Central & South America: Too Hot or Too Cold
 

I'm making final preps for my USA-->Argentina ride. I have a wide range of base layers and sleeping bags and so on, but in selecting which to take I am vacillating between the lighter stuff and the heavier stuff.

So, for those of you that have done parts (or all) of the Americas, what surprised you most in terms of temperature? That is, did you find yourself often too cold or too hot versus what you expected/planned for?

The answer depends on when you are going.

But if I was to assume you were going to be sensible and start in the USA around September, aim to hit Mexico Nov, Panama Jan and Chile (southern) March.

Then pack for warm and wet.

Was I ever cold ? Yes, nights can be cold in the Andes when high up (Bogota for example, warm in the day and cold at night in Jan).

Plan on buying warm clothing as you need it. Otherwise you will pack stuff that you do not use.

As you move south from Colombia to Patagonia you will generally be hot going to cooler. There will be rain, usually warm rain. And days with the sun in a clear blue sky all day (Atacama).

Pack light, buy stuff as you need it.

Just get a decent Textile/Gortex suit that you feel comfy wearing in most weather, I used to carry a mesh jacket for hot days and roll my HG jacket up. Now I just take the bake on those days and wear my Kevlar jeans.

The answer depends on when you are going.

But if I was to assume you were going to be sensible and start in the USA around September, aim to hit Mexico Nov, Panama Jan and Chile (southern) March.

Then pack for warm and wet.

Was I ever cold ? Yes, nights can be cold in the Andes when high up (Bogota for example, warm in the day and cold at night in Jan).

Plan on buying warm clothing as you need it. Otherwise you will pack stuff that you do not use.

As you move south from Colombia to Patagonia you will generally be hot going to cooler. There will be rain, usually warm rain. And days with the sun in a clear blue sky all day (Atacama).

Pack light, buy stuff as you need it.

Just get a decent Textile/Gortex suit that you feel comfy wearing in most weather, I used to carry a mesh jacket for hot days and roll my HG jacket up. Now I just take the bake on those days and wear my Kevlar jeans.

As on example, you can leave Lima a hot and sweaty 35C plus and head east up the Andes and 3 hours later be freezing at 3000m or higher.

We left Toronto in September and arrived Ushuaia in March. We stayed as high as possible in Peru and Ecuador to avoid the hot coastal areas and we were very comfortable just by layering. Our coldest riding days were around 5-10 Celsius and with a vortex riding jacket, a fleece layer , and a technical base layer I was never really cold. Buying stuff didn't really work for us because we didn't have any spare space!

Thanks all who answered so far.

So I'll go with my 200 weight base layer rather than my 150. I think I'll take my 35F/2C bag for C America and decide when I cross the gap whether I want to switch to my 20F/-7C bag for S America (a friend is flying down to meet me in Colombia for a weekend and I can ask that he cart along the bag).

I have a down layer that packs about as small as can be and I use that between the base and jacket on cold rides or cold nights outside.

Just finished 8 months on a bike around south America and encountered every weather type.

What I wore all the time in addition to short socks (I find long socks make my legs overheat), underwear and a t shirt: mx boots, knee braces, mx body armour, breathable riding pants.

If hot: Icehockey jersey, mx gloves

If cold: Gortex/kevlar riding jacket, middle weight leather gloves and turned on heated grips on bike. Also down puffy jacket between body armour and riding jacket (The best piece of kit I carried!!). Scarf. Where necessary gortex rain pants, gortex rain jacket (both army surplus cammo colour = cheaper), for example in cold and windy south Patagonia on the long straight boring roads. If you're working hard off road, you might wear less.

Camping: 5 season sleeping bag, zipped up if cold, unzipped if hot. Having had pneumonia earlier in my life after getting too cold trekking in the Indian Himalayas, I don't want it to happen again.

Best to take less and buy as you need. Tourist town shops will sell you all sorts of wooly stuff.

I left NYC in October and got to Ushuaia in March. I tried to stay away from the hot areas, but not entirely possible. Panama and northern Colombia were rough for me but others love it. I just wore a vented Cordura jacket with a removable liner, carried a fleece shirt. Cordura pants with Bohn Armor thick base layer. Marino wool socks with Field Armor boots. Was a bit cold in the super high elevations in the rain, but not too bad. When in the hot areas I opened the vents and as long as I was moving, it was ok. In hot areas I used Firehose jeans over the Bohn Armor for more airflow.

Hi Jelly!

We've talked, so this is for anyone else that is figuring out their gear. I was hot more often. Cold on rare occasions crossing mountain passes or rainy days that wouldn't let up.

Notes on stuff I've taken on two trip into CA and SA:

Hot

• Airflow jacket and riding pants, with polyester soccer shirt and running shorts. The shorts are available at any sports store and should have 'netting' built in like swimming trunks.
• Shirt and shorts can be washed as needed in a sink with a spoonful of detergent. Roll up and wring out with a towel and they will dry over night.

Wet

• If you are outside for weeks/months at a time, it will rain and you will get wet. Sturdy rain shell or waterproof liners are a given.
• I bought cheap yet thick rubber gloves for the rainy days (Home Depot.) The problem, you hands come out of the gloves to do something or other, get wet, then go back in the gloves wet. An intractable problem...

Cold

• My waterproof liners are also insulated. It makes for sticky riding in the on and off rain. Oh well.
• Cycling pants or warm P.J.s will add a layer of insulation for you legs. (Yes, I travel with P.J.s, don't get me started. They keep me warm at night.)
• A heated vest was useful crossing mountain passes, when encountering snow (one time) and hail (three times), or on long miserable days riding in the rain (many.)
• Thick winter riding gloves were useful (but I think I will skip these next time as they take up a lot of room.)
• A three seasons rated sleeping bag is probably enough, unless you are planning to camp at high altitude.

I recommend avoiding denim jeans and cotton shirts. The jeans take forever to dry and clothes driers are not popular in Latin America (the sun is free, but not always available when you need it.) Cotton shirts (yes, t-shirts, I talk to you!) are slow to dry. You will sweat and bacteria will grow...causing stink. Polyester dries quickly as you ride and drips dry overnight. It is a magical fabric.

Wool socks - take nothing else. They have the same benefits as polyester, but they don't dry quite as quickly. A friend of mine traveled with a thin wool pull over shirt. HE swears by it.

Unrelated tip - take a small bottle of eye glass cleaner and a couple of lens clothes. Your face shield or goggles will get covered with a mix of grimy stuff. I clean my face shield every day or more often, then enjoy a clear view. Rubbing alcohol and a few drops of shampoo work when commercial cleaner is not available.

Kia ora Jelly

Merino is the goods. Warm , wicking, easily washed and it does not smell even when worn for weeks . And as any aussie will tell you there is nothing like a good Kiwi sheep next to your skin

Cheers

Peter