Does color matter (when buying gear)?

[timmus]

The question was about matching colors, right ? Well, I think matching colors (like matching curtains and bed cover) is totally unoriginal. So, no, I don't. I am always buying black anyway.

Black with black is not matching, it's just lazy.

The funniest thing, IMO, is couples with matching jackets and gear.

 

[the starchild]

title here

i pick colors/brightness depending what i am buying. No black or camo colored headlamps for me, same with stuff sacks. lx93, i really liked your comment about seeing your stuff if it rolled 20 feet downhill at night

i wouldn't try and match a pack color with a jacket. Unless i have a need, i just buy colors i like and in the end everything kinds matches in that special starchild way, but not for the sake of matching. although i have a green precip i think most every other jacket i bought has been red or yellow. not too bright, but more visable if needed than greens, blacks etc. i always get insulating layers in dark colors to get extra warmth.


if something i need only comes in one color, like it or not, its no big deal. i don't like purple too much, but my climbing shoes are purple, its all good.

oh yeah, my new crocks kick ass..... baby blue!

 

[Pete_Hickey]

perhaps I'm not the most fashionable person out there!

Then again, it can be important to look your best out there. You never know who you may run into, and you know what they say about first impressions.

Here I am, in my fall hiking outfit:

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/tmp/fashion.jpg

I do try to look my best. And here's the most amazing thing! Would you beleive that that shirt and pants cost me less than $10 for the whold co-ordinated outfit?

 

[iceNsnow]

Pete! I just gotta tell ya........

You look waaaaaaaaaay better in your 'axe outfit' than that getup!!
Actually, I can't believe you would even post that pic!

As for me, I wear all my biking gear - jerserys, jackets, gloves, arm warmers, headbands, shorts, sox, tights... Hey! You never know when one of your sponsors is going to be around the next bend in the trail, or at the top of some ledge just waiting to get an action shot in their gear!

 

[prino]

I agree with Slamdog and Pete.... If it's cheap and it fits, Buy It!

Nessmuk has it right about blue in blackfly season.. I've regreted wearing my Blue Polypro a couple of times.

 

[Lawn Sale]

Colors are supposed to match? I'm all about function before beauty, but maybe that's why I'm still single...

I'm not too picky when it comes to gear, as I often don't have much of a choice, but now I have enough to the point I can seem somewhat savvy.

 

[jade]

Hey! Whaddya mean black on black is lazy??....I wear all black--under and over and have for decades.....I'm picking up my new Osprey Atmos 25 tomorrow and it's red.....I don't like that particular red but I really like the pack....hmmm, maybe I'm changing..... To answer the question, yes, color is important.....to me...

...Jade

 

[Shewolf]

Like Blue, I'm a fan of blue...but, I don't purchase gear based solely on the fact that it comes in blue. First, I look for the gear that I want on sale and then if it still comes in blue..BONUS! However, I do give the blue stuff a rest when I'm hiking with the black flies. For those hikes, I wear a white coolmax shirt that will never truly be white ever again...It's seen too much Adirondack mud...

 

[MadRiver]

Since my gear usually does double and triple duty, I do tend to choose gear for the color and to a certain extent the cut of the gear. Now, if I could only find light-weight Herringbone Tweed life would be complete.

 

[Rick]

I am not particular about colors, I usually buy close-outs and being a big guy, can not usually find many choices. I do remember back when I had a green kayak I bought a red PFD and red spray skirt. I then later bought a red kayak so now my wife thinks I match nicely. (Where does Rick end and the kayak begin??)

Also Reminds me of a time when I was working at a gear store. A woman came in and wanted to buy new sleeping bags for a camping trip for her husband. I spent about an hour with her discussing temps, fills and styles, but she thought all of the colors we had in stock would "clash" with the tent, so she left without buying anything.

I still get a chuckle thinking about how much time she spent holding bags up against a tent that was the same color as hers (that we had on display) trying to find a match.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

The funniest thing, IMO, is couples with matching jackets and gear.

When I see that, I always assume there was a sale at WallMart.

 

[Bob Kittredge]

Now that we are coming into that season, do this experiment...
Take a break while hiking and put something blue down on the ground.
Put something else of similar size, any color but blue next to it.
Count the number of black flies (if you can count that high) on the blue item compared to the other color. Your observation will make you never wear blue in the late spring woods ever again.

This goes for green-head flies on the Cape as well. I showed up for a canoe trip through the Nauset Marsh in bright blue water shoes and was told that greenies are attracted to blue. I was scratching my ankles for days.

That said, color is about the last thing I consider when buying gear, as my wife will sadly attest.

 

[Jay H]

Some things color may make sense:

1)light colored pants makes tick spotting easier
2)light colored hats are cooler in the sun
3)certain colors are more visible than others.
-Although the above has more concern for me when biking or kayaking than I do when hiking, for emergency reasons, it might be somewhat wise to have visible colored rain shells that you could use for emergency. Cycling, I will buy yellow rain shells (marmot precip) to be visible in the rain. Kayaking, I will buy yellow PFDs, my kayak is yellow for visibility on the water. Some even go for a yellow hull so when your kayak is upside down, it will be easier to spot, but unfortunately, most hulls typically are white (including mine) which is hard to spot in the water.

Jay

 

[Blue]

When I see that, I always assume there was a sale at WallMart.

For the record, there was a sale at REI and we try not to wear them at the same time.



Edit : Oh, and for whatever reason, black flies and most bugs stay away from me regardless of the color I'm wearing.

 

[Chip]

LNT will tell you not to display the visual impact of bright colors unnatural to your surroundings.

Are you serious ? VISUAL impact ? Don't take this wrong, I'm not attacking you, Nessmuk, this just seems over-the-top. Ever try hitching back to your car after a long hike wearing Camo ? It ain't easy. Ever "misplaced" a 9 year old in the woods ? Or a dog ?
Guess which two are mine. I hike through areas where hunting is encouraged. There is an open season for something (primarily coyote) all year. Brighter is better in the woods for me and mine; yellow, orange, red. If muted tones are on sale, I'd pay a bit more for something brighter. Plus I wear a white shirt, tie, and muted tone suit all week, so I cut loose in the woods.

IMHO, YRMV, FWIW, etc.

 

[dvbl]

I was looking at backpacks a few years ago in the local gear shop. An employee approached me, saw the pack I was checking out, and said, "You know light blue packs are chick packs, right?" I replied that I knew that (even though I didn't), said I was checking it out for my wife, and then I think we talked about weight lifting, beer-chugging, and monster-truck rallies. Kidding about the last part, but it never occured to me that light blue packs were for the ladies. Is that true?

Saw a TV show about Alaska, and a park ranger said (only half joking) you should always wear an orange life jacket when kayaking in Alaska...it makes it easier for the rangers to locate the body.

 

[KayakDan]

For backpacking(mostly winter) black seems to be the majority. Dark Blue for an outer shell..lot's of dark fleece,black windpants.Maybe it just looks warmer? And wherever possible its MH gear-and of course Mrs KD and I wear matching gear. Of course now we spend alot of time looking at labels trying to figure out whose is whose!

As our friend Dave April from EMS once said" I don't know if you guys know what the heck you're doing out here....but you look damned good doing it!"

 

[MadRiver]

The funniest thing, IMO, is couples with matching jackets and gear.

Guilty! EMS was having a closeout sale on anoraks and the only two left in our sizes were both green. Wifey ended up giving hers to her nephew. Problem solved.

 

[carole]

Funny, I thought more would 'fess up'. I'll have to go back and look at the many winter photos that everyone posts.

 

[Puck]

Funny, I thought more would 'fess up'. I'll have to go back and look at the many winter photos that everyone posts.

I have never been able to match my clothes from kindergarten to now. I am so happy that don't make poka dot backpacks and plaid hardshells.