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When selecting clothing for interior camping, you have to consider their ability to protect you from the ... cold, moisture, bugs and sun.

As stated before, this section is intended for those involved in camping between early May and late October.

The clothing's various components are grouped as ...

HeadwearUnderwearMid-layersOuterwearFootwear

Headwear

It's said that in cold conditions you can lose more heat through your head than any other similar sized part of your body. By the same token, under hot conditions, you can easily overheat by inhibiting your head's ability to cool off.

Preferred hair styles for seasonal extremes ...

  • In winter, long, dense and hanging hair contributes to the warmth of your head and neck.

  • In summer, such hair builds-up heat by insulating your head and preventing the desired evaporation and cooling. A short haircut or tied-up hair (and the resulting exposed neck) helps reduce your temperature.

  • Side benefits to summer-time short hair include ... bothersome bugs have less places to hide and bite ... and you can go longer without washing your hair!

A cool hat for those hot sunny days on the lake or trail ...

  • Summer campers require a light colour, light weight, brimmed, cloth hat. Its light colour serves best to reflect the sun's rays away from your head and to cast cooling shade over your face, ears and neck.

  • The full-brim style of hat also allows you to function comfortably in a light rain without having water running over your glasses or down your neck.

  • In addition, this hat's 360 degree brim provides an encircling surface on which to apply insect repellant, should the bugs be attacking your head.

  • A baseball cap is a very poor second choice as it offers no shade to the ears or neck. While a "Foreign Legion" style cloth cover attached under the sides and rear of the rim provides shade, it traps hot air underneath and restricts the cooling process.

  • Someone wearing glasses can reduce behind-the-lens glare by making sure the part of their hat's brim located over their face has a flat-black, non-reflecting bottom surface.

A warm hat for those cool August nights and cold late season days ...

  • A woolen touque will definitely keep your head warm. However, touques are usually too bulky to be worn under a brimmed hat.

  • A woolen ear-covering head-band stands a better chance of fitting under a hat.

  • Another option is to layer-in a top with an attached light-weight hood (with draw-string) and crown it with your regular hat.