Ive seen a few post recently on the topic of wearing jeans, especially when out camping or walking.. So this is my views on the subject
Q.Firstly, why is it that a lot of associations like Mountain Rescue, Ramblers Association, and the such seem to have a problem with the said garments.
A. Denim is a heavy cotton weave material, and is rugged and hardwearing, and the favourites on those cowboy films, so why can cowboys wear them and not walkers, well simply its because they spend most of their time in a saddle and not walking! Denim is an ideal material in that kind of situation because of its wear resistance, and generally because at the end of the day most long cable drives have a support crew to set up a place where they can get a hot meal and a dry place to sleep and dry out wet clothes.
Denim being cotton naturally soaks up water, either sweat or rain water, this causes the fibres to swell, creating a slightly more abrasive (especially sweat, as this contains salt crystals)surface on your skin, ouch!
As the material absorbs water it becomes heavier and heavier, this extra weight (and it is quite a lot, have a go lifting some totally wet jeans to see that I mean) over a relatively short distance will start to effect those already tired muscles making those legs even more tired.
And of course the UK doesn't just rain, it is usually accompanied by the wind, which has a strong cooling effect on anything wet, and tired cold wet muscles do not perform well, and are more susceptible to knotting and cramping (this is why you should always warm up before undertaking strenuous exercise) and sods law says this is usually the case in a place that is remote, inaccessible, and at the most inconvenient of times, many try to struggle on making a bad situation worst to a point when the individual is no longer able to get themselves out of it without help, all this time the wind and the rain are compounding the situation by lowering the temperature of your now totally wet legs, this has a cooling effect on the blood traveling through those large vessels, which returns to the core a lot colder, and thus starts to lower your core temperature, which if allowed to continue, will in short order lead to hypothermia.
The more lighter walking trousers are designed to not absorb water into the actual fibres and this allows the material to dry very quickly. Even when saturated the material itself can still dry relativity easily with just body temperature, and the close weave gives some (but not total) protection from the cooling effects of the wind. It should also be noted that walking trousers are designed to be used with other outer layers that provide rain protection, and do not provide on their own an all round ideal solution.
However if the weather is fine and warm, without any chance of rain or you are just bumbling around a static camp then it really doesn't matter what you wear, but always keep an eye to the weather, especially in the UK.
I carry a towl for the dog so share your problem. Also cold wet feet is a serious NO NO for me.
