Hiking Apparel ReviewMichelle DellerApril 23, 2018hiking, hiking apparel, skirt, leggings, pants, hiking pants, hiking skirt, hiking in a skirt, prana, prana skirt, prana hiking skirt, hiking in leggings1 Comment

Hiking in a Skirt?

For most of my childhood I was required to wear a skirt to school (per the dress code), this has a way of influencing one's opinion of skirt-wearing. Once the school rules changed, I didn't look back at the skirt for quite some time. So why "turn back" and wear a skirt, especially while hiking?

I have a few very solid reasons for the skirt that mostly revolve around wearing leggings. So this may seem more like a case for leggings, than a promotion for the skirt, but they go together for me!

1. Regulating temperature: Leggings seem to do a better job of regulating my body temperature than regular hiking pants. The right leggings keep me cool in the hot sun and warm in the cold mountain air.

2. Pockets: Wearing leggings means that I don't have pockets for tissues, my cellphone, or just sticking my hands in pockets for warmth. Add a skirt - and I get pockets.

Rainbow Mountains in Peru. My hands were cold, so the pockets in the skirt helped me keep them warm.

3. Coverage: Another reason for the skirt is I'm not exactly comfortable wearing leggings by themselves, so the added layer of the skirt provides the coverage I like. Also, sometimes it's necessary to relieve oneself in the woods, a skirt provides a little extra coverage for those times in the trees.

4. Rain: When the rain starts pouring down, it's time to whip out the rain pants. Have you tried putting on rain pants over a pair of hiking pants? Well, let's just say it's difficult. It's so much easier to slip on rain pants over a pair of leggings.

The skirt went in my backpack and the rain pants came out for the snowy hike to The Towers in Patagonia, Chile.

5. Packing: When weight and space matter, it's important to choose your gear wisely. Roll up three pair of leggings and three pair of hiking pants and you'll notice a difference in weight and size. I can wear a skirt for multiple days and just switch out my leggings each day.