Wood chopping is to backcountry skiing as a Chevy mud bogger is to a Porsche Cayenne. Clothes that work well for human powered backcountry are sensitive to slash fires the size of nuclear bomb tests, hot chain saw mufflers and bar oil. Thus, Lou and I have always worn wool and cotton lumbering outfits. Carhartt is the gold standard when it comes to such. So with our port-a-hut wood sheds and camp fires as the perfect test bed (prep for winter!) — time for a Carhartt review.
While we’ve used Carhartt for years, they recently came up with a new line. Carhartt’s lightweight durable Quick Duck outerwear is made with a 9-ounce, 60 percent cotton/40 percent polyester blend and a durable water repellent (DWR) finish making it 30 percent lighter than Carhartt’s traditional cotton sandstone, while water repellent — a first in Carhartt’s 123 year history.
Lou in the Carhartt Mankato Jacket and Weathered Duck 5-Pocket Pant. He likes the pants because they're not as beefy and warm in the Colorado sun as other Carhartts, 'easier to move in.' We're not sure the weathering is that necessary, as we could always work a few extra hours a day for the same effect. But they do look classy straight off the rack. Like, 'hey, I listen to Merle, so?' The Mankato is interesting. It's cotton, but with DWR treatment and sealed seams. Could this be the ultimate barn coat? We're loving it so far. Click all images to enlarge.
Defensible space = heavy work.
The tool to get it done.
Cutting logs to fit. 14 inches is the perfect size for the port-a-hut's small wood stove.
Careful stacking prevents the whole thing from toppling over. After a while, it becomes a challenging game of Jenga. This shed is our long-term storage for unsplit aspen biscuits. After a year of curing they burn nice and clean, actually preferred by us over conifer for firewood.
Lisa stacked the wood shed by the port-a-hut. Not quite as good at Jenga as Lou, boards keep the pile in place. Lisa's wearing Carhartt's Tomboy Cardigan Sweater, a comfy cotton/wool/nylon blend. Favorite photochromatic shades, Monterosa by Julbo. Scarf by Krimson Klover made of Italian designed yarn from Australian Merino wool - luscious!
Lou takes a break to spot a herd of elk.
Aspens are beginning to change into their fall colors.
Standing dead is chopped down for kindling wood. Lisa wearing Carhartt Irvine flannel shirt, 100% soft cotton gathered in the back for a femie fit.
Scraps are burned in the 'campfire'.
So there you go, traditional Carhartt work wear is the standard of the industry, and now we have a specific clothing line that’s a bit more on the comfortable style side of things. Take your pick. We can see the usefulness of this lighter weight choice, but we’re also still fans of the traditional beefy Carhartt garments. Downsides? Not much. A bit pricy for work wear (especially compared to hand-me-downs), but the ‘Hartt does last ten times longer than that stuff.
Shop for Carhartt at Altrec, they appear to have a fairly complete line.
Lou says we need a few bonus shots of woodshed construction (he’s afraid of fluff-post accusations!). According to Mr. Carpenter, the idea for this structure was a take on the classic pole barn. Money was saved by using aspen logs for the roof beams, but he opted for the beefy landscape timber posts since the shed is on a small hillside and we might need to reinforce or add knee braces to the the posts to hold against snow creep. The roof tin is recycled from having our garage re-roofed last summer. Funny story about that: Years ago when we bought our house, we discovered that the corrugated steel roofing on the garage was nailed through the valleys of the corrugations, rather than on top of the ribs. This resulted in massive leakage every time it rained. We didn’t have the money back then to replace the roof so we spent hours hanging from a climbing harness, smearing silicone caulk on each nail head. A few buckets in the attic completed the picture, though during heavy downpours a drip would always appear somewhere.
When we discovered the weird roofing install, we wondered how anyone could be that mentally challenged. The explanation occurred later, when we found out the former owners of the house had taken their sale money, started a pot farm not far away, and were subsequently busted. Apparently they’d been sampling product for their first seed purchase when they nailed down the garage roof.
Pole barn style posts, girts and beams.
Filling the shed. At this point our wood supply is a bit random, resulting in a less than uniform stack. When we start cutting wood specifically for firewood rather than forest thinning we'll refine the process.
WildSnow Girl, Lisa Dawson, is the luckiest girl in the world. Also known as Mrs. WildSnow.com, she tests whatever gear she wants. She gives the WildSnow family of websites the feminine voice.
