sweating while hiking

[JDandCoke]

Hi Guys.
Yesterday I went out to test my rucksack and my walking stamina . Temp outside was maybe 8C, I had my SUN VP rucksack on my back, t shirt on plus spring jacket/coat. I did only 3 miles and I came buck home smelling like tramp - always when I have backpack on after short time I start sweating really bad. I think I can easly go out in t-shirt and backpack on bad weather and will start sweating soon - any idea how to prevent sweating?

[Deeps]

If you sweat, you sweat, some of the wicking shirts are good at getting it off you but as a sweaty (and a sweaty sock if you know the expression) myself, I just deal with it. I tend to wear as little as is practical, ie a T shirt and when I stop for any reason I put a fleece on to stop getting cold. If you've got a sweaty head/neck/face then a micro fibre towel can be hung off your rucksack straps or round your neck to keep the sweat out your eyes etc.

If you are out in the cold and wearing little for the sweat it is important to wrap up as soon as you stop though, you can quite quickly start suffering from being cold and wet.

[JDandCoke]

It is back and ass that sweat the most. Had it same when I was cycling with backpack in the past. 5 minutes and no matter the weather I was sweating badly.

[MBJ]

Use perspirant to reduce the amount you sweat and invest in some merino wool socks, under trousers, boxers and t-shirts as these are all breathable fabrics which will wick the sweat away from your body until it evaporates. Also some rucksacks provide better ventilation than others. For example, my Swedish LK35 is an external frame back which provides a pocket of air between my back and the bag itself keeping my back cool so I don't get hotspots.

Avoid cotton at all costs as it soaks up moisture like a sponge and once wet it takes ages to dry.

[shocker]

If you sweat alot, that not nice. I know, I do it myself. But I learned the hard way that the worst thing to do is to block it in. Or even let it sit on your skin for hours in a non drying garment. I got some really unpleasant rashes...well, I wont go into detail

Like the guys say, garments that let the sweat evaporate and work a way to keep the contact points of your pack to a minimum. And drink fluids. A lot of fluids. By the time you feel thirst you are already too low on fluids for comfort. Have you got a camelback style drinker-thing? If not, you can get dirt cheap copy on the web. It wont last but it will let you know if it works for you.

If you feel the need for re-hydrate, isotonic type drinks, try squash or juice&water with a pinch of bicarb, or a little salt and sugar mixed in. You will soon find the right level for you...when you stop throwing it up !

[Jamesey1981]

Marks and Spencer's do wicking undershirts for a reasonable price, I have a couple, they don't make you too hot and they're artificial fibres so they don't stink too quickly, but they wick the sweat really nicely and stop you feeling damp, they're also thin and stretchy so you don't notice you're wearing them, I'm always too hot and I'm very happy with them, a lot of the ones I've tried make me even hotter.

If your pack doesn't have much air space you're always going to sweat a bit under it though sadly, would be worth seeing if you can modify it a bit to give a bit better air flow, failing that you could try loosening the lifter straps and let it fall away from your back a little, it'll throw some of the weight onto the hip belt and might give you a little more breathing room.

[Deeps]

If you sweat alot, that not nice. I know, I do it myself. But I learned the hard way that the worst thing to do is to block it in. Or even let it sit on your skin for hours in a non drying garment. I got some really unpleasant rashes...well, I wont go into detail

Like the guys say, garments that let the sweat evaporate and work a way to keep the contact points of your pack to a minimum. And drink fluids. A lot of fluids. By the time you feel thirst you are already too low on fluids for comfort. Have you got a camelback style drinker-thing? If not, you can get dirt cheap copy on the web. It wont last but it will let you know if it works for you.

If you feel the need for re-hydrate, isotonic type drinks, try squash or juice&water with a pinch of bicarb, or a little salt and sugar mixed in. You will soon find the right level for you...when you stop throwing it up !

This was posted on here a while back by a doctor, I knew where I had it copied to I've dragged it from there instead of trawling through the back threads........

"Regarding rehydration salts, your store cupboard version of dioralyte does not need to be perfect but it needs to replenish your salts and sugars without overdoing it. The “isotonic” or naturally balanced concentration of sodium in your blood is 0.9% which is equivalent to nine grams of sodium chloride in one litre of body fluid. That is what you would get if you had intravenous fluids administered. Similarly the isotonic concentration of glucose is 5%, or 50 grams of glucose in one litre of fluid. Because you want to replace fluid volume and a BLEND of salts and sugars, I would use a rough guide of about 20 grams of sugar and 2.5 – 3 grams of table salt dissolved in one litre of purified water in order to replace lost salts in an emergency. That is for ORAL administration obviously! Dioralyte is overall a bit better because it also has potassium and a few other things in it I think.
If you wanted to be a super nerd and find a store cupboard way of supplementing lost potassium (which in itself can be dangerous in severe diarrhoeal illness) you can buy one of the low sodium salts like “Lo-Salt” which is a blend of 66% potassium chloride (KCL) and 33% sodium chloride. Dioralyte contains 0.3g KCL for 200ml reconstituted volume, so if we multiply that out we get a desired KCL load of 1.5g/l. Lo-Salt is only 66% KCL so we would put in a bit more Lo-Salt to make it up. In this scenario a reasonable emergency replacement blend of sugar/salts would be:
20 grams sugar
2.5 grams table salt
2 grams Lo-salt
All dissolved in one litre purified water and administered orally.


I daresay you could 'pimp' it with flavourings too.

[shocker]

Thats a relief, Deeps...when I saw you had replied I was waiting for the "nasty rash" ragging to start

[Deeps]

Thats a relief, Deeps...when I saw you had replied I was waiting for the "nasty rash" ragging to start

I think we've all been there mate, sometimes the nasty rash can even come from sporting like activities.....

[ukpreppergrrl]

TMI ALERT! TMI ALERT!! READ AT YOUR PERIL!!

At the risk of oversharing, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating) runs in my family (pun intended! ) For my sister it's just hands and feet, which can be dealt with by creams which desensitise the nerve endings in the skin there. For me it's all over, for which there is nothing that can be done - though there is a drug given for stomach ulcers which has a temporary side effect of reducing all bodily secretions - it means you have to take a mouthful of water with every mouthful of food so that you can actually swallow it, but at least you can walk down the street on a summer's day and feel normal! Sitting on unventilated seats (metal, wood, plastic, leather - it doesn't breathe nearly as much as you'd think!) in anything but the coldest weather is a guaranteed visible "has she had an accident?" embarrassment. And for many, many years every summer would involve trips to the doctor for a certain prescription-only cream owing to having to sit at a computer for 8 hours a day - until I discovered the Herman Miller Aeron chair!

Backpacks are a no-no - I've yet to find one (that I can afford) that doesn't make my back sweat within 5 minutes of wearing no matter what the weather, but thanks for the tip about the Swedish LK35, I'll look into it Whilst I appreciate the logic behind the man-made wicking materials, my experience is that they can only wick so much at a time, and I produce more sweat than they can wick away, and so the sweat just runs. Everywhere. Which looks and feels really nasty So I actually prefer cotton, which does at least absorb the sweat, and I just deal with the dampness and chafing. The dampness, however, is a big problem if you then get cold. I got hypothermia once on a hike as a result of being in sweaty clothes and then getting cold...

My experience also is that there is no anti-perserpirant on earth that has any effect whatsoever on reducing the amount of sweat that I produce. I've tried them all, and have the gummed up shirt arm-pits to prove it! So I don't use one, just something that keeps the bacteria under control and thus the smell!

Not sure I'm helping JDandCoke any here, but I do feel your pain and sympathise greatly! If possible rather than a rucksack I wear hip carriers and travel light, but this is not always an option. If using a rucksack I tend to wear a cotton t-shirt next to my skin, and carry a spare (or 2) and try to find an opportunity to change them, letting the first dry out on the back of my rucksack if the weather is permitting! Easier for a bloke than a woman, but needs must! I also carry spare underwear, but the opportunities for a complete change are rather fewer...

EDIT: Ooh...just looked up those Swedish LK35 backpacks! I will sweat where the bands are, and there is nothing I can do about sweating from the shoulder straps, but...they look good and are seriously cheap!! Big thanks...will order one and try it out!