Saturday, September 11, 2010

Survival Skills 101: Clothes

 
I'm back! For now. I wanted to return for a bit and support my fellow bloggers, then it's back to the mountains. It's been a pretty amazing adventure so far. In only one week, I've been stalked by cougars, seen some humongous elk, followed bear prints, been eaten by the world's biggest mosquitoes, and eaten a shitload of wild huckleberries. The woods are peaceful, almost eerily so. In a time when people often have the TV or radio running constantly to produce background noise, silence can take some getting used to. It all reminds me of how hardened people used to be, and how far removed from self-sustainability we've become as a nation. Everyone should know how to live in the wild, I don't care who you are, because you never know what's around the next bend.


I'm going to start a series of random bits of survival wisdom, tips and techniques I've picked up that could prove useful if you ever find yourself out in the wilderness. Note: these are generalizations, and while knowledge is helpful in a survival scenario, it will not guarantee your ultimate survival. How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice! Go out and actually try some of these things in a safe environment so that you have the confidence to use them when you have to rely on them.



The Rule of 3's

You can live...
  • 3 minutes without air
  • 3 days without water
  • 3 weeks without food
How to Dress

Your body needs a regulated 98.6 temp to survive. Learning to properly layer clothes is a MUST! What you want:


  • A base layer
    • Remember this, folks: "Cotton Kills." Use smartwool, polypropylene, silk. NO COTTON!
    • Should cover most if not all the body.
    • Should be somewhat snug to help pull moisture away from your skin (Wicking action)


  • An insulating layer
    • Just as it sounds, this layer goes over the base layer to keep you warm.
    • Use fleece, polyester, or wool. Something warmer that still helps wick moisture away while keeping you warm even when wet. I also like Primaloft but it can be spendy.
    • Should fit a little looser that base layer to trap warm air.
    • Multiple thin layers works better than one heavy layer here. Traps more air.


  • A shell layer
    • This outer layer protects the inner 2 layers from the elements.
    • Waterproof, windproof, etc. is nice. Gore-tex seems to be highly recommended here.


*Extra clothing tips: Dress for the weather. If it's hot out, wear less. If it's cold out, wear more. Sweating can be deadly in cold climates so always pay attention to your body signals and remove or add layers when necessary. Also, here's an interesting fact. While the rest of your body's outer blood vessels get smaller to avoid heat loss, the ones in your scalp do not! So wear a good hat. Another thing to keep in mind is the more skin you have showing, the more heat you lose.

Stay tuned. Let me know if you're interested in this stuff guys.

17 comments:

  1. Cool story, bro! Following and supporting!

    http://the-state-of-human-intelligence.blogspot.com/

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  2. I added u bro. we are all busy.

    add me back, i read everyday

    http://marketengine.blogspot.com

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  3. makin friends and showin support
    view n follow my blogs bro?

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  4. Wow, that's some pretty in depth information.

    I think that the " rule of 3's" will stick with me.

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  5. I'll be going camping soon, and this will be helpful

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  6. helpful stuff man. Check me out plz :)

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  7. Really interesting stuff, thanks for posting...

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  8. This post is wonderful. I wish I were a survivalist.

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  9. Useful if i ever decide to pull a Bear gryss.lol Thanks bro.

    followed & supported hard.
    much love

    bookmarkmeplz.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. great post man! i am activelya preparing for the zombie apocalypse, so every survival post comes in handy!

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  11. Way looking forward to it!
    S&F

    http://marvelsofthenow.blogspot.com/

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  12. will support and follo <3

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  13. thanks for the tips, dont know when you might need to know this :)

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  14. thanks for tips

    arigiss.blogspot.com

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  15. the usmc issued me some goretex stuff and it is pretty kick ass i must say. warm and dry. i like!

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