Are you planning a few outdoor activities for your next campervan adventure but are wondering what you should wear to feel comfortable while being outdoors? I was in your situation a few years ago. After discovering the right outerwear for me, I felt a lot more free and comfortable while doing an active holiday.
In this article, I will show you what we usually pack for our adventures to hopefully guide you in picking the right clothing. So, that being said, I have broken this article into the following layers:
- The under layer - The undies that we wear
- The first layer - For those hot hours
- The second layer -For when it starts to get chilly
- The third layer - For when it's cold and/or raining
- The city outfit - For the urban look
- The footwear - For multi use
In each layer, I will also talk about some variations to the outfits that you can consider.
We cannot tell you how many times we have seen people underestimating nature and hiking with flip flops or soft running shoes on hard terrain. Yeah, it might be possible, but you could get seriously injured by not wearing the proper footwear.
Additional to proper footwear, you should consider taking clothes that are meant to be worn outside. These will sometimes come with UV protection, and their fabric makes it easy for you to move around and for sweat to dry quickly.
If you are an adventurous soul like us, it would be a shame for you to miss great hikes or any other outdoor activity just because you are not prepared with the right outfits.
Let's get into it!
Layers, layers, layers
You have probably heard it or read it before: 'it all comes down to layers'. This is very true, and we won't tell you any different here at RTE.
Being outdoors means that you have to be prepared for any kind of weather. For example, I once hiked up a mountain in Romania on a very hot and sunny day. By the time we reached the summit, some clouds were approaching fast. In a matter of 10 minutes, a storm started, and hail began to fall from the sky. We all had to rush down back to our campground because we were not quite prepared for such a drastic change in the weather.
In this adventure, I was with a friend. She had running shoes that got soaked, and she hurt her toes a bit by hitting some rocks on the way down. I, on the other hand, had hard hiking boots that helped me quickly get down without getting hurt or wet feet.
So again, it is important to have the appropriate shoes and clothing for the activity that you are planning and to be able to layer up or down as temperatures drastically change. You need to be as versatile with your clothing as nature can be with its funky weather sometimes.
This article is meant for spring, summer or fall trips. Winter trips are out of scope, cause those might require clothes that look like this 😉:
So, let's start with the layers.
The under layer for being active
1. Sports Bra: I definitely recommend you wear a sports bra while being active and outdoors. It is so much more comfortable than a regular bra, and it absorbs sweat better.
⚡️We have a mix of sports bras from Nike and Adidas.
2. Sports underwear: When I discovered these, I was ecstatic. They absorb sweat pretty well, are super comfortable for hiking and climbing up on rocks. If you can get your hands on these or similar sports underwear, I highly recommend them.
⚡️We buy our active underwear from Odlo.
3. Socks: Being active outdoors usually requires a lot of walking. For this, we recommend you get high-quality socks that will feel comfortable in your shoes during those long days. Having good socks in combination with adequate shoes will prevent you from getting blisters. You can get so many variations of socks. There are socks that provide more support for your ankle, super-thin for summer days, thicker for winter days, high for high shoes, and so much more. Finding socks can be a science on its own.
⚡️We totally recommend Falke. All of our sports socks are from them.
The first layer for those hot days
4. Hat (optional): Some people like to wear them while others don't. In case of very hot and sunny days, wearing a hat will help you protect your skin and eyes from those UV rays. Especially in a place like Australia, where the ozone layer is thinner and therefore more UV rays get through. This causes extreme heat under the sun when it's only 23°C / 73°F.
⚡️I am the one that mostly wears hats and I love mine from Patagonia.
5. Sunglasses: You should definitely pack some sunglasses to wear during your outdoor activities. Not just any sunglasses, but good quality ones. These will protect your eyes from the UV rays and prevent you from squinting. Squinting can cause stress on your face, and sometimes this stress can go down to the neck and can cause some discomfort. We take two pairs of sunglasses with us. Our 'city' sunglasses and our 'sports' sunglasses.
We use our sports sunglasses while we are hiking because they have wider lenses and they protect the eyes a bit better when there is intense sun. Also, these don't slide down the nose when we sweat.
⚡️Our city glasses are from Ray Ban and our sports ones from Adidas.
6. Shirts: You should determine the number of shirts to pack based on the number of activities you will do, how warm it will be, and how much you usually sweat. For example, if I'm not being very active, I can generally wear a shirt more than once. In other cases, if I do a half-day hike, I know that I won't be able to wear that shirt again.
We recommend using sports shirts or hiking shirts for your outdoor activities. Some of the hiking shirts have UV protection and/or mosquito repellant. The biggest pro of wearing these kinds of shirts is that they absorb sweat and dry super fast. The fabric is very breathable, so you won't have that aggravating feeling of wearing cotton on a hot day.
⚡️We buy our sports shirts from Nike, Adidas, Asics or Odlo. We buy our hiking shirts from Jack Wolfskin, Mammut, Columbia and The North Face.
7. Shorts: You can wear shorts directly or use zip-off pants.
If you are planning a small hike of maybe 2 - 4 hours in a desert area, like Joshua Tree, for example, then you can totally wear shorts from the start. Especially if you are visiting during the dry season.
If you are planning a long hike where you start in the early hours of the morning and will only finish in the late afternoon, then taking zip-off pants are a really good choice.
You can wear long pants during the chilly hours of the morning, and when the sun starts to get too hot, you can unzip the bottom part of the pants and have shorts. The parts that you take are super compact and fit anywhere in your backpack.
⚡️Our zip-off pants are from The North Face and meru, my favorite hiking shorts are from Eddie Bauer.
8. Hiking Boots: As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, it is important to have the right footwear for those outdoor activities. We talk more about our boots below.
Alternative first layer for mild temperature
In the picture below, there is a variation of the first layer for those mild-temperature days. Yvonne is wearing one of those long-sleeve hiking shirts I mentioned above and long hiking pants.
⚡️Yvonne's hiking pants are from Norrøna and mine are from Fjällräven.
Second layer for those chillier moments
When the temperature starts to get chilly, you can start layering up with:
11. Buff: This small piece of fabric is so convenient. You should definitely pack a buff for your adventures. I mainly use it as a scarf, but it can be used in 11 other ways, including a hairband, cap, face mask, and hair tie. According to their website, their products have UPF 50 Sun protection as well.
12. Fleece (optional): It can be a fleece or a hoodie. Again, it depends on the temperature of where you are at. You could wear a thin hoodie to a warm fleece. If it's not that cold and you just need some protection from wind, then you can skip this layer and jump to the third layer below.
⚡️My fleece is from Pro Alps. I bought it in a small shop in Austria while skiing. I cannot seem to find it anywhere online. Yvonne's fleece is from Picture, a super cool sustainable brand from France.
Third layer for the early mornings and evening hours
13. Beanie: Perfect for those windy or chilly morning/evenings. It protects the ears from the cold wind, and if you have short hair like me, it will protect your neck.
⚡️I am the only one of the two who actually wears beanies on our road trips. Mine is from Two Thirds Ocean. This is an amazing sustainable brand from Spain.
14. Windproof / waterproof jacket: This is by far, in my opinion, one of the most important and versatile items to pack. I never travel anywhere without my windproof/waterproof jacket. I've had mine for 6+ years, and it has been a lifesaver everywhere. It's perfect for protecting you from rain and wind.
⚡️Both of our windproof/waterpfoof jackets that we absolutely love are from Jack Wolfskin.
15. Vest: A very versatile piece of clothing that you can pack is a light down vest. It protects your chest from chilly days. You can wear it on top of a long sleeve shirt, hoodie or t-shirt. It is perfect as it is an excellent in-between layer to use when it's too cold without a fleece yet too warm to wear a fleece.
⚡️Jens vest is from a German eco bike wear brand called Triple2
Extra outfit for the campfire
If the campground allows it, it is such an amazing experience to end a day of adventures with a campfire under an ocean of glittering stars. If we get the chance to light up a fire, we put on our campfire clothes.
Our campfire clothes consist of a comfy t-shirt and a warm long sleeve shirt. The reason why we use different shirts is that the smoke of the campfire can really penetrate the fabric. We prefer to only have that smokey smell on one set of clothes and not on all other clothes we use.
We also use this outfit for chillin' once we have settled in the place where we will spend the night at or for those really long days of driving.
For those city days
Now we know that not all activities in a campervan road trip are done out in nature. So we also pack some urban clothes to be able to stroll around cities and go out for dinner at restaurants without feeling like total outdoor geeks with our hiking pants and shirts 🤓.
What do we pack for our active campervan road trips?
If we have around 8 activities planned in a two-week trip (15 days) with some city visits, we generally pack per person:
For outdoor activities
- 3 sports bras
- 4 sports underwear
- 3 pairs of socks
- 1 hat
- 1 beanie
- 2 pairs of sunglasses
- 3 - 4 sports shirts
- 1 long sleeve hiking shirt
- 1 zip off pants
- 1 normal hiking pants
- 1 pair of hiking shorts
- 1 buff
- 1 fleece
- 1 jacket
For chillin'
- 2 t-shirts
- 1 warm long sleeve shirt
- 1 sweat pant or equivalent (we also fly in)
For the city
- 1 hoodie
- 1 pair of jeans
- 1 pair of shorts
- 3 - 5cotton shirts
- 1 normal bra
Extras
- 1 bikini
- 1 swimming goggles
- 1 tank top
- 1 quick drying towel
- 1 short for running
- 2 set of PJs
- lip balm
- sunscreen
If you would like to learn to pack like a master, check out Yvonne's article regarding this topic. She is a master in packing and has really great tips for you.
What shoes do we pack for our active road trips?
You might have noticed in our pictures that we have different kinds of shoes on. Picking the right shoe for the right activity is very important. We would recommend going to an outdoor shop that sells shoes and talking with an expert on what type of shoe is ideal for your type of foot and type of activity you have in mind.
For outdoor activities, we have three types of shoes at home:
1. The sturdy shoes: These are low heel Gore-Tex (waterproof) shoes with a hard tip and hard sole to handle some tough terrain.
2. The sturdy boots: These are like the ones above, but high-heal. The high heal provides a bit more support to the foot in tougher hikes.
⚡️Both of our sturdy shoes and boots are from Salomon, especially on the sturdy shoes we love the quick lace system.
3. The hardcore boots: These are our ultimate hiking boots. They are made for tough terrain like hiking the Alps and Kilimanjaro.
⚡️Our hardcore boots are leather boots from Meindl.
When we travel we usually pack four kinds of shoes:
1. Our hiking shoes: We define the kind of hiking shoes we take, depending on the type of hikes we have planned. In the case of our trip through the US, we packed our sturdy boots because we planned to do a hike in The Grand Canyon. In the case of Australia, we only took our sturdy shoes because we did not plan a high-intensity hike.
2. Our running shoes: we always take our running shoes with us. We can use these shoes for exploring a city, and of course, to go running every once in a while.
3. Flip-flops: Taking your shoes off after a long walk and sliding them into soft and comfy flip-flops is amazing. Plus, flip-flops are ideal for going to the beach and using public showers.
4. Water shoes (optional): If we have a water activity planned, like kayaking or going to a rocky beach, we take our water shoes with us. We once used them to do a rocky river walk in Spain.
Washing clothes on a campervan road trip
We discovered this washing bag called Scrubba Wash Bag, and we love it! We have also used this as a dry bag for when we go kayaking.
With this wash bag, we have been able to quickly wash our clothes. We usually pack our sports detergent in a small container to use for this. The process of washing clothes is really straight forward.
After washing with the bag, we use our compact cloths line from Sea to Summit to hang our clothes. And since our clothes are mostly activewear, they tend to dry quite fast.
We hope this article has helped you determine what items to consider when planning an active road trip with a campervan.
If you have any questions or want to share what clothes you pack for your adventures, please let us know in the comments below. We would love to hear from you.
