scroggin core

it's like gorpcore, but less expensive

September 26, 2021

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about clothes, hospo and Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. This week, an ethos for building comfortable, functional looks this summer. Reminder: do the right thing now we’re in Level 3!

scroggin core

This week, I made my first big purchase almost entirely funded by the proceeds of this here newsletter (ngā mihi to Isaac, Hinemoana, Maureen, Natalie, Marie, Louis and Christine). It was a pair of shoes which I’ve been pining for in recent issues, the quintessential gorpcore sneaker Salomon XT-6 (pictured above).

Gorpcore, for those who aren’t deep in the rabbit hole of outdoor fashion subcultures, is named for Gorp, or Good Old Raisins and Peanuts, trail mix. It’s an ethos described by the gorp experts at Blackbird Spyplane as “a mindset, embodied at its most blessed by crunchy principles of human fellowship, ego death and interconnectedness with the natural world.”

What it’s often boiled down to, at it’s most basic and least cool, is an obsession with heavily technical, overly optimised gear for going on hikes or climbing mountains, with heaps of zips and flaps and taped seams, obsessively catalogued by mood boards with Patreon accounts.

Gorpcore is an undeniably cool aesthetic, one which is pulled off very well by some members of the clipboard community (you know who you are), but at its worst, like any culture linked to stuff, it’s also overly expensive, exclusionary and can give the vibe that you can’t go and enjoy the outdoors without first going shopping.

In order to distance myself from the less savoury part of the outdoorsy vibe, and to keep myself from sinking too much money into my planned commitment to spending more time outdoors, I’ve tried to work out an alternative plan for looking cool, staying comfy, and going on hikes.

Enter scroggin core, my related-but-not-identical manifesto for dressing to enjoy the outdoors. Much like the scroggin, or trail mix, you take on a long walk or hike can be made just as well with the stuff already in your pantry as by specifically shopping at the supermarket, I’m advocating for, as much as possible, just doing the damn thing with the gear you have, rather than going shopping first.

If you want to be the type of person that goes for hikes and long walks, like I do, just wear the old t shirts and jumpers you already have lying at the back of your wardrobe, you don’t need to buy shorts with hidden pockets or a jacket with holes for your thumbs first. Optimise for comfort, pull out the clothes you can afford to beat up a little, and go do the thing.

There are some items that you do need to buy for any new hobby, but scroggin core is about keeping it minimal, buying what you need and shopping for the rest in your wardrobe.

This philosophy is aimed squarely at myself, as someone who has already arguably broken it by buying these shoes, beating back the impulse to make every new hobby a shopping opportunity, and just giving it a go first. I’ll let you know how I go, and if you want to support my next impulse buy, subscribe to clipboard, and I’ll write about what I cop.

clips

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! As always, I’ll be back next Sunday, same time same place, and you can get in touch in the meantime via email or on Instagram. If you enjoy clipboard, share it with your friends! The more the merrier.