Summer Prepping Clothing

[Scythe13]

This is a really quick post, because it just caught my mind.

In life I look at the extremes, as they inform the middle ground. Well, I thought about climate change and the alike, and about how much gear would be needed for a super cold winter, number and sets of thermals including different sizes we'd require in a potential 5 year period, and the alike. Simple enough.

But, I have a habit of wearing shorts. So, the other extreme from arctic clothing is summer/desert clothing.

We had a pretty hot summer last year, and a very warm winter (by winter standards). So if the world is getting hotter, would your 'summer gear' be up to the job of lasting, and of being adequate for carrying your gear?

I wear MMA shorts for 9 months of the year, and very few pairs have a 'pocket'. It can't be called a real pocket, because you can't even fit a phone into it. A credit card at most.

So, do you have enough summer prep gear, should something happen in the summer that required you to change the way you dressed? Even though I have loads of pairs of MMA shorts, I'd say 'No, I don't have enough summer clothing.'

This has caused me to add cargo shorts to my list of clothing, to buy ASAP. Nice and simple colours, browns, khaki, black, multi cam, and that kind of thing. The same with vests, tshirts and the alike. I have plenty, but they are mostly not neutral or tactical colours.

Just a quick thought, WTSHTF, will you have enough warm weather clothing available?

This leads on to the question, when winter kicks in, will you have enough clothing to stay warm if you're warm weathered up?

[Midnitemo]

layers and more layers , you may look like the Michelin man but just put on all your layers if it gets cold.....if you want a back up that weighs next to f/all then a windproof shirt and trousers , takes no space and weighs next to nothing , I have a pair of berghaus trousers and a montane shirt , slip em on under your waterproofs or as a mid layer and bingo.

---

helly Hansen lifa thermals and the windproof gear live in my bob all year round

[Devonian]

(18 March 2014, 22:18)Midnitemo Wrote: layers and more layers

+1

Layers are the best and most flexible options for year round comfort.

With regards to shorts I tend to avoid them like the plague, except at home or on holiday. Shorts offer no protection from either the sun, insects or nettles/brambles etc. Also if kneeling down or crawling around the forest floor or hedgerows etc, then you want some protection on your legs. The last thing you want is family of ticks burying into your leg for their evening meal!

[Mortblanc]

Scythe, real preppers have pockets! Put some clothes on!

My normal climate is your ultra extreme. We regularly get winters with months of -20 and summers with many days reaching 37c. You learn to dress for it and deal with it. The world is not coming to an end just because you are sweating a little bit.

Problem with cargo shorts or pants is that one can quickly load them up to the point that the belt must be cinched very tightly to hold the load at waist level. That gets uncomfortable quickly even to the point of making one numb from the waist down.

Not wishing to be numb from the waist down, I therefore do not carry a great amount of "cargo" in my cargo pants. I keep my EDC personal carry gear to a minimum, usually restricted to wallet and key chain, knife and pistol. The wallet is in a pocket and the key chain snapped to a belt loop, folding knife in the pocket and my EDC pistol carried in an inside the waist band holster at the small of my back. I understand that the pistol is 14oz of weight you folks do not deal with.

I do not plan on rebuilding civilization out of the contents of my pockets. What is on my person is just to get me back to the vehicle so I can get the he!! out of Dodge City using a very fast Dodge vehicle.

We in the US being as vehicle oriented as we are, leave the bulk of our gear in the vehicle.

As for storing reserve clothing, I probably have enough now hanging in the closet to last me for years. Shoes too.

[SecretPrepper]

5.11 do some good looking shorts

[bigpaul]

anybody over 40 looks stupid in shorts. I gave up shorts when I was 12, and like Devonian says look out for ticks especially in this area and on Dartmoor, if there are sheep or deer about there are probably ticks as well.

[CharlesHarris]

5.11 clothing, while functional, looks too "tactical mall ninja" for me. I like a lower profile so my tendency is more towards Carhart or Duluth work clothing in earth colors. While some purport that the official West Virginia state color scheme is RealTree, I prefer not to look like a cast extra from Duck Dynasty or a fugitive from an Army-Navy store.

Duluth stuff is more durably constructed and long wearing in my experience than either military BDUs or 5.11s and pockets are more sturdily constructed and deeper cut than Carharts, which is essential if carry a pistol in your pocket routinely.

[Mortblanc]

The Deluth and Carhart gear has the added benefit of being designed as "work clothing" rather than sporting gear.

Work clothing gets used for the purpose intended and the purchaser expects it to hold up day after day and last for more than one year.

Most "tactical" clothing is a knock-off of something and not expected to be worn outside the confines of the shopping mall.

[BeardyMan]

You wear shorts???!!!???

I've got about 20 pairs of cargo trousers (thanks CostCo!) that zip off at the knee, turning into shorts. Not the best trousers, but very handy should you be out and get hot.

Just remember to reattach the legs before popping them into the wash, even if you've not dirtied the legs, or you'll have shorts that are slightly lighter in colour than the bottoms of the legs...

Duluth gear looks exceptionally hard wearing, but the price, by the time the goods are in the UK, is pretty high. What we need are some friendly US based preppers who would re-package the goods for us and doctor the customs slip to $15 value

[bigpaul]

I live and die in jeans (have done since I was 15) so does everybody else round here so I don't look out of place(grey man).