When we were backpacking this summer, we were travelling a lot (as you do) and we had to carry everything we had with us. We really wanted to pack as lightly as we could – this is pretty hard. Especially when travelling from the cold Fjords of Norway, through a lot of Europe, up and across the High Tatras, part of the Carpathian Mountain Range and the only place in Europe where real Sherpas still work! – to the scorching summer heat of Dubrovnik and Croatia’s islands. In order to save weight, we decided to pack very little clothing and just do a lot of hand washing!
It was easily the right decision and if anything I wish I’d left a couple of garments at home. When you’re lugging your pack around or carrying it up a mountain in Slovakia, you wish it was as light as possible – even at the sacrifice of fashionable variety.
After much deliberation I decided to take just three T-shirts! This will explain why I’m basically wearing the same couple outfits in all of my summer travel photos! Of course, this makes your choices of clothing ultra important. I needed clothes that would cope with a summer of adventuring, hiking, city slicking and regular washing!
If you’ve ever looked into ‘travel clothing’ it wont suprise you that the market is dominated by the colours khaki and beige. Most travel wear has been designed to keep you cool whilst making you look as uncool as possible! I can never understand why brands think that the moment people get out their passport or board a plane they want numerous unnecessary pockets all over their clothing!
That’s why I was super happy to discover the brand Sherpa Adventure Gear. They use the latest technical materials and designs to create authentic gear designed to deliver safety, comfort and style when trekking, travelling and exploring the worl. Best of all they test their garments in the Himalayas to ensure they work as well as intended.
Sherpa Pokhara Shorts Review
For our travels I got a pair of Sherpa Pokhara Shorts. The Pokhara shorts get their name from the second largest city in Nepal. The thing that really drew me to them is the styling. These are a pair of shorts that look good in cities and on the trail. They have a simplistic styling that goes with almost anything. I really liked the grey colour (Kharani) for this, although they also do a really nice blue colour.
They are made from a blend of polyester, cotton and spandex, which gives them excellent stretch and makes them brilliant for walking and climbing as you have a great range of movement. They were my number one choice for climbing up to mountain summits for this reason and you can spot them in lots of my summit photos!
They have the standard two curved side pockets that every pair of trousers or shorts has but they also have two other subtle and useful pockets. There is one on the right hand side at the back and one on the right hip. They both have a slim line zip which I found really useful for stashing bits and pieces when out hiking or a phone / wallet when in places that were more urban!
Sherpa Kimti Tee Review
To go with the Pokhara Shorts and basically everything else I was taking I got a Sherpa Kimti Tee. What was most important about this T shirt was that it is made of ‘dri-release’ – Sherpa’s fabric which is impressive as it has the feel and movement of cotton but has the moisture-wicking and odour-neutralising performance that you often find in more synthetic feeling fabrics.
I have warn clothing that probably has a slightly better performance but they were all had a very synthetic material and their tees all look very shiny and the fabric doesn’t look anything like a regular t shirt. Sherpa’s dri-release is by the far the best fabric in terms of balancing mountain performance with a feel that is as tactile and behaves like a regular cotton t shirt. In cities and towns, this tee never made me look out of place or like I was about go hiking; I could wear it in a bar in Berlin and not stand out as a traveller.
When in really hot countries or when climbing mountains that almost double the height of anything we have in the UK, I wanted to make sure I had a tee shirt that could handle heat and would keep me feeling dry and comfortable whilst at my most active. What is even better is that these qualities are built into the fabric so they wont wash out and the garment wont need to be treated in the future to preserve it.
I really love both of these Sherpa garments. They stood up to our travels brilliantly and every day on the trail or travelling was further improved by the comfort and confidence I got from wearing Sherpa’s clothing.
