Does price matter?

[Dano]

On the first point about the yellowing I know what you mean. Be advised that you'll get that same effect by drying them in a gas (rather than electric) clothes dryer.

While I agree with most of the rest of your post, the second point is completely in error. I too have travelled in the Middle East (nearly a year in Saudi) and wore heavy denim jeans whenever I wasn't in uniform. They performed great. On a more tropical experience, I wore them EVERYWHERE in Panama (TBH it didn't really get any hotter or more humid there than Summers here; it just stayed that way year round there) Again, they performed just fine. However, thin anything will simplt not provide any protection from briers, rocks, scrapes, or bugs. There is nothing better than jeans. Nothing.

I also wore a poly/cotton blend shirt in both cases (60% cotton to 40 percent poly for durability and wrinkle resistance) and in both cases the shirts worked fine.

Not completely in error, it's an opinion so I can't be wrong I also wear jeans all of the time for casual ie indoors and at the mall or pub,I am currently in Kuwait (no pubs here) my weather station says max temp since I plugged it in around Feb was 47DegC, last week it was 89% humidity, the tropics are generally high humidity, in my opinion Jeans are rather sweaty in this heat, my cargo pants are not, my shorts are better but I wouldn't wear them all day on a boat or tropical island for fear of getting burnt, i wouldn't wear them in a jungle, seeing as this is a bushcraft forum I assumed the original question would have been around outdoor activities not sitting in a coffee shop in a Riyadh mall or air conditioned SUV or Grand Indonesia Mall Jakarta,

I have been bitten by mozzies through my Levi's but never through my cargos which are treated, don't see many mozzies in Kuwait, Saudi, Qatar, Dubai anyway

My yellowing comes mostly from a trip to Petra and constant cleaning in Kuwaits water even after filtration, it's permanent, won't shift, maybe I will try to get them dry cleaned anyway I would advise against white 5.11 shirts for outdoor use unless you want to stay cooler in the desert and don't mind the stains

One other thing I would say is you can buy Tshirts for next to nothing in SE Asia, India etc, you can almost wear once and recycle, save on luggage space, carry on and avoid breakages

Big name brands have big name prices, damage is expensive, just make sure you have loose fit and plenty of ventilation


Dano

 

[sandbender]

"...511 are good and tough, the shirts are vented and have loads of pockets, but the silicone coating is nasty, they don't wick sweat initially, you need to wash them loads before they feel ok..."

Do the 'all cotton' shirts have the coating or just the synthetic mix ones? I wore a 5.11 cotton shirt in Africa in some quite high (but dry) temps and thought it was one of the best bits of clothing I'd yet owned.

 

[Dano]

Do the 'all cotton' shirts have the coating or just the synthetic mix ones? I wore a 5.11 cotton shirt in Africa in some quite high (but dry) temps and thought it was one of the best bits of clothing I'd yet owned.

Just checked mine they are mix, no idea if the cotton ones are coated, in fact never seen pure cotton so will research that


Dano

 

[santaman2000]

Not completely in error, it's an opinion so I can't be wrong I also wear jeans all of the time for casual ie indoors and at the mall or pub,I am currently in Kuwait (no pubs here) my weather station says max temp since I plugged it in around Feb was 47DegC, last week it was 89% humidity, the tropics are generally high humidity, in my opinion Jeans are rather sweaty in this heat, my cargo pants are not, my shorts are better but I wouldn't wear them all day on a boat or tropical island for fear of getting burnt, i wouldn't wear them in a jungle, seeing as this is a bushcraft forum I assumed the original question would have been around outdoor activities not sitting in a coffee shop in a Riyadh mall or air conditioned SUV or Grand Indonesia Mall Jakarta, ....

LOL. I know it's an opinion. My "error" comment was just for emphasis. I was there for Desert Storm & Desert Storm. No pubs there either. No problems in the desert heat (around 120f the day we landed)

Panama was another story for humidity and heat; average temps there were around 89f-110f (just like Summers here) and likewise the humidity was similar to here (60%-near 100%) No problems there either. Actually fewer mosquitos there than here (They still used DDT back then)

I do indeed wear shorts all day when on a boat; but I reapply 50 SPF or higher sunscreen every hour or so.

I suspect my comfort in jeans comes from having worn then all my life (other than when in uniform) from when I wore them over diapers on up. Mississippi woods, fields, rivers and swamps; Nevada deserts (my first Summer there it reached 112f at midnight-not normal but it did get that high) and mountains; Colorado mountains; Arizona deserts; Louisiana swamps; Florida (it's still reaching into the low 90s here even this late in the year) swamps, rivers, and woods; Panama jungles; English woods; etc. Hiking, camping, riding, hunting, fishing, working, etc.

There is NOTHING better than jeans!

 

[Dano]

There is NOTHING better than jeans!

Couldn't agree more (apart from something with loads of pockets and zip-offs)

BTW I note cut of jeans are back in fashion in the UK (with my kids anyway) I spent every summer holiday and camp in them

Getting back to the original post how much are Levi's now in the UK ?


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[santaman2000]

Couldn't agree more (apart from something with loads of pockets and zip-offs)

BTW I note cut of jeans are back in fashion in the UK (with my kids anyway) I spent every summer holiday and camp in them

Getting back to the original post how much are Levi's now in the UK ?


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TBH Levis are overpriced here. That's one reason I switched to Dickies jeans; well that and the fact Dickies makes better jeans.

 

[Tom89]

Cheers everyone. I think I may look into the 511 clothing as they seem to get mentioned a lot so far

 

[Dano]

My thermometer says its 41.0 outside, that's from the 15 floor so on the ground I guess it's 43+ in the shade, I just stood having a smoke in the sun in denim jeans and a white 5.11 shirt, legs were boiling torso was fine, now that may be physiology but noteworthy none the less


Dano

 

[Gray]

Does the price matter?..... For me.....defo. You get what you pay for, or do you. With outdoor clothing you probably do however i tend to use a lot of surplus stuff because i think you get a lot more than you pay for compared to civvy prices. Its a case of weeding out the bad from the good. Its like food shopping at Aldi or Asda, Aldi is good if you know what to buy but some stuff has to be branded to achieve the quality or taste that you prefer so has to come from Asda. Does that make sense?

 

[Carlton_Cole]

I have got to agree with you British Red, I have tried Dickies work trousers before and I found them to wear quicker than other providers like Site King, Although price does matter they are cheaper than most and they lasted pretty long for my standards. http://www.siteking.co.uk/work-clothes/mens-clothing/mens-trousers. I would probably search through google and read the reviews on all these products before purchasing from them anyway, I find that using reviews are often the best way of gauging whether the product is good or not, someone once told me to also try reading the latest comments as some places change manufactures, which of course changes the product.

Screwfix used to sell a really reliable pair of work trousers(Can't remember the name of them) but they changed their manufacturer and then they dropped quality and once that happened I stopped buying from them.

 

[rik_uk3]

This thread is a blast from the (three year old) past LOL

 

[Robson Valley]

The OP didn't say what sort of volunteer work was to be done. If it's possible, shop locally when you get there.
I can't imagine Canadian stores stocking all sorts of sizes in all sorts of shirts and pants for a climate that most Canadians would never experience for more than 3 weeks.
I can't imagine British stores doing anything different. If they did, you going to pay a pretty price.

My Canadian clothes were just fine for Melbourne winters when I moved there. However, it was Christmas time so summer shopping was the order of the day.
Back to Canada 4 years later and I don't recall having much, if any, Canadian clothing left.

I've found a few online sources of safari and expedition clothing, other than Cabela's. "Tropic weight" is such a useless term, not sure how they'd be in real heat.

this thread age. Thanks, I didn't look. I would like to know, anyway, what is best in hard tropical climate. I suspect we all are going to see much more of it.

 

[Nice65]

Over the years I have tried various trousers on expedition to places like Thailand and South Africa, West Africa and other remote areas - if I was going again and wanting to return in the same gear I went in I would plump for 5.11 cotton trousers - perhaps even their BDUs. They are superb quality and not too expensive in real terms as they last far longer than cheaper alternatives - and they have sensible features!

I'm with this man. All I run these days are Taclite Pro, they're a poly cotton mix, very light, dry quickly, can have a cinch cord fitted through the eyelets in the hem. All these features could work for you, and they don't cost a fortune.

I've got TDU and Stryke too, but the Taclites are brilliant.

 

[Nice65]

This thread is a blast from the (three year old) past LOL

I feel such such a fool.

 

[bigbear]

Eeeee when I wer a lad t'Craghoppers factory were just down t'road, they made good kit in them days.
Sadly they seem to have gone the way of so many previously good makers, like say Blacks, aiming at the leisure market and compromising on build quality.
There was a time when the Blacks anorak, sleeping bag, tent amd duvet jacket were the core of any moutaineers kit........