Jeans used to be standard hiking attire in the Sierra Nevada in the '80s. Most of them survived the experience. It's fine in the summer if you find them comfortable. They chafe and if you dip in a stream get wet and heavy, but for casual hiking it's fine. I wear nylon running shorts and cotton socks. For winter, I have a closet of 3L, 2L, soft shells but in all honesty 99% of hikers will not find themselves in those conditions.
Ive been in plenty situations where summer + sweat-wet + evening or colds gets cold real quick. Add in situations like too tired to quickly get off the 40F peak + windchill, it can get dicey real quick. Same with a wet cotton shirt sailing. On and on.
In the 80’s wool hiking gear used to be around for this reason too. I’d never feel appropriate recommending cotton for anything serious, any season.
Cotton kills in cold weather, but in hot weather it is a lifesaver... it breathes much better than synthetics so your natural evaporative cooling still works, and it keeps your skin drier so you don't get jungle rot or fungal infections.
This is just bad advice. Hot weather days have cool evenings, nights and mornings, and it’s not like you magically stop sweating and dry off at 6pm when the sun is setting. There are plenty synthetics or wool that dry out fine and insulate fine. Those same situations in cotton I’ve seen turn very dangerous.
You gotta use common sense in the right environment, and definitely don't get stuck in the cold in a wet cotton shirt, but a good cotton shirt can save you from heatstroke in situations where synthetics or wool would not, even thin stuff designed for hot weather. I honestly think the "cotton kills" stuff is overblown, it's a lot more complex than that. I would also say "plastic kills" because synthetic clothes make the sweat drip off under the clothes without evaporating- so you lose much of your "cooling capacity", and are also susceptible to jungle rot, fungal infections, etc.
If you look at people that do hard labor or outdoor guide work in extreme hot climates around the world- they all use cotton or similar plant fibers. All of the concerns about cotton come from it cooling "too well" and that often simply isn't an issue. Synthetic and wool stuff is also just not very durable, and incredibly expensive.
I say this as someone with decades of outdoor experience, an ex-boy scout, etc. who used to be a hardline proponent of "cotton kills" in all outdoor conditions. I learned the hard way that I was wrong after being proven wrong time and again in real world conditions, by people with more experience than me that were able to keep functioning in extreme heat better than I was.
I’ll leave it with I’ve been in situations where people actually got trench foot, and pushed into hypothermia/cold casualties bc of starting in the afternoon warm and dry and finishing in the late night and wet/cold in the 40s/50s.I’ve been with people getting heat causality/heat stroke and neared it myself.
The trench foot etc has nothing to do with cotton or synthetics, it’s being wet for days and days. I’ve seen people get it. I’d trust synthetic or wool socks to dry faster and hold their shape (blisters are just as bad) than cotton any day. Also nobody is overheating (or breaking the bank) in Darntough socks.
Your assumptions on moisture and temp management are based on an assumption of environmental control that doesn’t exist in the outdoors. The margin of error is very small for slipping into chilly and then cold as hell, and it happens quickly. Lack of durable synthetics (which I’ve never had give out on me, inspect your equipment prior to leaving lol) vs durable but risky cotton is a silly trade off, in this light.
Heat stroke, the actual type that’s bad, gets prevented from pounding salted water and ice sheets. For it to get this far such that it happens, no amount of sweaty cool cotton will help it.
I say this as someone who learned the hard way as well or watched others did. I am an Eagle Scout, was in a combat branch in the army for a while, been in very hot places for very long, seen trench foot, heat cats, cold cats galore.
100% agree. Cotton is great in hot temps. Yes you can die if you wear it in a snow storm but seriously, how many novices are hiking in these conditions today? I think it might be a holdover from decades ago when forecasts were less reliable and people really did get caught in "random" storms up in the mountains, and were generally less familiar with planning. I can't even remember the last time I saw someone on a real trail hiking in jeans though where hypothermia would be a risk... Most casual guys, if it was really cold, would probably just be like "f this let's stay at home" since hiking for 90% of people is a summer activity.
How many novices hike peaks, start at 80F and end at 40F, tired and sweaty as hell, and have another 2 hours to get down off the mountain before temps go back to non-chilly. Hypothermia starts easier than conditions like this.
Cotton does not wick away moisture as effectively as technical fabrics or wool, leaving the wearer wet during physical activity thus increasing the risk of hypothermia when exposed to the elements.
Ventile requires re-proofing though, no? It’s not like a magical variant of cotton, it’s just cotton with treatment.
With the margin of error in the outdoord being as small as it is, I’d trust synthetics or wool that will always work vs the risk my cotton isn’t treated recently and reaches failure.
On the contrary, Ventile should never be proofed. PFAS and such were used earlier as a lubricant in the textile mills, but is now replaced with something more eco-friendly. The water-repellant properties of this was something akin to a happy accident. Original WW2-era Ventile did not use this, as you might guess.
Ventile works it's magic by the combination of long fibered cotton, thigtly spun thread and a close weave. The result is a fabric that after some time swells in rain by absorbing water, and then becoming saturated and impermeable(ish) to further ingress of the wet stuff. The inside will feel damp, but not wet. Wool as a base layer is of course an excellent counter to this. And, all the while excess body heat is shed quite effectively. When at rest, put on a wool or fleece 2nd layer, just like with a synthetic shell.
A compromise, yes. But the greatest advantage over 3L membrane etc. in my opinion is the ruggedness and durability, "experienced wetness" beeing alike. And in the high mountains, boreal or a mid-winter climate with months of stable sub-freezing tempratures, this is a supreme choice for your outer shell. Sweat converted to frost forms on the outside of the garment, instead of the inside as it is want to do in a 2L or 3L. Brush it right of, and carry on.
Most of the fear of cotton is from its use as a base layer, not as an outer layer. Militaries around the world still use cotton heavily, but layered over wool (in WW2) or polypropylene (modern) for colder weather.
Ya and also those militaries have cold weather gear, scheduled conditions to switch into them, and aggressive measures for moisture control (to include no movements in goretex). Joe the hiker in cotton rarely does.
I assume they mean that it takes a long time to dry and holds water too well, and doesn't provide warmth when wet, so cotton is often avoided for hiking.
