Hundreds of people die or come close to dying every year from exposure. They thought they were prepared. They didn’t expect their clothes to get wet from falling in a stream, they didn’t think they ‘d be out there for the night, or they get lost for days.
They had no gear, and not enough time, but they probably made it there by sunset anyhow. They also certainly didn’t make it the eleven miles back to their car before dark.
Maybe you don’t need to learn about survival clothing. Or you bring lots of warm clothing when you do go backpacking.
Quick Survival Clothing
What survival clothing could they have made in that situation? You’ll probably never have to use animal skins for survival clothing. Still, knowing how to improvise a few basic pieces of survival clothing can make you more comfortable, and possibly save your life.
Maybe you don’t need to learn about survival clothing. Or you bring lots of warm clothing when you do go backpacking.
Insulation is the important principle here. You can stuff a jacket, shirt, sweater or pants with dry leaves, milkweed down, bracken ferns or almost anything that creates a lot of “dead air space.” If you have two layers to sandwich it between but being itchy is better than being frozen in any case, it’s better.
Usually, you’ll do better to look first at what you have, before looking to kill animals for their skins, or weave grass skirts. If you have a sleeping bag, it can double as a coat – just wrap it around you. Socks can be mittens, and garbage bags can be made into snow pants.
In a jam, you can also use the flat leaves of cattail plants to weave a vest that will block some rain and the wind. Two bread bags full of milkweed down or other silky plant fibers make warm mittens (tie them at the wrists). A plastic bag full of the same could be tied onto your head as a hat.
In the desert you can make a sun-hat of large leaves, like those from a fan palm. String some together to wrap around your shoulders to prevent sunburn.
A garbage bag can also be a raincoat. Otherwise tie bunches of grass tightly together along a string or strip of cloth, and then wrap it around your shoulders.
What survival clothing could they have made in that situation? He could have used his t-shirt as a hat (a lot of heat is lost through the head) and filled his jacket with the fluff from the cattail seed heads for insulation.
You’ll probably never have to use animal skins for survival clothing. You might never lose your shoes and need to glue tree bark to your feet with pine sap, for hiking. Still, knowing how to improvise a few basic pieces of survival clothing can make you more comfortable, and possibly save your life.
