Monday, February 13, 2012

surviving the cold



survivalblog | Most of us take for granted the fact that if were cold we can find someplace warm to retreat to. In the event of a catastrophe that luxury is going to be one of the first things that goes by the wayside. Animals adapt to their environment or they perish, survival of the fittest. I’ve talked to a few folks that have a couple tons of food and ammo stashed that have never even thought about the clothes situation. So, What can we do as smart animals to prepare for that day?

Unfortunately a lot of people have no clue at all how to dress themselves for cold and inclement weather. Usually we put on what we have that we think is the warmest and hope for the best. That is not going to work when there is no warm house to run to and warm up in! Get rained on and your sol. Yeah that nice brown popular work gear is great but at most it’s used 12 hours and then you have a chance to dry it and you out. Try spending a few days in it without drying it out and see how comfy you are!

The best way to stay dry, warm, and comfortable is layers, and they have to be layers of the correct material. Cotton is pretty much useless for staying warm. It holds moisture, does not breath well, and is not a very good insulator. Cotton is good for warm days and summer time, It’s cheap and easy to obtain. So don’t plan on getting any usable service out of any of your cotton clothes in the winter.

The fundamental key of staying warm is to simply stay dry. Wet clothing dissipates body heat at a phenomenal rate. The saying “If your wet your dead” in the winter is pretty self explanatory. So in order to stay dry we need to fist keep the moisture and sweat our bodies produce away from our skin. We do this by our base layer. It is clothing that is designed to allow moisture to pass through it without absorbing it. One of the early forms of this is silk. Yes, that luxurious cloth does have some functional value! Silk is expensive, and is not very stretchy or conforming. Silk blends however are very conducive to functional base layers! I’ve found silk base layers to be functional and comfortable but they don’t seem to be as durable as I’d like. Just as effective and more affordably priced, and more durable, are base layers made from polypropylene and the like. There are a variety of manufactures out there that each have their own magic blend so shop around. Just keep in mind the intended function of the base layer is to keep you dry, not to keep you warm. Generation III Cold Weather System.

1 comments:

nanakwame said...

Yes the wind is getting colder though the days seems warmer, something those who fought climate change didn't understand. Going to get a new vest will look here for the new materials. Urban Black dress was always "two" one jacket, one long over-coat. Since the road behind me is longer than the road ahead so far
http://www.uniqlo.com/us/stores/ny_soho_store.html 

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