Hello Fellow Travelers, I visit the British Isles in late September and Central Europe in early October. I am carrying an Osprey back pack with attachable day pack and am not camping.
Grateful should you recommend names of clothing brands for men's shirts and pants. Any tips on which fabrics and fibers to bring is also appreciated.
I’m not understanding why you think you need special clothing. All you need to do is allot times in your journey for doing laundry, and don’t pack jeans because they are heavy and take longer to dry. My husband does not make any special changes to his wardrobe otherwise.
I do understand your question. Women on this forum regularly exchange tips on what brands are easy to sink wash, travel without wrinkles, etc. Having said that, I don't have specific brand recommendations (sorry) but no doubt others will be willing to help. You are apparently traveling light, so bring...wrinkle free and easy dry clothes. The UK any time of year can be rainy, so bring layers.
Hello mh1776
I will share what my husband likes for travel. He tends to get cold easily so items are layers, layers & more layers. We laugh that he looks like a walking ad for men's outdoor clothing. Everything was purchased on sale and he's worn jackets for several years and they still look nice.
Trousers: REI trailmade. They shed rain, not a buckets down rain but a shower.
https://www.rei.com/product/236137/rei-co-op-trailmade-pants-mens
Base layers Tops & Bottoms : Patagonia caiplene baselayers
https://www.rei.com/product/C07164/patagonia-capilene-midweight-crew-base-layer-top-mens
https://www.rei.com/product/C07169/patagonia-capilene-midweight-base-layer-bottoms-mens
Lightweight jackets: Patagonia R1 daily and ArcTeryx Kyanite (he wears both if he's cold)
https://www.rei.com/product/243241/patagonia-r1-jacket-mens
https://www.rei.com/product/217942/arcteryx-kyanite-lightweight-fleece-jacket-mens
Midweight jacket: Patagonia nanopuff. Squishes down very small for packing though he wears it on the plane
https://www.rei.com/product/249151/patagonia-nano-puff-insulated-jacket-mens
Rain Jacket: Black diamond fineline stretch. He wears this all the time as showers are unpredictable plus it's a terrific wind breaker.
https://www.rei.com/product/237081/black-diamond-fineline-stretch-shell-jacket-mens
We do plan for a wash after 15 days or so.
I'm sure other forum members will share what works for them.
Happy travels!
Mh
I just finished packing for our 10th RS Tour. Male on the plus side of 70. After three weeks in France last year I transversed to all “tech type” pants and tops. Specifically to the Vuori brand. Why?
I can pack four pairs of pants where I used to get two with jeans or cotton blends.
If needed you can wash them I do in the sink and they dry overnight. Easy to spot clean.
Definitely in style and dress up friendly
I prefer their dress slack style and not joggers
North face hooded rain jacket
Multiple polyester Ts and half zip long sleeve (same reason as pants)
A white linen collar shirt for dress up. (wrinkles are okay)
Packed in a carry-on and RS under seat bag.
The downside is it can be more expensive, I find I wear more while out and about at home.
PS my wife has nearly made the same transition, too.
My son has several different colors of the Kirklands
Signature Men’s Tech pants from Costco that he wears when traveling. I think they are about $20 a pair, but really are well made. If I remember correctly, he went up a size in the waist to give him room to tuck in a layer if he wanted. He found a few great lightweight/ quick dry long sleeve tops there, too.
I found this buried on the 3rd page under RS Forum Packing, maybe helpful? I had thought to suggest 'golf pants', but this is more specific! https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/packing/men-s-pants-at-costco. PS, Now that I think about it, my H's favorite travel pants are "PGA Tour Men's Dress pants" from Macy's.
I don't really pack any particular brands, but I do tend to favour Uniqlo chinos for something that is comfortable and hard wearing, but also looks fairlt smart.
Check out the Packing section of the Travel Forum and the Tech Tips Sections. For myself for a week or a month (I've done both and more), I always bring the same clothes - and I do have a set of "Travel clothes." I use a roller bag that holds 4 larger packing cubes (45L) and a small backpack (30L) or a larger backpack that also holds 4 packing cubes (45L) and a shoulder bag. I have been shopping at LL Bean and REI since ... well anyway. #1 - everything must be washable together; #2 - Two pairs of something for your feet - one pair really good shoes (I love Dolomite Karakorams but they are expensive, Reebok is almost as good, but wear them a lot first to be sure, AND a second lighter pair. One may get wet. Other people on the forum have their favorites. A very light slipper or flip-flop for around the room, going down to breakfast (I have several light pairs I picked up at Aldi in Europe so you can always do that); #3 - A set of good merino wool underlayers; #4 - A puffy jacket for warmth under other things; #5 - A Goretex jacket with hood since at that time rain. is common (at least this year Europeans hope it will be); #6 - 5 T shirts.; #7 - 5 undershorts; #8 - 5 pairs of socks (there is a pattern here); #9 - Two long sleeved collared shirts that wash easily and dry overnight; #8 - Two pairs of lightweight slacks, one lighter in color and one darker; #9 - A pair of sports shorts with pockets to be used around the room or as a bathing suit for spas #10 - Up-to-date cell phone with international roaming; #11 - A credit card with no transaction fees; #12- Paper copies of all prescriptions you need and a basic toiletry supply to get started, everything else is easily available there; #13 - I use an iPad Mini for all guidebooks and reading material and you may want something equivalent; # 14- AND to dress up or down I actually have a travel blazer (with buttonable inside pockets) that is be worn on the flight or out on warm evenings alone or under the Goretex jacket. Like I say lots of folks on the forum post about their favorite travel things. Explore, Have fun. Don't sweat the small stuff.
Most grateful to the fellow travelers who shared their recommendations. This community is the BEST! HAPPY TRAILS
You have already received a lot of great advice, but I will add the packing tip from this forum that helped me the most. Use a kitchen scale and weigh things. I know it might sound over the top, but I found it really helped me to realize that one of my shirts weighed as much as 3 others. It all adds up and it helped me choose what to pack.
Using the kitchen scale is in no way over the top! All the airlines I’ve flown to Europe have weight limits for carry-ons, and some are pretty low (only 8 kg / 17.6 lbs for ITA!).
REI is our go-to for hiking pants, not all of which look like hiking pants. The REI brand is good, also Kuhl, Patagonia, and Marmot. I think they are mostly nylon with some spandex or other stretchy material. For tops, a lot of them are just basic athletic tees (or long sleeved ones too). They’re light and dry fast.
Don’t think of it as packing for a month. You’re packing for 7-10 days, and doing laundry along the way. Going to a laundromat can be a very interesting living-like-a-local experience!
Go to BassPro and buy 4 long-sleeved quick dry shirts and 3 pair quick dry cargo pants and 2 lightweight long sleeve thermal tops. Add to that a nice pair of grey trousers and a dark blue button up collard shirt. You will need something to sleep in and a weeks supply of skivvies and socks. On the plane i wear jeans and one of the 4 shirts. All this fits in my underseat bag. Oh I also wear a wrinkle resistant navy sports coat on the plane, but im an old fart.
