Best emergency clothing for no-heat emergency ?

[preventec47]

Best emergency clothing for no-heat emergency ?

I was looking around at some hunting coveralls but none of them mention their weight or offer a low temperature rating like they do sleeping bags. There is no way to tell how much insulation is in the hunting coveralls or even the work coveralls.

I dont think the harsh tough fabric of work coveralls is needed
and would be uncomfortable so I began looking for snowmobile suits and it looks like the trend is away from one piece suits towards parkas and bibs but I did find this one that seems like a good value considering some I found cost in excess of $300.

http://tinyurl.com/76e698z

I could do without the camo coloring but it just seems like
a very heavily insulated hunting coveralls without the
waterproofing would be cheaper than the snowmobile suit
but I cannot find any that gives any assurance as to how
much insulation is incorporated into the suit.
Any recommendations ?

[Nath]

Wool.

Nath

[Blaine]

In my limited experence, two or three layers of regular weight and a merino (sp?) wool or poly prop. underwear is better than one thick one. If I put on my heavy brown military poly prop. long johns and my Cabelas Gortex pants, and a Hooded GorTex rain jacket with a long sleeve shirt, I'm good for the weather around here. Wool makes me itch.

[shooter]

Wool is itchy, but warm. There are lots of high dollar, high performance synthetic clothing out there, and some of it's pretty good. I really like a good fleece, such as Polartech, etc., because they are warm and comfortable. For overall performance, though, it's hard to beat wool. Silk is also very warm and lightweight, and more comfortable than wool, though I mainly see it's application as a base layer.

I've got acrylic socks and wool socks, and blended acrylic/wool. My socks that are all wool or mostly wool win hands down.

[preventec47]

Yea I know I can pile on layers of all kinds of clothing
but I want a super insulated coverall that I can climb into
and zip up like my old hunting coveralls. I didnt realize that
they fell out of vogue. I believe I bought my at WalMart
about 20 years ago and you tell by holding and feeling
them how heavy and thick the quilt fabric was that
they were made of. The insides were sllippery fabric
(probably nylon ) that made the pants and sleeves
easy to slip on and off.

[yooper2]

I think the reason they don't have a rating system on clothing like they do for sleeping bags is that it would be dependent on if you were sitting still or moving around/how much. It's not an issue with sleeping bags where you are simply lying there.

I've always been comfortable wearing insulated Carhartts with wool union suit underneath down to about 0 if I'm not moving. If I am, they are good for all situations. They have a quilted lining inside that is quite slick and easy to get into/out of. Whenever I get new cotton duck gear I run in the dryer with no heat and bunch of old boots to work it in a bit.

That being said, I really prefer layers of wool clothing and only go with Carhartts for work when I don't want to mess up all my nice wool gear.


Eric

[mod71alaska]

Best emergency clothing for no-heat emergency ?

Any recommendations ?

Consider whether you are going to be in a wet or dry cold environment and choose accordingly. Down, for example, is a great insulation in dry cold but will kill you in wet conditions.

From flying in the bush, hunting and fishing in Alaska, I would tell you the following off the top of my head:

ALWAYS wear polypropylene long underwear...tops and bottoms...which completely wicks water away from your body. Expedition weight polypropylene long underwear saved my life once. I was packing the lake runway with my snow machine and broke through the ice in a "hot spot" the middle of my lake. The temp was 9 degrees, I was treading water, and the snow machine went to the bottom where it rested for a couple of weeks. When I finally got back to my cabin I was surprised to realize I actually was warm and didn't understand why until out of curiosity tried to wring water out of my cloths...poly underwear and wool pants and shirt. I couldn't ring any water out of my long underwear except at the wrist and ankle elastic bands, and minimal water out of my wool outer cloths! Polyp. underwear comes in light, med expedition weights. It's a must have for hyperthermic cold weather survival.

Layer your clothing so you can take off outer layers when you exert yourself physically and not soak yourself with perspiration. You can see the difficulty of one piece suits here.

Use wool, fleece, and wool shearling or other fur animal skin to stay warm the longest; down when its the coldest; non-moisture absorbing synthetic fiber in wet or damp conditions. I especially liked deep wool shearling trapper style hats in AK. They are warm in bitter, bitter cold and totally windproof.

This is important: The small area of your face and head loose disproportionately more of your body heat. There is a fleece head/face/neck cover called a "Head Sokz" by Gotta Go which I highly recommend for head/face/neck cold weather protection in addition to the wool shearling hat. You can find them on eBay.

An old timer Alaska bush pilot gave me this simple but invaluable advise if I ever went down winter flying in the bush: "Save your head, hands and feet for one more day. That's what you concentrate on. When you do that and the rest of you will be warm if you're prepared." That was the best emergency survival advise I've ever heard, and always remember it when I plan. Use that rule to guide how you choose your survival cloths for your head, hands and feet and for extras in your survival pack (if you carry one.)

Mittens are warmer than gloves, but have them large enough to be able to wear an inner glove so you can take the mitten off and use your fingers without freezing and loosing them to frost bite.

Space blankets basically are worthless to keep you warm! If you don't believe me, take one out into your back yard some cold night and try to stay warm!

A closed cell sleeping pad is important if you're thinking beyond emergency cloths. Otherwise, pile up evergreen bows to create dead air space for insulation for sleeping.

Again, most of your decisions ultimately will depend on whether you are in a wet or dry cold. 35 degrees and rain creates a totally different survival environment requiring altogether different outer cloths than -35. Polyp. underwear is a must in either case.

Good luck. As I said, this was just off the top of my head. I hope it helps and will be glad to help you more if I can.

Victor
aka mod71alaska

[mod71alaska]

Yea I know I can pile on layers of all kinds of clothing
but I want a super insulated coverall that I can climb into
and zip up like my old hunting coveralls. I didnt realize that
they fell out of vogue....

I have a brand new Eddie Bauer goose down snow mobile suit stored away I would sell you, but high quality goose down cloths are expensive. The outer material is Eddie Bauer's tough, weather proof 60/40 cloth. Just like you have found with other suits, these no longer are made. I'll have to check the size. PM me if you're interested.

[Old Ironsights]

Wool. Lots of layers over SILK thermals against the skin.

When I was stationed in AK and spent months on end at well below Zero at NWTC. I learned to love wool and hate the tacticool new stuff Unka Sam was having me test.

Wool pants, woolly pully, wool shirt, wool socks wool watch cap & scarf, wool gloves & mittens...

Wool wool wool.

[gak]

What others have said, plus Primaloft parka and/or same in a thin under-jacket-jacket if needing it to be ultralight especially in damp conditions. Patagonia's a good one but pricey; there may be other cheaper brands that'll do the same. +1 to Polyprop underthings; saved my bacon more than once. Though an Aridzonan, we can see sub-zero in our high country pretty regularly, and I travel the southern Rockies of Colorado and New Mexico a lot. I always have a zero or better (sub 0) Polarguard--down not worth the "is it wet?" hassles--bag with me at all times mid September through April in such environs--"just because." Too many stories over the years of tragedies involving the unprepared.

[L_Kilkenny]

On top of what many added about wool and poly clothing I will say that I have pretty much given up on Carharts (and their cheaper brothers) coats and bibs for anything but work wear. In the field the are, due to their cotton construction, a moisture problem waiting to happen. The get heavy and lose all their insulating value when wet.

I still wear cotton denim and duck jeans almost exclusively while hunting though because I just can't find a tough enough replacement for em at a reasonable cost. But I'll have a good set of poly underwear on underneath. Still need to hit up the goodwill store and see if I can find some old, heavy wool dress pants that have been discarded by the previous generations.

Also some good merino wool socks and good boots do wonders.

LK

[Blaine]

Cotton Kills

[1894]

Gonna have to look into that poly-prop base layer .
Thanks for mentioning it !

[AJMD429]

ALWAYS wear polypropylene long underwear...tops and bottoms...which completely wicks water away from your body. Expedition weight polypropylene long underwear saved my life once. I was packing the lake runway with my snow machine and broke through the ice in a "hot spot" the middle of my lake. The temp was 9 degrees, I was treading water, and the snow machine went to the bottom where it rested for a couple of weeks. When I finally got back to my cabin I was surprised to realize I actually was warm and didn't understand why until out of curiosity tried to wring water out of my cloths...poly underwear and wool pants and shirt. I couldn't ring any water out of my long underwear except at the wrist and ankle elastic bands, and minimal water out of my wool outer cloths! Polyp. underwear comes in light, med expedition weights. It's a must have for hyperthermic cold weather survival.

Thanks for the advice - glad you survived to tell us about it...!

[Old Ironsights]

ALWAYS wear polypropylene long underwear...tops and bottoms...which completely wicks water away from your body. Expedition weight polypropylene long underwear saved my life once. I was packing the lake runway with my snow machine and broke through the ice in a "hot spot" the middle of my lake. The temp was 9 degrees, I was treading water, and the snow machine went to the bottom where it rested for a couple of weeks. When I finally got back to my cabin I was surprised to realize I actually was warm and didn't understand why until out of curiosity tried to wring water out of my cloths...poly underwear and wool pants and shirt. I couldn't ring any water out of my long underwear except at the wrist and ankle elastic bands, and minimal water out of my wool outer cloths! Polyp. underwear comes in light, med expedition weights. It's a must have for hyperthermic cold weather survival.

Thanks for the advice - glad you survived to tell us about it...!

Yep. It's the best thing short of Silk. My only issue with PolyPro is that if you have a tendency to work around Fires as well as cold, Poly Pro Melts. Silk doesn't.

[madman4570]

For my ATV riding in the cold the best for the buck I have found is
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Walls-Polar ... 10629?var=

Its all about good heavy insulation combined with a shell that repels wind.
Walls Polar 10 Work Freezer Suit Coveralls cut the mustard.

[MrMurphy]

Polypro is excellent if you're not exerting much. Standing watch? Sure.

Running and gunning? No.

I went away from the issued polypros to the old wool five-button sweater and merino wool layers (which don't itch) due to this while stationed in Europe. The polypros were fine as long as i didn't do a thing. Soon as i did, overheating was a major problem.

[Streetstar]

For me it would all depend on the situation -

If i am inside my house and it is out of power and i am waiting for power to be restored, my clothing choice would be different than it would be if i were also doing things outside and exerting myself (chopping wood, messing around with the tractor or generator - whatever )

In the first example, i like to be layered up like a big poofy bear --- comfortable fabric, some seriously thick socks and some big puffy sheepskin lined slippers. I am out of the wind and just sitting around reading books or whatever --

2nd example, i would start out with a layer of cold weather Under Armor base layers -- the stuff is skin tight and fairly thin, boots are the Ft Lewis boot from Danner - they are 10" tall, waterproof, and so warm that they are only useful on days when it is freezing or worse --- for pants i just wear a pair of 5.11 BDU's sprayed with a water repellant spray. Upper body is the base layer followed by a decently warm shirt, then a coat. I used to use ECWCS gear for the base layers but switched to Under Armor because the Under Armor is thinner and easier to layer

Thats what i do in Oklahoma where we may have power outages and blizzard like conditions that last for a few days to 2 weeks at most --- my outdoor activity will usually be limited to messing around with the tractor/boxblade trying to clear my road (but thats a "sit-down" activity performed outside, usually in the wind too )
---- When i come inside for good, i dont waste much time getting out of the tighter, more efficient outdoor oriented clothes and getting into something fluffy and more comfortable

My choices would be different if i was more routinely subjected to serious cold weather -- here in Oklahoma, the wind chill is often much worse than the actual temperature (same goes for KAnsas and a few other states)

[2571]

Local power company publishes a magazine monthly. Jannuary issue han article about surviving a northern MI power failure. It suggests you keep your passport with you during a power outage.

Bizarre. No explanation for that advice.

Maybe a passport would keep you warm.

[M. M. Wright]

For those wool socks, consider Bass Pro's Lifetime. They are Marino wool and they just give you another pair when you decide it's time to trade. $10 a pair but to me it's a good buy. I have 7 or 8 pair.

[williamranks]

Two tricks I was taught.

#1 I learned from an old fella the lived in a cabin in northern Maine. When you put long woolies on and hang around in a heated area or ride in a heated truck you'll sweat. When you step outside you'll freeze from the moisture on your skin. He wore women's nylons under his thermals (panty hose now). They keep the moisture off your skin and when you step out your legs and feet may feel a little cool but you won't freeze.
Don't tell anyone you did it, I made that mistake!

#2 If sleeping in an unheated room or on an air mattress put a cheap space blanket under the bottom sheet. You'll sleep warm.

[rimrock]

I like my wool socks and long johns. I also like fleece stuff unless I know I'll be around a fire. I've had 2 occasions where embers from a fire were blown into my fleece hoody which then wanted to melt to my skin. I still wear fleece,but it is covered with a Carhart or other ducken clothing if fire is even a remote possibility.

rimrock

[K1500]

Local power company publishes a magazine monthly. Jannuary issue han article about surviving a northern MI power failure. It suggests you keep your passport with you during a power outage.

Bizarre. No explanation for that advice.

Maybe a passport would keep you warm.

So you can flee to Canada where the power will still be on.

[soon 2 retire]

Google Refrigiwear; they have some coveralls with a minus 50F rating. My brother lived in McGrath Alaska in the '60s and '70s an he swore by these.

Bob (now retired) on San Juan Island WA

[preventec47]

Thas what Im talkin bout ! !
I am going to order one of these. Thanks

http://www.refrigiwear.com/Iron_Tuff/id ... _With_Hood