will dry quickly if I do get them wet from sweating or from accidentally slipping in the creek while washing my face.

It doesn't make sense to many people when I tell them that around 70% of our online sales for thermal underwear during the months of March thru June come from Florida and other southern states. So why would so many people from the warmest states want thermal underwear in the spring and summer? I was curious too at first After our first few seasons in business, I noticed this trend. So, I decided to start asking customers who were from the south each time an order was placed over the phone. The answer? Travel. When things start warming up in the south, many residents escape the heat by traveling to areas that are know for beautiful scenery and COOLER WEATHER. For many, the preferred destination is Alaska. Some of the best times of the year to visit Alaska are from May to July. Alaska is a vast region containing some 85% of Americas national wildlife refuge lands. Also within Alaska are most of the Americas national parks, wetlands, and the tallest mountain in North America. For those who like it a little cooler, Antarctica is another popular destination with the prime temperatures ranging from May to August. The scenery here is in many ways similar to Alaska, and you may need an extra layer or two of thermal underwear, but the experience is what some would call one of the world's best kept secrets. For more information on Antarctica, take a look at Quark Expedition's site .Now, if you're looking to escape the heat to visit a place like Alaska or Antarctica, the decision to take the trip can be an easy choice. Deciding what you want to do when you get there rivals an choosing from an all you can eat buffet menu. Travel experiences range from taking a cruise around the regions, deep sea fishing, mountaineering the highest peaks, to taking a closer look at each area through guided photography tours that allow you to capture the beauty and the experience of each region. About .com has some helpful Alaska Reviews that detail what reviewers liked about their trips to Alaska. For more information on Antarctica, take a look at Real Travel's website for a few travelers' reviews and Polar Cruises for more traveler reviews and information on Antarctica tours of the area.So, if you live in the south and the heat gets to be too much, or if you just want a place to get away to, go where your neighbors have been vacationing on a trip to Alaska or Antarctica and have the experience of a lifetime. And don't feel too out of place buying polypropylene thermal underwear in the spring time. A growing number of Floridians are doing it too.

How can such a soft, snuggly, comfortable fabric like cotton be so hated among veterans of the high activity sports world? In this post, we'll cover the basics of why cotton is a definite no-no when putting together your wardrobe for any outdoor or otherwise high intensity sports activity.

The first part of the dilemma with cotton doesn't necessarily have to do with cotton. It has to do with you. Your body has a built in cooling system that tells itself to produce sweat when it gets hot. While sweat is great for cooling your body down, it can also cause extreme discomfort if it is able to remain against your skin through the duration of your activity and long after you have finished. And this is where cotton comes in. Cotton has the ability to absorb larger amounts of water than other fibers acting as a sponge when you sweat. This sponge-like feature of cotton does not allow your sweat to dry very quickly. So, after just a short while of hiking up that steep mountain, playing a friendly game of tag football at the park, or even just rowing your canoe across the lake, your cotton clothing will begin to get wet with sweat, soggy and very uncomfortable. If your activity lasts for an extended period, then the problem doesn't stop there. Remember when you were little and you would play around in the pool long after your mom told you to get out and your hands and feet would start looking like prunes? That very same thing happens within your cotton socks and clothing often causing chaffing and more discomfort.

Now, let's say that you are finished with whatever sport it was that caused you to sweat so profusely. Let's also suppose you don't have a locker room to change in and going home is not an option either. Your cotton underwear, cotton shorts, cotton socks and cotton shirt are no longer the warm, cuddly garments they used to be. Cotton is not able to retain heat very well when wet. You're now stuck in wet clothing with a drying out time ranging from hours to possibly days. For you, this might only mean a short period of discomfort. However, if you are going to be somewhere overnight or even for a few hours where the temperatures are around 50 degrees or lower, your wet clothing can become a killer. Many hypothermia deaths are caused by wet clothing in mild to cold temperatures. Your body just can't warm itself quicker than your wet cotton clothing cools you in colder temperatures. That's almost a tongue twister.

Until fabric companies really started digging into the whole science of fabrics, there really weren't many options. So the outdoor sports participants, team sports players, joggers, and anyone else who sweats just had to suffer through all of the downsides that cotton has to offer.

Summary:

Cotton retains water, dries slowly, and does not keep you warm when wet so it is not ideal for high endurance activities that involve sweating.

Tips:

1. Take all of your 100% cotton clothing that is supposedly for outdoor sports or athletic activities and donate it to your local charity.
2. When you're at the meeting for your first winter klondike receiving instructions on the dangers of such an activity, don't raise your hand and ask how many pairs of COTTON thermals they would recommend you bring along.
3. If you have an annoying inlaw that is really into hiking, backpacking, outdoor sports, etc., make sure that the clothing you give them is 100% cotton and tell them it is for their next trip.