Functional Wilderness Clothing
Understanding the basics of functional wilderness clothing is one of the first things a modern outdoorsman needs to know.
“You’ve got to dress so if you break your leg and have to lay out on the prairie you won’t freeze to death.”
This quote comes from Teddy Blue’s book We Pointed Them North. Teddy Blue was a Texas cowboy who drove herds of cattle to Montana in the 1880s. Eventually, he decided to settle there for good. In his book, he retold of a frigid winter in 1886 where he only survived with the help of an old frontiersman named Pike Landusky. The tidbit about properly dressing was one gem of wisdom the trapper passed along to Teddy Blue. Basically, when you are spending time outdoors, your clothes are not a fashion statement. Instead, your clothing should be functional.
I’ve written before about how Sitka’s motto “Turning Clothing Into Gear,” reflects our culture’s view of clothing. For most Americans, clothing doesn’t seem to have much to do with function. Instead, it’s mostly about comfort or appearance. Perhaps that is appropriate if you are living in climate-controlled buildings. For outdoorsmen, however, clothing always has, and always will be, gear. In reality, your clothing is your first layer of shelter.
Once you realize your clothing is your first layer of shelter, it can help you begin to collect a greater supply of functional wilderness clothing. Like any gear, your wilderness clothing should be tailored to the specific situation you are going to be in. People in hot weather will obviously dress differently than people in cold weather. People in areas full of thorns may dress differently than people in a woodland. You can see these trends all throughout history. You might say that traditional cultures are the product of generations of experimentation about how to dress in a certain area. For example, Native American tribes of the eastern woodlands often wore some style of soft sole moccasin. The woodland environment was just fine for such a design. On the plains, however, a soft-sole moccasin wouldn’t do. Tribes like the Commanche often wore hard sole moccasins to turn back cactus, rocks, and other objects. Sure, tribes had their own styles, but style came after the functionality was established. The same is true for all cultures around the world.
In this article, we’ll take a brief look at what makes functional wilderness clothing and some considerations we’ll need to make.
Place/Purpose
As mentioned, the first considerations are the place you’ll go and the purpose you’re going for. When I used to live near the Florida Everglades, I dressed differently than when I go to the Rocky Mountains. Also, you need to ask why you are going. Of course, the season you go can also play a tremendous difference. When it comes to weather, understand how different weather can be from place to place. A few years ago, I went on a bear hunt in Montana. The first night it snowed so much it collapsed my tent. However, at home, he had our garden planted and spring was in full swing. People in Nebraska wouldn’t believe it could snow that much at the end of May, but it certainly did. Make sure you understand that in some places it can snow every day of the year, some places will likely rain every day, other places can get terribly hot. Use some basic understanding of geography.
Layers
Layers are another matter to consider when deciding what to wear when living outdoors. When it comes to layering, many people separate clothing into the base, mid, and outer layers.
The base layer is the layer closest to your skin. At this layer, clothing should be comfortable and ideally will be fast drying. Given these two standards, synthetic materials are often a good choice for your base layer. Whether it is a synthetic t-shirt or long sleeve, these garments’ ability to dry quickly makes them ideal. Of course, being damp isn’t a big problem when it is warm, rather, this is most important if the temperature drops. Being wet and cold is much worse than just being cold. As a result, we don’t want wet clothing sticking to our bodies when the temperature drops. Synthetic materials do a better job at wicking away moisture than traditional materials such as cotton do. Another material that people seem to be drawn to is merino wool. Merino wool is a type of wool that doesn’t itch. Some merino wool items are 100% merino wool, others are a blend of some sort. It does still have the property that has always made wool popular with outdoorsmen. That is, even when the fibers are wet, they retain their insulating property. That doesn’t mean you can jump in a lake and not get wet or cold. It just means that when wet, it does a better job insulating you than other materials. Once you have decided upon a base layer, then you can move to the mid-layer.
Mid layer is the clothing layer that is worn over your base layer. This layer of clothing should protect you from the elements and be comfortable to wear. For most people, a good mid-layer is a long sleeve and jeans. Later, we’ll discuss the benefits of covering your legs and arms.
Next is the outer layer. Your outer layer is the layer you wear over the mid-layer. For most of us, this is the sweatshirt, jacket, or coat we take along. Outer layers are the first defense we have to keep us warm, dry, and protected. When camping, it’s usually a good idea to take a good outer layer even in the summer. Depending on where you are camping, these layers come in handy at night even in the summer months. In winter, most of us realize this layer is very important. A good coat will stop wind, rain, or snow, and will help insulate us from the weather.
The advantage of dressing in layers is that you can adapt to whatever the weather throws at you. Some times of the day will, of course, be warmer than others. By dressing in layers you can quickly change to stay most comfortable. The downside of dressing in layers is that you’ll have to carry more clothing. You may end up packing a coat around all day that you only need for an hour in the morning.
Material
Another consideration you’ll need to make when deciding what to wear when camping is the material. There are a few different considerations to make.
First, natural materials are traditionally good choices, with cotton being a common choice. Although cotton is soft, it can be woven in a particular way that creates a strong durable fabric like denim. In fact, denim became popular in America due to its reputation as a durable material suitable for outside work. Denim has withstood the test of time, and today it is still the tried and true choice for many outdoorsmen. Another option that was used in the past, but not so much today, is canvas. You might be surprised to learn that on the American frontier people often wore canvas pants. When it comes to natural materials, wool is another choice that people historically used. Wool is a good choice because it has better-insulating properties than the other materials mentioned. Also, although wool has a reputation for being uncomfortable to wear, modern companies are using merino wool which is reported to be much more comfortable. More on merino wool in a moment. I do have several traditional wool garments that I routinely wear and do believe in.
As good as natural materials are, besides for wool, they all tend to soak up water. This tendency can make them uncomfortable, and depending on the weather, even dangerous to wear. If you’ve ever been soaked to the bone wearing denim jeans and a cotton shirt, you know how these materials can stick to your body. When the temperature drops, that is exactly what you don’t want to happen. Fortunately, there are a few modern materials out there you can use to your advantage.
Today, most outdoor clothing companies offer an array of synthetic materials to choose from. Most of these synthetic materials share a few common properties. One, they are typically lighter than natural materials. Personally, I’ve got a few shirts made by the company Habit that I like to wear. These shirts are light, vented, comfortable, and dry faster than shirts with natural materials. However, these shirts are not usually as durable, and they still soak up moisture. I have a few working cowboy friends who wear the Poncho shirts and feel they are a good product. Personally, I haven’t bit the bullet on them yet.
Speaking of biting the bullet, let’s circle back around to merino wool. After a recent camping trip of rain, rain, and more rain, I finally decided it was time to go ahead and buy some merino wool. Admittedly, it is expensive stuff which turned me off for quite a while. However, I sometimes take a notebook with me when I go camping, so I can jot notes or ideas that come to mind. On this particular trip, in reference to my clothing, I recorded, “Wet, wet, wet. SPEND THE MONEY.” I can laugh at this, but I think many of us frugal types can be guilty of this. When I’m at home, thinking about my trips, I tell myself I can get by with what I have. However, when it’s cold and I’m soaked, I get to thinking a good pair of socks would be worth a little extra money. Long story short, when I got back I purchased some merino wool socks. I have to say that I’m glad I spent the money. I only plan on utilizing the gear when I’m out camping, so hopefully it will last for some years to come.
Coverage
First off, no matter what season, it’s not a bad idea to have the ability to cover your skin. Old frontiersmen always “buttoned out the sun” with long-sleeved shirts buttoned to the collar and long pants. There are plenty of folks in my part of the country who could buy a tank of gas if you gave them a dollar for every year their legs went without seeing daylight. People may laugh at it, but in reality, this is not a bad approach when you’re outside all the time.
In the cooler months, wearing long pants and sleeves is not a problem. When it warms up is when people these days switch over to shorts and T-shirts. Although people differ in opinion, many people believe that wearing long sleeves even in summer keeps them cooler. Personally, I do wear long sleeves almost every day of the year. In my experience, it seems like I may get a little warmer during the day, but my skin cools off more at night. If I want to cool down, all I have to do is take my shirt off. If your skin has been exposed to the sun all day, you’ve about got to go swimming to cool down. For me, short sleeves are for the perfect days of fall and spring when the sun is not as harsh.
Long sleeves and pants also help guard your skin against all of the things that will poke, prod, or scratch you when you’re camping. At a bare minimum, no matter the season, it’s a good idea to at least take a light long sleeve.
Tradition
Additionally, even if you’re not a traditionalist, it might not be a bad idea to look at what traditional outdoorsmen wore in your area. Outdoorsmen have always had specialized gear suited for what they are doing, and some of those articles have withstood the test of time. However, just what that gear looks like probably depends on your area. In some areas, it might be sombrero hats, and in others, it may be fur mittens. Just because we live in the 21st century doesn’t mean we have improved on all of the ideas of the past. There is still some fruit there, we just have to search for it.
Hopefully, this article can help you better understand what to wear to have functional wilderness clothing. Clothing really is your body’s first form of shelter. By wearing the right clothing, you can help protect yourself and stay comfortable in a variety of situations. Although it is a catchy slogan, clothing has always been gear. If you start looking at it that way, you may find yourself better prepared on your next camping trip. Even today, Pike Landusky’s pioneer advice is something that we can benefit from.