Everything I’ve worn this summer has been technical georges.

Among people living outside the home, Calling someone a “dirtbag” can be a term of endearment. These people value climbing, exploring, or any other great outdoor pursuit above all else. They live in a van and live on peanut butter. They pop into the mountain bike and continue to blow you away as you ride a single speed on full-suspension. They carry a full-sized Weber grill on their back to the campsite, struggling under the weight of your tiny pocket stove. But dirtbags get the respect, because they’re proof that having more money and better gear doesn’t make you stronger, faster, and stronger than anyone else.

To be clear, I’m not a dirtbag. I’m the guy standing on a popular road confused by an expensive satellite messenger. I’m the one who blows up a full air mattress in our king-size tent or the one who insists I need a sleeping bag poncho so I don’t get cold when we’re standing around a campfire. But I love it. Pretend To be a dirtbag — or at least not to be painfully obvious — I’m going to wear $1,000 worth of full body clothing in 50 degree weather, everyone’s fine in flannel. That’s why I only wore Ripton technical jorts this winter.

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The main outerwear

When I first went backpacking, people I was with made fun of me for wearing blue jeans instead of lightweight, quick-drying, wicking nylon hiking pants. It is true that modern textile science has created clothes that are more comfortable, safer and easier to wear than ever before. But, given their history, it’s ironic that jeans aren’t generally considered appropriate outerwear today.

In the year In 1871, Jacob Davis, a tailor in Reno, Nevada, wanted to make pants that would withstand the harsh use of miners. He suggested pants reinforced with strategic toys. He teamed up with San Francisco dry goods merchant Levi Strauss to file a patent for sturdy pants.

Levi’s pants were made of canvas and were very popular. But in the year It wasn’t until 1890 that Strauss started making denim pants, which blue dyes were made for people who didn’t have jobs. In the year In the 1960s and 70s, blue jeans were mostly associated with casual wear. When I was a teenager, it wasn’t considered completely crazy for people to spend over $100 on premium denim. Pants on! You can’t even wear it while making your claim.

If Levi Strauss could make his pants today, they might look something like Ripton. My pair is a basic V4 blue steel with a cut end. They look just like regular jorks, but they’re made from a light, stretchy denim hybrid fabric that’s almost unnoticeable. My regular size 25 padded underwear is big enough to wear for cycling.