Mens travel clothing??

[Linney]

Prana Stretch Zion pants and shorts are worth looking into.

+1

My husband likes these as well. He tried them on in the REI Store last fall and then ordered online to get the correct inseam length. The Stretch Zion pants performed flawlessly on our recent trip to New Zealand -- comfortable, reasonably attractive, and could be laundered in the sink in a pinch. So comfortable, in fact, that he frequently wears them around the house and not just on trips.

 

[brett]

I have spent 8 snowbird winters traveling with 2 pr. of Kirkland Signature brand shorts. I love them and not only use them for hiking locally. Replaced them this year and next trip will tell how they wear. The Kirkland @$20 or so wore, lasted, and looked so much better than the $50. Nautica shorts that they replaced.

For snow bird trips I take one pair cotton slacks, two pairs of shorts, bathing suit, 3 pairs underwear, 2 pair sock, 4 shirts, sometimes 5, cotton sweater, nylon hooded waterproof shell. No problem. Took this to Portugal in June of last year and it was perfect for 5 weeks. I never wear those slacks that zip off to shorts. Do not like them.

Same for Europe in Sept/Oct (usually Greece/Turkey/Cyprus/Italy but we sometimes pick up a last minute Med cruise.

We have never had an issue having our clothes cleaned, finding a self serve or just rinsing them out in the sink. One of the reasons why we take lightweight/no wrinkle everything.

We both travel with international size carry on. Slightly smaller than NA size. About 38L. This is the common size on many regional airlines in Europe, SE Asia/Australia. We usually weigh at 7-8KG. On some regionals we actually pay more for carry on over, say 6KG, than we would to check the bag. But....we want our bag to travel with us. We have free bag check on most international flights. But we often do three legs so we always keep our bag with us.

My spouse actually changed her hair style for ease of travel and she is much happier with it. Easy care...like her clothing.

 

[2017ish]

....

My spouse actually changed her hair style for ease of travel and she is much happier with it. Easy care...like her clothing.

Same here. She misses the look of her longer hair at times, but after 6 years, has no desire to go back.

 

[brett]

One thing that we learned from other seasoned travelers relates to unpacking when you get home.

Take note of the things in your bag that you did not wear, or did not wear often enough justify packing them again. Replace them on your next trip with something else or simply delete them. We found this very helpful when we switched to carry on only.

 

[jollystomper]

When working for Megacorp, I had to travel so many times in a suit and tie, or business casual attire, that traveling in any other attire is comfortable .

I do not have any "special" travel clothes. What I wear around our home and community is what I pack. My clothes shopping these days in primarily stores like Walmart and Burlington Coat Factory, with occasional forays into Macys, Amazon, Costco, and a few specialty stores. My build makes it easy for me to find comfortable clothes.

I do try to dress neat and clean. Most of my clothes are poly/cotton blends. I started following the "rollup" method of packing and that does make a difference (besides, if staying in a hotel, they all have ironing boards these days, and I have used them since a kid so no worries ). There are good YouTube videos on how to pack a suit jacket or sports jacket into a suitcase, those are very helpful for packing when I have had to bring them.

As as been noted, the bigger travel clothing issue for me is not what to wear, but how much to bring. I have been working on "downsizing" how much I pack

 

[Koolau]

As as been noted, the bigger travel clothing issue for me is not what to wear, but how much to bring. I have been working on "downsizing" how much I pack

I always figure most places I go in the USA have a Goodwill or other resale shops. I can get what I want if I didn't bring enough. I always tell visitors to the Islands to pack light - very light. Pick up aloha wear at resale shops and, if necessary, buy a used suit case to ship it all home. YMMV

 

[Flyfish1]

I do try to dress neat and clean. Most of my clothes are poly/cotton blends. I started following the "rollup" method of packing and that does make a difference (besides, if staying in a hotel, they all have ironing boards these days, and I have used them since a kid so no worries ).

I haven't been traveling in a couple of years - but last time in Europe, Spain and Italy I never found an ironing board in a hotel room. Hopefully Australian hotels have ironing boards.

 

[OldShooter]

... I don't want to look like the tourist in the khaki/cargo pants with 24 pockets... I need trousers , sport coat, some shirts, etc ...

IMO that will make you look like a tourist who wears better clothes. Rubbernecking, strolling, taking pictures, studying maps, stopping to study GPS information, are all easily-recognized hallmarks of tourists. Locals are heads down, walking purposefully, not bothering to look at street name signs, ... etc. IMO if I am a tourist, I expect the locals to recognize that and I really don't care.

 

[mpeirce]

Been on 5 Viking cruises and never worn jacket and only seen a few worn--mostly by gents used to the bigger ships.
Only requirement for specialty restaurants is that men Must wear slacks--no cargos, shorts etc. Maitre will stop you at the door and send you back to room to change. Business causal does the job,

Right. No jeans at dinner.

On our last cruise a gentleman entering the dinning room in front of us had black jeans on and when he was asked to change, he got rather indignant.

The rules are pretty lax, but there are rules.

 

[brett]

IMO that will make you look like a tourist who wears better clothes. Rubbernecking, strolling, taking pictures, studying maps, stopping to study GPS information, are all easily-recognized hallmarks of tourists. Locals are heads down, walking purposefully, not bothering to look at street name signs, ... etc. IMO if I am a tourist, I expect the locals to recognize that and I really don't care.

Absolutely. Attempting to 'dress like a local' is pointless. The locals will spot you right off. Could be the cut of the clothing, loud voices, what you carry with you, footwear, hair style. Everything.

We were told by a bartender in Amsterdam how he could discern Americans who wore Canada pins. He said it was simple. Canadians tend to wear very small ones, Americans who wear a larger pin. Little things like that. That is even before anyone spoke.

Our European and British friends can tell a tourist in an instant. Same with our friends in OZ. Fairly obvious in SE Asia where we snowbird.

So...don't waste 2 seconds trying to dress to blend in. Wasted time and effort.

Besides....we really do not understand the point of it.

 

[Koolau]

I haven't been traveling in a couple of years - but last time in Europe, Spain and Italy I never found an ironing board in a hotel room. Hopefully Australian hotels have ironing boards.

What needs to ironed, if I may ask? When we travel, we take nothing but permanent press. Yes, I know, it wrinkles when you pack it. Mentioned earlier (here I think) you can relax the wrinkles by hanging the clothes out in your bath room during a shower. We got rid of our travel iron 40 years ago. YMMV

 

[Flyfish1]

Absolutely. Attempting to 'dress like a local' is pointless. The locals will spot you right off. Could be the cut of the clothing, loud voices, what you carry with you, footwear, hair style. Everything.

We were told by a bartender in Amsterdam how he could discern Americans who wore Canada pins. He said it was simple. Canadians tend to wear very small ones, Americans who wear a larger pin. Little things like that. That is even before anyone spoke.

Our European and British friends can tell a tourist in an instant. Same with our friends in OZ. Fairly obvious in SE Asia where we snowbird.

So...don't waste 2 seconds trying to dress to blend in. Wasted time and effort.

Besides....we really do not understand the point of it.

Wow this conversation derailed pretty quickly. I thank those who offered some brand names of good travel clothing. That’s what I was looking for.

Never said I was trying or hoping to blend in. Just to look good and was hoping the collective wisdom of this forum could offer suggestions , not criticism.

Moving on…

 

[Koolau]

Wow this conversation derailed pretty quickly. I thank those who offered some brand names of good travel clothing. That’s what I was looking for.

Never said I was trying or hoping to blend in. Just to look good and was hoping the collective wisdom of this forum could offer suggestions , not criticism.

Moving on…

File a complaint (in triplicate) with the mods. and adms. I'm sure you'll get your money back.

 

[brett]

Reducing what we packed was difficult.

In the end we bought two international size rolling carry ons. We were leaving for 2 months of winter travel in SE Asia/Australia.

We decided to take only what would fit in the bag. It forced us to make choices. It was challenging. When returned home we took note of what was in our respective bag that we did not wear enough. It was replaced on the next trip with what we wished we had brought. Think easy care, think layered, and no...you do not need all those shoes.

We have been doing this on both extended trips twice per year for the past 12 years. It has impacted what clothing we buy, it has made travel more enjoyable for us, made us more independent in terms of never requiring assistance with our bag or check it. We can pack and be our of the house in a very short timeframe. No need to start packing a week in advance. The night before works for me....as it did when I was traveling for business.

 

[tulak]

Regarding locals knowing you’re a tourist, this reminds me of a trip to the main tourist city in our native country. We were in a high tourist area, when my ex starting talking with a local at one of the tourist kiosks (he was selling handmade metal products).

He could tell that we weren’t from there, but my ex was talking with him in the native language with no accent which confused him. It took him a minute, but then he realized even though my ex was originally from there, she must be visiting from another country.

They can tell by clothing and mannerisms.

Personally, I don’t worry about travel clothing. I wear the same clothes at home as I do when I’m traveling.

 

[audreyh1]

We wear a lot of nylon clothing for birdwatching, going out hiking, etc. great for hot weather and works great for travel too. Easily layered. We also wear hats when outside for long periods. Pretty much marks us as tourists in Europe already, ha ha. Outside the Vienna Opera we were once asked if we were Australian, ha ha.

A lot of our clothing was ExOfficio. Lasts forever.

 

[mh]

My husband is a big fan of the Columbia button down shirts... both the PFG and the Omnishield. They are light weight, can be washed in a sink, and dry quickly.

Agree with Brett on the one pair of good walking shoes, and one pair of tevas sandals.
Agree also with carry on only. Pack a few pairs of pants, double the number of shirts, and layered outerwear. (We did a spring trip in Italy with a just light pullovers and windbreakers... layering worked.)

If you're worried about doing laundry - look into the laundry sheets - makes it super easy to do laundry in a sink.

Yeah laundry sheets are the way to go. The Columbia shirts are also good. I also use ex officio underwear because it sink washes and dries well overnight

 

[brett]

After a few trips you tend to get a good handle on what travel clothing is good for you. We only do carry on so we want something that will stand up to hand washing in a sink.

We live in the north. When we leave mid January for a few months in SE Asia or OZ we take a cab to the airport dressed in very light clothing. Not about to carry around heavy winter clothing for two or three months. At most I have a light cotton sweater. I took gloves and an ear band when we spent a winter in South America...only because we had included a cruise around the horn as part of our land trip.

 

[Koolau]

After a few trips you tend to get a good handle on what travel clothing is good for you. We only do carry on so we want something that will stand up to hand washing in a sink.

We live in the north. When we leave mid January for a few months in SE Asia or OZ we take a cab to the airport dressed in very light clothing. Not about to carry around heavy winter clothing for two or three months. At most I have a light cotton sweater. I took gloves and an ear band when we spent a winter in South America...only because we had included a cruise around the horn as part of our land trip.

Heh, heh, I remember doing this on a trip to Hawaii. ORD was cool, but we were dressed to arrive in HNL. On the return trip, of course, we were still dressed in our aloha wear. ORD was about 15 degrees and snow. The car did start okay, but it was really cold for a while as we shivered in our shorts and aloha shirts.

 

[jollystomper]

What needs to ironed, if I may ask? When we travel, we take nothing but permanent press. Yes, I know, it wrinkles when you pack it. Mentioned earlier (here I think) you can relax the wrinkles by hanging the clothes out in your bath room during a shower. We got rid of our travel iron 40 years ago. YMMV

Probably not much these days, but old habits die hard. My parents showed me how to iron from a young age, and the importance of looking neat and "smoothly" dressed regardless of what you wear. Old habits die hard . In college people were shocked that I ironed my clothes, including t-shirts. But it seemed to make an impression on the ladies at the time, including my future DW .

 

[Koolau]

Probably not much these days, but old habits die hard. My parents showed me how to iron from a young age, and the importance of looking neat and "smoothly" dressed regardless of what you wear. Old habits die hard . In college people were shocked that I ironed my clothes, including polo shirts. But it seemed to make an impression on the ladies at the time, including my future DW .

Well, then I guess it was worth it!


We had a trick in college where we would iron cuffs and collars and then wear a bulky sweater on top.

I guess your DW and mine were from different schools of thought. When I married DW, she gave away all my clothes that required ironing!

 

[jollystomper]

Well, then I guess it was worth it!:cool smiley:

We had a trick in college where we would iron cuffs and collars and then wear a bulky sweater on top.

I guess your DW and mine were from different schools of thought. When I married DW, she gave away all my clothes that required ironing!

I think she married me knowing that, since I could iron, and cook, and clean, and do wash, she would not have to do those things for me . I was (and still am) closer to the Felix Unger side of the scale, just nicer and handsomer .

 

[oiseux]

Late to the thread, but I've only ever bought "travel" clothes when on actual trekking. But from years of travel, I've found keeping it all dark (or darker colors) or all lights is helpful for laundry on extended trips. It probably was mentioned before, but combining Aus/NZ and Scotland can require a completely different set of weights (even that Aus/NZ trip can produce some large temp disparities north to south, seaside to mountains). So consider complementary color tones and mix/match layers for maximum flexibility. And shoes that can bridge between going out to dinner and walking around a town/city. I'm not a fan of "wrinkle-free" fabrics -- they can be stiff. Better are new blends (natural plus new synthetics) and pants with a little spandex, that don't crease up and roll well.

I've found in the last decade fashion styles have become more uniform worldwide, although shoes can be the biggest tell. Non branded clothing or international brands without obnoxious, large logos blend in best.

 

[Ronstar]

My travel clothes are the same as my at home clothes. Jeans, t shirts, hiking pants/shorts and hiking and running shoes. I vary the type of hiking pants dependent on weather.

 

[Powderjunkie]

Layers are crucial for traveling.

Shirts - a couple good high performance base short-sleeve shirts - something that easily wicks away sweat. Techwear from Patagonia, Arctyerx, Columbia, Orivs (drirelease) etc. along with merino wool based products from Smartwool, Icebreaker will suffice. I also like to pack long-sleeve merino wool-based layers from the same makers along with the non-wool options from Orvis (drirelease). Very comfy and will dry fast while giving me another layer option. If you are looking for beach/pool options maybe a highly UV rated long sleeve shirt from Pelalogic or Huk will fit the bill. These can also function as great outdoor activity shirts to protect from the sun.

Pants - I believe someone mentioned Kuhl - great options from them for pretty much everything (hiking, running, milling around town, etc.) I would also add the black yoga slack from Lululemon. Looks like a normal trouser. Super comfy, can wear to pretty much any formal/informal function and exercise in them. Easy to clean (like Kuhl) and will dry fast relative to jeans/denim.

Shoes - good walking/hiking/lifestyle shoe - Hoka has a few solid options along with a pair of sandals, preferable ones you could also walk/hike long distances in (e.g. TEVA, KEEN are some examples)

Jacket - nice merino wool - Smartwool, Icebreaker - they do a great job of regulating temperature. Depending on where I am going, I may throw in a rain/wind breaker shell. You can find all of the above in one jacket to lighten your load but I like having two separate jackets as it allows me to have more control over my layers. And lounging around (i.e. sitting on a 10 hr flight) feels more comfortable in a wool/synthetic jacket versus the windbreaker/water repellent shell IMHO.

Socks - no cotton. either a wool blend or synthetic blend. Bike socks are great - comfy and wil dry fast.