Best Outdoor Garb for Good Looks, Utility

It's also more durable; these clothes are essentially tear-proof. And gear today is really, truly -- almost miraculously -- waterproof. Storms are now almost a pleasant diversion from the heat of the day.

Brand-spanking-new for this year are even lighter, even more waterproof fabrics.

W.L. Gore and Associates, maker of the ubiquitous Gore-Tex line of breathable waterproof fabrics, has come to market with a new riff on its category-leading wovens called Pro Shell. Better clothing makers are fitting it into their lines.

And though I like what established high-end gear producers such as Mountain Hardwear and Cloudveil are doing here, they pale next to the collection from a company called Arc'teryx.

In terms of style and function, its Alpha line of jackets and pants (prices start at roughly $450 and $200 respectively) are impossible to beat.

I also particularly like Arc'teryx's insulating layers. Its Delta line (these begin at roughly $50 and climb dramatically from there) are just the right combination of form and function. And I was particularly impressed with the color work at play -- very nice organic earth tones and grays.

Even in the outback, style points count.

The Underwear Wars

In case you have been distracted by real-world events, you may have missed the brutal hand-to-hand battle in -- you guessed it -- underwear.

Long gone are the basic cotton or cotton-polyester T-shirts and long johns of Beverly Hillbillies fame. Inspired by underwear ubermarketer Under Armour (UA), what you wear next to your skin is now a big, fat business. Seemingly everyone who sells sporting clothes is piling into the base-layer game.

Smaller clothing makers such as SmartWool, which was recently taken out by Timberland (TBL), and Darn Tough, a unit of Cabot Hosiery Mills, have brought to our shores lines of underclothing made from short-woven merino wool from Australia and New Zealand.

	Geared for Adventure
	Photo: www.cloudveil.com

Major apparel companies such as Nike (NKE) and Reebok also are offering extensive base layer lines. Even outdoor retailers like L.L. Bean and REI are slinging their own branded base-layer products.

But my pick for this year's underwear champ is Helly Hansen. Helly is best known for making better foul-weather gear that yachters like me use to stay dry at sea. So this company knows wet. And its base-layer garments, shipping this fall, combine an outer layer of merino wool for comfy hand and insulation with an inner layer of polyester so they are dry and less itchy.

The Helly garment I tried (well, briefly) was fabulous -- soft and natural feeling, yet very quick to dry. And I liked the cut -- trim enough to not get in the way, but unlike the super-clingy jock shirt favored by Under Armour and others, it was cut loose enough not to make me feel like I was auditioning for the local production of A Chorus Line.

Plus the company claims that the garment is stink-proof. I, and my friends, will tell you if it really works over the next month.

Stay tuned. For the next round, I'll take a look at how to best lug yourself and your gear around -- the ultimate shoes and backpacks.

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