What to Wear Hiking: Gear Planner

Most advice on what to wear hiking is a list you have to translate to your own trip. This planner starts from your trip instead: the forecast at the trailhead, how high you climb, what is underfoot and whether you will scramble or wade. It works out how cold the top will really feel, then gives you footwear, layers, pack, poles and safety kit, each with the reason it made the list.

How the Planner Decides

Before it recommends anything, the planner works out five numbers. They are shown above your gear list, so you can check its reasoning against what you know about the trail.

• Moving time. Book time: a fixed cost per mile plus 30 minutes for every 1,000 feet300 metres of climbing, slowed for rough ground, scrambling and heavy packs. It is the same model as our Hiking Time Calculator, so the two tools agree about the same hike.
• Temperature at the top. Air cools with height, by an average of about 3.6°F per 1,000 feet6.5°C per 1,000 metres in the lower atmosphere. Dry air can cool faster, up to about 5.5°F per 1,000 feet.9.8°C per 1,000 metres. The planner uses the average.
• The coldest you will feel. On exposed routes, the planner applies the National Weather Service wind chill formula to the coldest air you will meet. The formula is only defined at or below 50°F10°C with wind above 3 mph,5 km/h, so it stays out of the way on warm or calm days.
• UV at the top. The World Health Organization puts the increase at about 10% for every 3,300 feet1,000 metres of altitude, and notes that fresh snow almost doubles your exposure.
• The terrain. What is underfoot, how much scrambling there is and whether you wade decide the footwear, traction and poles more than the weather does.

Clothing is then chosen for the coldest temperature you will feel, not the average for the day. That is the number that decides whether you are comfortable at a windy summit or at the first long stop.

Footwear Comes First

Footwear gets the first slot in every list because it changes the hike more than any other choice, and it is the gear we test most: every shoe type below links to the category we review, and our test process explains how. Here is what the planner picks in twelve common situations. The table is generated by running the planner itself, so it always matches the tool.

Two patterns run through it. Waterproof linings earn their place in cold wet conditions and lose it in heat and in water deep enough to come over the top. And boots are the answer to specific problems (cold, snow, heavy loads, weak ankles, loose rock), not the default. For the long version of that argument, read hiking boots vs trail runners.

How Hiking Layers Work

Every clothing list the planner gives you is built from three layers, and each one has a single job.

• Base layer. Next to your skin, it moves sweat away so you stay dry. Merino wool stays warm when damp and resists odor on multi-day trips. Synthetic fabric dries faster, lasts longer and usually costs less. Either beats cotton.
• Mid layer. It traps warm air. A fleece breathes while you move; an insulated jacket is for stops and cold summits. Down gives the most warmth for its weight but stops insulating when wet, while synthetic insulation keeps working damp and dries faster.
• Outer layer. It blocks wind, rain and snow. A light wind shell covers dry, breezy days; rain needs a waterproof jacket.

The system only works if you adjust it as you go. Start a little cold, because you warm up within 10 to 15 minutes of climbing. Take a layer off before you sweat into it, not after, since damp layers chill you at the summit or the first long break. Put the warm layer on the moment you stop, while you still feel warm. A hat and gloves are the quickest adjustment of all: on first when you cool down, off first when you heat up.

What to Wear Hiking at Every Temperature

Here is the planner's output for a moderate day hike on a sheltered, maintained trail, where the temperature is the only thing that changes. Use it as a baseline, then run the tool with your own route: altitude, wind and rain move you down this table fast.

Frigid and Freezing

Below 32°F,0°C, everything is about keeping insulation dry. Wear a heavyweight base layer, carry a warm insulated jacket for every stop and cover your ears, hands and face. Insulated waterproof boots and thick merino socks keep your feet working, and microspikes belong in the pack in case the trail ices.

Cool

Between 32°F0°C and 50°F,10°C, you will be too warm climbing and cold the moment you stop. A midweight base layer with a light fleece you take on and off handles both. This is also the band where rain turns dangerous, so a real rain jacket comes with you even when the forecast is only cloudy.

Mild

From 50°F10°C to 70°F,21°C, most hikers move comfortably in a lightweight T-shirt and quick-dry pants or shorts, with a light fleece for breaks and an ultralight shell in case. It is the easiest band to overdress for: start slightly cold.

Warm and Hot

Above 70°F,21°C, the job changes from staying warm to shedding heat and blocking sun. Wear the lightest wicking top you own, a wide-brimmed hat and breathable trail runners, and carry more water than feels necessary. Our Hydration Calculator works out how much, and our summer hiking clothing guide goes deeper on heat.

When the Rules Change

Above Treeline

Leave the trees and three things arrive together: wind, stronger sun and colder air. A summit 3,000 feet900 metres above the trailhead averages about 11°F6°C colder before any wind chill. Pack the shell and warm layer even when the valley is warm, and wear sunglasses and sunscreen even when it is cool.

Cold Rain

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that hypothermia can set in above 40°F4°C when rain, sweat or cold water chills you. That is why the planner treats a wet forecast below 50°F10°C as the point where waterproof layers stop being optional, drops cotton entirely, and steers you away from down as your only warm layer.

Snow and Ice

Packed snow and ice call for microspikes over a waterproof boot. Deep snow calls for snowshoes, tall gaiters and a winter boot they can strap to. Steep snow and ice is a different sport: mountaineering boots, crampons and an ice axe, plus the training to stop a fall. Our guide to crampons vs microspikes explains where one ends and the other begins.

Scrambling

Once you climb with your hands (Class 3 and up on the Yosemite Decimal System), sticky rubber matters more than deep lugs, so the planner switches to approach shoes, asks you to stow your poles and adds a helmet wherever rock can fall from above.

Water Crossings

Any shoe fills up when you wade. A waterproof lining then keeps the water in, which is why the planner picks sandals or draining mesh shoes for wading routes and skips the membrane. Unclip your hip belt and sternum strap before each crossing so you can get out of the pack if you fall.

What to Leave at Home

Every list ends with things to leave behind, because overpacking costs you on every mile. The ones that come up most:

• Cotton. T-shirts, jeans and hoodies hold sweat and dry slowly. In cool, wet weather that is how hypothermia starts.
• Heavy boots on a maintained trail. On smooth ground in mild weather they add weight to every step and protect against nothing you will meet.
• A waterproof lining in dry heat. It traps sweat, and your feet end up damp anyway.
• Down as your only warm layer in the wet. Wet down stops insulating. Choose synthetic, or keep the down sealed dry.
• A bigger pack than the trip needs. Spare volume fills up with things you do not use.

The Ten Essentials Still Apply

The planner flags the essentials your conditions make urgent, but the full list from The Mountaineers belongs in every pack: navigation, a headlamp, sun protection, first aid, a knife and repair kit, fire, an emergency shelter, and extra food, water and clothes. Our day hike packing list turns that into a printable checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I wear boots or trail runners for hiking?

Trail runners for most warm, dry, maintained trails, and boots when the hike has a specific problem boots solve: cold below freezing, snow, a heavy overnight load on rocky ground, weak ankles or loose scree. Enter your route in the planner and it will tell you which side of that line you are on.

Do I need waterproof hiking shoes?

Only when the ground is wet and the air is cool, roughly below 60°F.16°C. In warm, dry weather a membrane traps sweat, and when you wade it holds the water in. That is why the planner sometimes recommends skipping it.

How much colder is it at the top of a mountain?

On average about 3.6°F for every 1,000 feet6.5°C for every 1,000 metres you climb, before wind chill. The planner shows the warmest-hour temperature at your high point above the gear list, so you can see the difference for your own route.

What should you not wear hiking?

Cotton, above all, because it stays wet and cold. Also skip heavy boots on easy trails, waterproof linings in dry heat and down jackets as your only insulation in the rain.

How We Built This Planner

The planner is a set of written rules, not a black box, and every rule traces back to a published source or to the footwear categories we test. Three things keep it honest:

• One model per question across the site. Moving time uses the same book-time model as our Hiking Time Calculator and Hiking Calorie Calculator, and clothing uses the same six temperature bands and the same wording as our Trail Layering tool.
• Tested before publishing. The rules were run through every combination of climate, precipitation, terrain, scrambling, water, trip length and tree cover at four temperature pairs, 90,720 combinations in all, and checked for gaps and contradictions. The clothing rules were compared line by line with the layering tool across 10,656 combinations.
• Limits stated. It is guidance, not a forecast. Temperatures at the top are averages, daylight is estimated for mid-latitudes, and no gear list replaces a mountain forecast, an avalanche bulletin in snow, or turning around.

Last reviewed September 2026. Spotted a rule that does not match your experience on the trail? Tell us, and read our editorial standards for how we handle corrections.

Sources

• National Weather Service, Wind Chill Chart and formula.
• Encyclopaedia Britannica, normal (environmental) lapse rate, and the National Weather Service glossary entry on lapse rates.
• World Health Organization, Radiation: ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
• US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing Hypothermia.
• The Mountaineers, What Are the Ten Essentials?
• Schwameder H. et al. Knee joint forces during downhill walking with hiking poles. Journal of Sports Sciences 17(12):969-978, 1999.
• ISO 12312-1:2022, Sunglasses for general use (lens categories and the driving restriction for category 4).
• Appalachian Mountain Club, White Mountain Guide, for book time.

More Trail Tools

• Hiking Time Calculator
• Hiking Calorie Calculator
• Hydration Calculator
• Backpack Weight Calculator
• Trekking Pole Height Calculator
• Elevation Grade Calculator