How Clothing Affect Your Chances of Survival During SHTF

For most of our species’ history, clothes weren’t fashion accessories. They were functional items that helped people hunt, tolerate harsh weather and perform other essential survival tasks. People today obsess over flashy jewelry, but our ancestors were more concerned with their clothing’s weight, durability and accessibility. Those qualities are vital in survival situations.

Your clothes can make the difference between life and death if you’re exposed to the elements. If a SHTF scenario occurred tomorrow, would your wardrobe be ready to face extreme survival situations? If not, it’s vital to find the most effective outdoor clothing items from head to toe.

What Does Clothing Protect You From?

To appreciate the importance of clothing, you need to know all the dangerous objects and conditions it protects you from. Your clothes help you overcome the following threats in a SHTF scenario:

• Cold
• Heat
• Wind
• Precipitation
• UV sun rays
• Animal bites and stings
• Abrasions from rugged terrain
• Cuts and puncture wounds from weapons

Clothing can also serve as an effective camouflage if worn in the right environment. Dressing to withstand harsh weather conditions while keeping a low profile is an extremely valuable skill in survival situations. Just ask any military member you might know.

Best Clothing Materials

It’s important to go over some of the best clothing materials for the outdoors. There are five main types you should look for: cotton, wool, polyester, nylon and leather. Each fabric brings unique qualities to the table that will prove useful in different survival situations. Here’s a quick rundown of each of them.

1.     Cotton

Cotton is strong, comfortable and absorbent.  It’s the primary material in most warm-weather clothing and is usually less expensive than the other fabrics. However, its absorbency can sometimes work against you. If you wear it as a base layer in cold weather, the moisture it absorbs will sap your body heat and leave you freezing despite your other garments.

2.     Wool

Wool should be your main cold-weather clothing fabric. It traps and retains heat, even when wet. It’s also antibacterial and odor-resistant, so you can have the same clothes for a long time without worrying about bad smells or contamination. Wool’s only drawback is its susceptibility to shrinkage in the wash, but this problem is avoidable.

3.     Polyester

Polyester is the cheapest synthetic material and one of the most common in today’s clothing. It’s also highly versatile, with solid weight, durability and moisture resistance. It even reduces the chance of injury by fighting against lactic acid buildup and alleviating muscle stiffness. These characteristics make it a popular choice for athletes.

4.     Nylon

Nylon is another material that athletes and outdoor enthusiasts enjoy because of its elasticity. It can stretch to conform to your body, making it a highly effective base layer. Its lightweight yet durable texture also makes it a capable outer layer. However, you have to be careful around open flames. It will shrink and melt if exposed to fire, causing severe burns.

5.     Leather

Although leather isn’t the best against moisture, it has many other impressive properties. For starters, motorcyclists often wear rough leather clothes to protect them from scrapes in the event of an accident. It’s also an effective repellent of harsh winds, and you can line it with fur for additional warmth. Humans have been making leather clothes for tens of thousands of years.

Head-to-Toe Clothing Survival Guide

Now that you know all the potential threats and are familiar with the materials, you’ll have an easier time understanding the importance of each clothing article. It’s time to dive into the complete head-to-toe clothing survival guide. These are items you will need to have at your disposal to make any situation more comfortable and survivable.

Headgear

Headgear isn’t essential year-round, but you should still have different hats for warm and cold weather. Military personnel often wear baseball caps or boonie hats with wide brims to block out the sun and improve visibility. These hats also consist of a moisture-absorbing cotton and polyester blend and have extra holes for better ventilation.

In the wintertime, you need a wool hat that covers your ears. You should also consider getting a scarf and balaclava to protect your face and neck from freezing temperatures and harsh winds. Your ears and nose can quickly develop frostbite, so you must keep them covered when going outside for long periods.

Tactical sunglasses are must-haves for any survivalist. Their main benefits are obvious — protecting your eyes from the sun and improving your vision — but they’re also important for preventing snow and sand blindness. This health issue occurs when UV rays reflect off the snow or sand and burn your eyes. It can happen in less than an hour.

T-Shirts

Your shirts should also be a cotton-polyester hybrid, especially the ones you wear as base layers during cold weather. Remember, cotton might be comfortable, but it doesn’t help you retain body heat. Only wear cotton shirts during the summer when freezing temperatures aren’t a threat.

Other important qualities you should consider for your T-shirts are strength and flexibility. Since you will be wearing one almost every day, it must withstand the hard jobs you put it through. If you’re running a homestead or have a manual labor job, a flimsy T-shirt that tears easily won’t last long.

Jackets and Coats

Your outermost layers of clothing should primarily be fleece — a bulky polyester specializing in combating cold temperatures and harsh winds. Leather is also a viable option, but it shouldn’t be your top layer. Get yourself a thick fleece ski coat as your main cold-weather top layer. It’s even better if it has a face cover attachment.

Wool is the best option for your sublayers of jackets and sweaters. They will act as effective insulators and support the fleece coat in keeping you warm. Your rain jacket or poncho should be rip-stop polyester, which deflects water like it’s nothing. The military also uses this material with rain gear.

Underwear

Cotton is widely considered the best material for underwear, but that’s not the case for survivalists. It’s soft, lightweight and breathable, keeping your down-there area comfortable. However, boxer shorts and other loose-fitting cotton undergarments can cause chafing between the legs, which limits your mobility and could prove disastrous in a survival situation.

Polyester or nylon compression underwear would be much better in a SHTF scenario. It won’t impede your mobility and will help prevent lactic acid buildup and improve your athletic performance.

Shorts and Pants

Polyester is your only real option for shorts. However, shorts aren’t ideal in most survival situations. You shouldn’t leave your lower extremities exposed if you can avoid it. Extremely hot weather is the one exception, but otherwise, you should wear pants and keep yourself covered, especially if you’re in the woods where ticks are a concern.

You should own two types of pants: one for manual labor and one for travel. Denim is a popular material for the first category. It’s a strong cotton fabric with a special twill weave, making it much more durable than other cotton-based clothes. Nylon is the best choice for your travel pants. Hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts swear by its breathability and elasticity.

Footwear

It’s impossible to overstate the importance of quality footwear in any outdoor activity. Whether you’re on a simple day hike or preparing for a long expedition, your socks and shoes will largely determine your success. You should have cotton athletic socks for warm weather and thick woolen socks for the cold.

You can’t call yourself a true survivalist unless you have a solid pair of boots. Buy a good pair of combat boots if you can afford them. If they’re out of your budget, look for hiking boots with replaceable insoles and extra shoelaces. Your secondary pair of shoes should be athletic sneakers with good traction and ankle support. Low-tops are not ideal for survival situations.

Other Survival Clothing Accessories

Once you cover the essentials, you can start looking at survival clothing accessories like tactical vests, belts, bags and body armor. These articles will help you carry more supplies and fight off immediate threats, but they will also weigh you down. When it comes to choosing survival gear, you often have to decide between weight and durability.

If you’re going to get body armor, make sure it’s at least Level III. This level stops bullets from handguns and rifles, although it might cause bruising and some cracked ribs. Level II only stops handgun fire, which might not be enough in a SHTF scenario.

Layering Clothes Explained

This clothing guide includes many references to sublayers, base layers and top layers. If you haven’t gotten the hint yet, layering your clothes is crucial for surviving harsh weather conditions. A heavy coat won’t stop you from freezing if you just have a T-shirt underneath. Here’s what to know about the different layers and why they’re important:

• Sublayer: This layer consists of the clothes that make direct contact with your skin. They should be moisture-wicking fabrics like wool and polyester that pull sweat away from your body and dry out fast. During the winter, your sublayer should include long johns or a compression shirt and pants.

• Base layer: Your T-shirt and jacket make up the base layer. These articles also serve as the sublayer in warmer weather. A good base layer provides adequate coverage while keeping you nimble and athletic.

• Core layer: The core layer consists of your main lower-body garments. Only your pants or shorts serve as the core layer in most weather conditions, but freezing temperatures often call for more than one article of clothing.

• Top layer: Your top layer, also known as the outer shell, includes the clothes everyone can see. During the winter, it’s your ski coat, thick pants, hat and gloves. During the summer, your top layer includes the core and base layers.

Layering is so effective against cold temperatures and blustery winds because the outer layers draw moisture away from the skin, leaving nothing else but warm pockets of air. Your coat and pants might be wet and freezing, but everything is still dry and comfortable underneath. If you live in a region with harsh winters, you need to know how to properly layer your clothes if you want to survive a SHTF scenario.

Outdoor Clothing Brands to Consider

Some outdoor clothing brands have earned positive reputations among the survivalist community. Some prioritize weight and breathability, while others focus on strength and durability. Your wardrobe should include a healthy mixture of both. Here are some brands you should take a closer look at:

• Cabela’s: A well-known brand for everything related to the outdoors, Cabela’s recently merged with Bass Pro Shops to create a powerhouse in outdoor apparel. If you’re looking for a store that has everything, stop by your nearest Cabela’s and take a look around. The stores are like theme parks for hunters and fishermen.

• Carhartt: This brand is arguably the most popular among farmers, construction workers and other manual laborers. Its clothes are rugged and durable, yet stylish. You might even see some city dwellers rocking Carhartt to show they’re the outdoorsy type.

• L.L. Bean: L.L. Bean makes all its clothes in the United States and has numerous options for each season. It also has more women’s products than most other outdoor clothing brands. Female preppers should have this brand at the top of their shopping lists.

• 5.11 Tactical: This brand specializes in training clothes and survivalist gear, such as body armor and backpacks. It has gained popularity among homesteaders and gun enthusiasts recently, and it’s easy to see why. The product quality is everything you could ask for from your main survival clothing.

• Arc’teryx: If you have a flexible budget, Arc’teryx is the brand for you. Some members of the U.S. Special Forces will only wear this brand, swearing by the quality and performance of the clothing’s fabrics. You’ll be protected from the harshest winter weather, wind and whatever else Mother Nature throws at you.

Take Your Wardrobe Seriously

Clothes are important. They can save your life in countless ways in a SHTF scenario, from blocking out cold weather to giving you relief from the blistering heat. They can also protect you from other unforeseen threats, including animals and other humans. Use this guide to put together the ultimate prepper’s wardrobe and take your survival skills to the next level.

[Note: This was a guest post.]