While clothing appears to be a simple item you can buy anytime, you must even ask yourself whether you have the correct SHTF clothing in your and your family’s wardrobes for getting you through a bug-out or survival situation.
In massive circumstances having the proper clothing can make a considerable difference between death and life.
Kind of clothing that you require to be comfortable with varies from climate to climate. For instance, for those in Florida or Louisiana swamps, you may not want to carry 2 warm jackets or coats.
It even gets you thinking regarding footwear and other clothing you should have with you and how prepared you should be for such a survival situation.
You most probably would have few particular things to your area that you would require to include.
This article considers some of the most basic SHTF clothing requirements and how you can prepare yourself in advance.
Contents
Why Does It Matter What Clothing You Choose?
You most probably have an idea about the key to SHTF survival is to dress in layers appropriately.
Layered clothing permits you to remain flexible & adapt your clothing to the kind of weather you have for you to endure through the day.
The fundamental trick to layer is to have loose-fitting irrespective of the season. Loose-fitting layers in the course of warm weather make it extremely difficult for the insects to bite through your clothing.
In case of cold weather, loose-fitting layers of clothing serve you better as they create pockets of air between the layers for insulation & keeping you warm.
Grey Man Clothing
When the world is in chaos, rioting and looting will get the norm wherever people congregate.
For those who are planning to bug out, there might come a time when you require leaving your home to get sufficient supplies, figure out medical assistance, or meet up with the family member who initially got separated.
It is where grey man clothing works well. There stand various components for becoming a grey man, and there is more to it than just clothing.
When you are on your way to not becoming a target in populated areas, one of the best things that work is to ensure that your clothing is nondescript and does not stimulate the eye.
More or less, our brain tends to avoid continuous color to wear similar colors in the top & bottom.
Go for plain and neutral tones like grey, brown, tan, and dark blue. Jackets and t-shirts must be plain with zero photos or logos that would entice attention.
In suburban regions, plain t-shirt and cargo shorts help you appear typical suburban locals. However, if people in your neighborhood wear tank tops and camo, you will for sure stand out.
The key is to wear regular everyday clothing that does not catch the attention or make you uniquely different from the rest in that area.
How Does Location and Climate Influence Your Choice?
Regarding climate change and the spread of news over the past years, it is a fact that we now see their drawbacks. Storms these days are massively ferocious.
The weather is even more extreme. We witness fires that are bigger and highly dangerous. Our coast gets pounded by numerous waves. In climate change situations, preparing for survival is a must for you and your family.
Here we will list some handy ways to start preparing for survival under the influence of location and climate. These are great tips on how you can ensure that the place where you sleep stays prepared against extreme weather conditions.
Ensure You Are Covered
One of the positive things is that even if there are things that you expect, which may worsen, the worst climate change is not expected to get a reality overnight. It means you have the time to get prepared for the same.
There is no better way than ensuring your house has proper insurance coverage.
In this way, even in severe weather conditions, if your house gets damaged, you will have the potential to repair and relocate it under the insurance plan.
You also require that the insurance cover be broad enough and cover all possible weather conditions. For instance, ensure to get your home covered against wildfire, flood, strong winds, storms, and other disastrous situations.
Home Design
When you prepare your house as per climate change, ensure that it is constructed with massive weather in mind.
While old-school shingles are good for daily shingles, new shingles created with composite material are nicely designed to bear the extreme storms.
It can be the difference between not staying safe and staying safe in the course of water damage and destructive storms.
Ensure your home gets adequately insulated with the new materials and ensure your windows get designed & lined to prevent the loss of heat or poor transfer of energy.
Clothing
And lastly, clothing is the most crucial thing you think about when preparing for SHTF survival. Clothing differs from location to location and depends hugely on the climate.
Thus, being well equipped with adequate quality and quantity clothing before witnessing SHTF is crucial.
Few of the best SHTF clothing involves
- Socks
- Underwear
- Rain gear
- Stretchy & accommodating pants
- T-shirt
- Extra boots & outdoor footwear
- Insoles
- Bandannas
- Hats
- Water shoes/sandals
- Jeans & other protective pants
- Climate gear
- Back clothes for the growing kids and infants
- Saving money back clothes
What Clothes Should You Choose?
Clothing layering technique
Sub Layer
Sublayer is those closest to your skin & involves your underwear & maybe wool tights or tank top.
Such items must be ideally made of fabric that in nature is hydrophobic and with extremely wicking capability, which means it can pull the moisture away to a great extent from your body.
Ensure to be away from cotton underwear as it soaks up all the water and completely loses its capability to insulate. Include in leggings or wool tights in winter weather conditions.
Merino wool socks or cool max are the best. Merino wool is the softer and most durable component than other wools.
Base Layer
Ideally, the base layer should be a sleeveless shirt or t-shirt in highly mild conditions. For regions that encounter extensive cold conditions, thermal underwear or polypropylene works like magic.
They do not absorb water & even serve as a barrier between outside moisture and skin. Polar max brands like polar max double base layer bottom & polar max double base top are great sets to carry.
You can also consider thermal underwear along with Merino wool for the same.
Core Layer
The core layer is next & can only be one layer in the warm weather condition or even several layers in weather conditions that are relatively cold. Generally, it is shorts, pants, and a shirt with a fleece pullover in most cases.
Your core layer can hugely depend on where you live, the weather pattern, and the kind of activity you conduct the entire day.
Cargo shorts with pockets best works in summer condition. If you opt for Carhartt canvas work pants, you will notice they have deep pockets on the front end and a belt that loops perfectly to hold on the holster.
Firehose work pants are even functional and do not appear tactical. Remain away from those clothing that seems tactical, like the Blackhawk or the 511 pants.
Outer Shell
The outer layer or even called the shell, must be polyester or nylon, which is something that not just blocks wind but is, to an extent, waterproof or water-resistant.
The material polyester is best as it helps to stop the wind capacity, and it is even a good insulator. Nylon works well as it is durable and efficiently dries quickly if any moisture gets absorbed.
Conclusion
We always recommend you have several socks and underwear changes on hand. It helps in case if one pair is drying over fire, you have the next set, which is warm, dry, and ready to wear.
The initial layer must be moisture-wicking polypropylene, followed by a warm layer, insulating wool for socks. Set of good long johns is highly crucial in colder weather conditions.
It is entirely crucial to dress up in layers to trap the precious body heat. Gore-Tex pants are waterproof and ideal for repelling moisture; this is the only thing you would not want on your SHTF clothing. Ensure to wear fleece hoodies to get extra warmth.
Shoes must be of top quality. Consider hiking boots or shoes with heavy soles with a good grip. Ensure to break them much before you bring them into use to avoid blisters.
Good quality, water-repellant ski gloves are suitable to keep your fingers from getting bitten by frost.
Mittens are also good as it enables your fingers to touch & warm each other. Ensure to top it off with a ski mask for covering the exposed skin. Consider being in camouflage dressing in areas where you do not want to get noticed.
Ensure to pre-pack all your SHTF clothing efficiently. It is a safer & smarter way than just sitting and waiting for the end possible moment.
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