technical clothing

Getting Ready to Mow the Lawn...

Boulder, ahhhh, the land of technical clothing. From REI, Mountain Hardware, Marmot, Patagonia, North Face and on and on. Everyone from the elderly woman to the little kid in stroller is wearing something from one of these brands, mainly a moisture wicking shirt, fleece or hiking/adventure style pants with UV resistant coating. It is evident in all aspects of life, from the grocery store to the lunchtime frolf game to mowing the grass ( better be with a push mower ) – this is where I come into play recently.

I think the homeowners of my neighborhood have put me on the Boulder Yardwork Bad Form list, as I proceeded to do hours of yardwork with a cotton hooded sweatshirt on top, jeans on the bottoms and a pair of slip on vans. As the mositure and sweat was nicely absorbed into my clothing I realized that I am breaking the unwritten rule that you must wear technical clothing with UV components and a name brand in the like of Patagonia, REI, Marmot, Mtn Hardware, Arc’terx and on. Even when mowing the lawn. I mean come on, you never know when a hike is going to break out, or a trail run gets going or you need to start the journey up the 14′er, perhaps I should wear my cycling kit while mowing the yard, I bet it would be exceptable. Aero helmet, skinsuit and technical running shoes, I would be the fastest, non-gas mowing push mower in Boulder County and I bet it would be just fine.

That is fine, I like the technical clothing, but it is everywhere – work, grocery, church ( i am guessing on that one), coffee shop, yard work, sleeping, bike shops, Pearl Street, library and on. Next time I will be for sure wearing some new technical yard work clothing, perhaps a new market has arisen beyond Smith & Hawken