Preparedness for when

nuatha

GreyQueen wrote: »

:
From personal experience, you don't want your warm layer to be a fleece if you're going to be using fires as a spark alighting on you will instantly melt a hole in the garment. A wool sweater will allow you to swat a spark out without holing. Plus wool is a hollow fibre which can absorb almost its own weight in moisture without losing its insulating properties, and remains warm to the skin even when wet.

For 30 odd years my second layer was a lambswool polo neck pullover which had been my Mum's. It eventually gave up the ghost, but is the standard I expect kit to live up to. My top layer was a Mackinaw wool shirt, too colourful for me these days, but water repellant wool, eventually the shoulders started to rub through, wear from carrying a rucksack, two of them did me about 25 years.

A friend used a Gaberdine cagoule style jacket, it did him 40 years of serious climbing and walking.
We both learned our trade in the days of old waterproof clothing where you didn't wear a waterproof layer until you had to.

I'll second Thriftwizard's recommendation of silk longjohn's.
Silk is a fantastic material for lightweight travelling. Like GQ's BOB, my clothing tends towards the black and grey, its unobstrusive and doesn't draw comment. For several years I kept a jewel tone silk shirt in my bag, because that splash of colour moved my appearance "upmarket" actually made me less remarkable and a colourful flag han have many other uses.

mardatha

I'm not mad on choc either but I love liquorice too MrsL and am currently spending a packet on Sainsbugs liquorice & ginger teabags.
I don't mind keeping your stash of sweeties.... anybody who has no room for them or might - goodness me - be tempted to eat them...

[Deleted User]

What an altruist we have in you MAR, your selflessness as always leaves me speechless!!!

srn

Coming out of lurkdom

Be careful with liquorice, it can increase your blood pressure. Worth a Google to find out the facts.

GreyQueen

I like silk, too, and have a few silk shirts bought 2nd hand. They're great for travelling as they pack really small, hardly weigh anything, are cheap-cheap used and yet comfortable and a touch upmarket.

Upmarkedness might seem like a ridiculous thing to consider in the context of bug-out clothing, but it's a valid point, and I have seen articles advocating that men where a proper (i.e dress) shirt rather than a teeshirt, or wear it over a teeshirt. The reasoning being is that looking a bit smarter, a bit respectable, may get you preferential treatment.

Say, for example, that you are stranded somewhere among a large number of people who are all clamouring for a small amount of hotel/ B & B rooms. The proprietors and their staff have got far more demand than they have supply. Confronted by a situation where a crowd of people are waving cash or credit cards at you, would you choose the rough and ready or the neat and tidy individual?

*************

Wool is a very suitable fabric for the UK due to our rainy climate and secondhand wool garments should be within our reach, even if they take a little bit of hunting down. I have a merino wool long-sleeved polo shirt (chazzer buy - very cheap) , in plain black, in an emergency bag which lives in my shed at the allotment. Contains a change of clothes plus a basic washkit and a pair of (not very) outdated prescription glasses.

ivyleaf

I have a hoodie bought in a shop in St Ives some years ago, it's made of Jacob sheep's wool, knitted in an Aran-type design, and is soooo warm (this winter has been so mild here that I have only got it out once this year).

I have to wear a long-sleeved tee under it though as it's a bit itchy.

RAS

I will never forget a young man who died under a caravan in the Dales.

Wearing jeans, a nylon shirt and synthetic wool jumper. A layer of wool might have saved him; it was late April as might breaking into the caravan.

Re vinegar if you have a large land of £ they have litres pickling at the mo

GreyQueen

RAS wrote: »

I will never forget a young man who died under a caravan in the Dales.

Wearing jeans, a nylon shirt and synthetic wool jumper. A layer of wool might have saved him; it was late April as might breaking into the caravan.

Re vinegar if you have a large land of £ they have litres pickling at the mo

I think I recall reading about that tragedy. Never should have happened, terribly sad for his people. Just goes to show you cannot be complacent about the weather even in the UK.

When Dad was younger, he used to hike in the mountains but would always be in high summer but still he carried an emergency shelter, as well as dressing appropriately.

milasavesmoney

Such wonderful information everyone. Thanks!

thriftwizard

My everyday winter wardrobe consists basically of dance/cycle leggings - much tougher & longer-lasting than fashion ones - a number of thick pure wool jumpers, one a vintage floral Laura Ashley, the others vintage FairIsle, which all started life a lot bigger than they are now but have felted down to something really cosy, worn over a variety of cotton polonecks, a couple of equally-felted shortish knitted wool skirts & two longer tweedy ones with a high wool content. Worn over an assortment of current or vintage boots, and sometimes thermals, it's all very practical & warm without looking too relaxed! I also own a couple of mid-80s M&S dresses which are astonishingly cosy; they're great for doing our market on freezing cold days (over thermals, leggings & boots) as they tick the "vintage" box nicely & are smart but also keep me toasty warm!