Sean’s Clothes

• Gray LLBean rain jacket

At first, Sean found the pockets to be awkward because they are up high.  The pockets double as the ventaliation, so the ventaliation is not as good as those jackets that unzip in the armpit.  However, the added benefit of the awkward pockets is that they are usable when you have your backpack on.  He gets somewhat hot in the jacket, but it keeps him dry.

• Black Reebok fleece

The fleece was cheap and nice and lightweight.  Five months in, it is holding up well.  It would be nice to have zipper pockets, but that is what you get with a $30 fleece.

• Gray LLBean Cotton/Coolmax cargo  pants
• Khaki LLBean Cotton/Coolmax cargo pants

These are a blend but feel more like cotton.  Other than the pockets being too shallow for safe storage, these pants work well.  They dry fast, don’t wrinkle much, and are a good cross between dressy and casual.

• Dark jeans sent home after 7 months

See my note on jeans – same idea applies, minus the custom tailoring!

• Gray Columbia technical shorts

Sean already owned these, and brought them because they dry super fast and are lightweight.  They also double as his swim trunks (because you know how heavy a separate pair of swim trunks are – eyeroll).

• Khaki Kuhl shorts/Cotton khaki cargo shorts

The Kuhl shorts would have been great.  They are a blend but feel soft like cotton.  Sean only wore these a few times became too big when he lost weight.  After an unsuccessful attempt to find shorts in the midst of the European man capris, he  found a cotton pair for $18 at Pick’n’Play (picture a South African Wal-Mart).  They don’t dry super fast, but they will do.

• Blue long sleeve Icebreaker t-shirt – 150 weight sent home after 7 months

Sean only wore this once and then decided he didn’t like the way it fit.  The shirts are very slim fitting on men.  I commandeered this shirt to wear to bed once we got to Ireland and South Africa.

• Red REI Sahara short-sleeve t-shirt
• Gray REI Sahara short-sleeve t-shirt

These polyester shirts almost feel like cotton, and are lightweight, moisture wicking, and very fast-drying.  They are holding up very well after six months.

• Blue LLBean short-sleeve polo shirt

The fabric feels more synthetic than the REI t-shirts, but still looks somewhat normal.  This shirt dries fast and fits loose, which is good for the warmer climates.  Having the collar makes it slightly dressier for going out to eat at night.  However, it started developing snags on the shirt after one or two washes, even though it was just handwashes.

• Green short-sleeve Icebreaker polo shirt

This shirt feels the dressiest of all and performs well.

• Orange plaid Ex Officio long sleeve technical button down shirt

This shirt is very lightweight and very fast drying with a super cool back vent.  Since Sean doesn’t like his long-sleeve Icebreaker shirt, this effectively has become his only long-sleeve shirt.  Unfortunately, the sleeves shrunk, so he usually has to roll up the sleeves anyway.  If it is cold, he usually just wears his fleece.

• 5 Ex-Officio boxer briefs

Expensive but worth it, I’m told.  You can usually find them a little cheaper on the Internet.

• Lightweight running shorts

Like me, Sean wears these for sleeping and lounging more than running.  They are so lightweight that they practically are dry once you wring them out.

• 5 gray smart wool short socks

Unlike me, Sean just thinks they are just okay and would have preferred to have brought socks that were a cotton or a blend.

• Gray gortex Vasque trail runners

They are not as comfortable as running shoes because they are more rigid.  But the Gortex feature is really nice for when it rains and they have held up well.

• Clarks leather strap sandals

After an initial breaking in period, they are very comfortable for walking.  They are holding up well after 6 months, except the footbed doesn’t seem to breathe properly.

• Baseball hat

Never worn so sent home early on.

• Prescription glasses
• Prescription sunglasses
• Black leather belt
• Titanium travel wedding ring

We bought this for under $20 off of etsy.com.

• G-shock watch