I guess it's all down to where one plans to spend time outside, even here in the little UK we have rather contrasting weather and rather contrasting geography. Where I am we do have quite a bit of tree cover, the deciduous woods are termed "oak rain forest" by ecologists, all rather wet and dreary
, but by and large it's open hill and moor. When the weather isn't back to front as it is at the moment, this is an extremely wet & windy place, all those second hand hurricanes and big atlantic fronts make it so. In winter all that is amplified by colder temperatures and long long nights (6 hours of daylight, or less on an overcast December day).
Even with a warm house and a car to get around in the weather can still be challenging, so clothing is a subject of much consideration, even just nipping out to the shops on a dirty day, as it is this morning.
I've spent quite a bit of time outside in my time working and to a degree living as well. After leaving home at 18 I had a couple of winter lets but spent most of my time living here in caravans, between trips abroad climbing/traveling where I lived in a tent, until I bought a house not long after I turned 26.
In that time, for a couple of years, "home" was a caravan in the woods, no power no running water. Heating was a little inadequate wood burning stove, fuel was cut and collected by hand, water came from a spring, light from a combination of candles and paraffin lanterns. No transport (didn't pass my test until I was 25
). So everything was carried on foot or on the thumb (often just foot) if going to say, the shops, usually in the wet.
In winter I'd leave for and return from work in the dark, so only the weekend to sort everything out around the place for the coming week in daylight. Daylight hours were usually spent fending off the weather at work. I worked in forestry, the fishing industry in summer and on the roads stabilizing miles of road side cliffs in winter, it was this work that got me off shore and into house buying wages.
Other than my lack of transport and perhaps a chainsaw, living like that wasn't that unusual at that time and there were quite a few of my contemporaries in the same boat, it was either that or move away to the city, or back in with the folks, most moved away. The lack of affordable housing is still an issue locally as it is in many other parts of the highlands, a year round let, even on a short term lease is still a rare covetable asset. I still have permission to shoot over that ground and to this day I have a special fondness for that spot but I think I'd find it hard going back to that lifestyle nowadays.
I basically wore the same type of clothing year round, the only thing that changed was the inclusion or exclusion of a base layer, depending on the time of year. I had a set of full hill gear for scottish winter/alpine summer climbing, but kept it just for climbing. No going to work the shops the pub walking over the hill to visit pals etc in my goretex gear, too expensive and actually not that practical or hardwearing enough. So when I wasn't up a mountain top I wore and carried the following day to day;
Summer:
Wool or cotton socks
Synthetic base layer top or cotton tee shirt, depending on the weather and tick potential
Fast drying hard wearing poly cotton trousers
Poly cotton shirt
HH pile jacket or wool sweater
Heavy PVC oilskin jacket
Nylon proofed over trousers for leisure, heavy PVC oilskin trousers for work
Walking boots for leisure, leather or rubber work boots for work.
Wool hat
35lt rucksack
Winter:
Wool socks
Synthetic base layer top and bottoms
Fast drying hard wearing poly cotton trousers
Poly cotton shirt wool sweater (sometimes two if proper cold in which case I'd leave out the shirt) and HH pile jacket
Heavy PVC oilskin jacket
Nylon proofed over trousers for leisure, heavy PVC oilskin trousers for work
Walking boots for leisure, leather or rubber work boots for work.
Wool hat and gloves
35lt rucksack
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