Clothing For Long Term

Hunting overalls!! Or just overalls in general. They are heavier cotton material and my hunters have double layers on the front of the legs protecting you from briars and making them last longer. Actually most of the time I will probably go native and not wear a lot. When I was a kid I usually only wore short cut off levis and a sailor hat and worked in the fields sun up to sundown. I mostly went barefoot but also liked those little bit of nothing track shoes they used to sell. Moccasins are ok but bare feet are better once you get your calluses built up. For travel I will wear leather hiking boots but I won't wear them much.

For winter I'll throw in a wool jacket and some thermals but will seldom need them. I am pretty much immune to cold as long as it is above 40. Jeans and a T shirt are my year around uniform with a hoodie occasionally or a flannel shirt worn as a coat. When I go out I wear cowboy boots. Southeast Texas is a pretty warm place so a lot of clothes are not a real necessity a lot of the year. I can be quite comfortable in a loincloth actually. I tan real easy and once browned I am immune to sunburn. When
I met my wife she thought I was hispanic. I was chocolate brown and was in the sun for 16 hours a day.

Clothing is a very different thing from place to place. Understand that a lot of what you wear is more related to customs and style than necessity. When I go into survival mode I plan on leaving most all of that kind of crud behind. Mostly I will be wearing guns, knives and assorted survival gear on a military harness.

 

Farm and agricultural hardware stores sell heavy clothing and boots that keep people as warm and safe as is possible when they have to be outside working like mules in whatever horrid weather. I've lived in the Mid-West right in the middle of an ocean of agriculture. Carhartt is one such clothing supplier to agricultural and construction workers. Example, get a big heavy canvas jacket and waterproof it, wax it, and it will go on protecting you for years if you don't get it ripped on whatever equipment. Look for triple stitch. Canvas is stiff, but you'll break it in. I've had my steel-toed boots protect my toes from seriously heavy stuff coming down on them (once a hemlock log). When it comes to helmets however, go with military. My dad's helmet saved his life during WWII -- wasn't a bullet that almost did him, it was a swinging piece of hoisting equipment. All he got was a nasty cut to his scalp, which sure beats having your skull split open. In a survival world, otherwise stupid injuries can result in you going septic and dying. I mean, you'll not have ready-access to medical facilities, now will you!!! Being prepared encompasses many areas; you gotta use your brains, and heavily so. Life isn't some TV show; this isn't a movie; this is for keeps.

 

I would like to think that my clothing will outlast me. I have plenty of it, and it is mostly good quality and durable. Through the years my weight has changed more than it should. I have always kept my old clothes hoping I would lose weight, and be able to wear it again. If we were in a SHTF situation we would probably be working a lot harder, and eating a lot less. Weight loss is almost inevitable.

Do you have clothing that will fit if you incur a significant weight loss? With shirts and coats you could get by. Pants and belts would be another story.

 

Something I was considering . Storing leather making chemicals versus storing heavy duty cloth . Any thoughts on this .

 

If it seemed prudent one of the first things I would do is sew braintan patches on the knee of my britches. For me that is the first place to wear out, the braintan would hold up to some abuse. Might even reinforce some key points on my capote.

 

A breechcloth/breechclout and leggings work really well and are easily made. The breechcloth can be made out of lighter softer material and then the leggings made of heavier stuff. You can make leggings out of heavy canvas and wear them over pants to protect your legs when you are working in briars.

 

Keith: I know I was born 150 years to late, but I think you were born 250 years to late. Are you sure you didn't come in a Time Machine? All great stuff. You do beautiful, Craftsman's work.