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Originally Posted by Alchemist2000
[....] Now that it has gotten hot, we still spray our socks and boots, but have switched to Buzz-Off nylon hiking pants which are professionally impregnated with permethrin. The Buzz-Off pants are rather pricey, but save the hassle and extra chemical exposure of all of the spraying. Spraying, especially for something as absorbent as jeans, requires 2-4 hours of drying time and LOTS of permethrin spray, which itself is pretty expensive. We have been doing this for the last several years and have had very good results. The do-it-yourself spray reportedly lasts for two weeks or one washing (actually I think it lasts longer if you store the clothes in a dark plastic bag). The Buzz-Off supposedly lasts for a year or 25 washings.
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I've read a little about the permethrin-treated clothing -- the U.S. military has long been manually treating its combat utility uniforms with insecticide/repellents, and they're looking into
pre-treating combat utility uniforms soon (if they're not already; the linked article is from September 2004).
I've never owned any pre-treated clothing, but I can certainly see its viability for deployed servicemen and women. Hunters and active outdoors enthusiasts in bug-prone areas have had access to this type of clothing for some time now, so it's about time the military got on board. It's got to be cheaper in the long haul than (as the article shows) trying to find conditions, space and manpower to manually treat numerous uniforms while on deployment.
I'm fairly certain Campmor, REI and Orvis, among others, sell some clothing pre-treated in this manner. I don't know how it compares in cost and overall durability to other specialized outdoor gear, but it's worth looking into for those out in bug-ridden conditions a lot. Reminds me of the clothing with sunscreen type properties built in to it -- lightweight, breathable and lightly colored, but woven in such a way as to greatly reduce sun exposure through the material.
So far, about the only specialized clothing I own for my outdoor excursions is a good pair of backpacking boots (Vasque Sundowners for Women; full grain leather, non-GoreTex treated since the leather's sufficient), a "new" (purchased after my knee surgery in February) pair of GoreTex trail running/day hiking shoes, and a good Gore-Tex rain jacket Justin bought me as an anniversary gift several years ago. I also have some old but still reliable silk undergarments for my base layer. Eventually, I'd like to get some zip-off leg hiking pants (adjustable to shorts, in other words) and, maybe, some Gore-Tex rain pants if I ever get to where I'm backpacking and might get caught out in a true rainstorm that'd soak me to the gills.
The cool thing about gear is there's no shortage of it and it's constantly evolving. But even the best gear is useless if one forgets to bring it along, or it's too heavy or cumbersome to carry often. I've done the old trash bag with arm and head holes cut out as a "rain jacket" in a pinch before, and other than sweating like a stuffed pig underneath it, it does the job in lieu of nothing else!
My next gear purchase isn't going to be clothing, however; it's going to have to be a CF (carbon fiber) tripod. Traditional tripods just weigh too darn much, even when lashed properly to a backpack.