# bug out bag clothes?



## ghostman (Dec 11, 2014)

What sort of clothes should go in a bug out bag?


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## Atilla (Feb 3, 2016)

http://www.amazon.com/Minus33-Merin...F8&qid=1455262344&sr=8-1&keywords=marino+wool
And the matching bottoms

http://www.amazon.com/Military-Genu...UTF8&qid=1455262388&sr=8-3&keywords=watch+cap
Amazon.com: Rothco Wool Glove Liner: Sports & Outdoors

Wool Socks

I've got a Magellan fishing shirt and a pair of convertible pants that I never wear because they have an elastic waistband, which I can't stand but I figure might be good in a shtf scenario and a nice t-shirt.

Thats for winter. I'm in Texas and cold blooded. YMMV.


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## Sasquatch (Dec 12, 2014)

Depends on climate and area. Some of you folks live in areas where it'll be freezing in the winter while others, like me, are lucky if it gets into the 50's in the winter. In mine I have a wool beanie, t-shirt, socks and wind breaker. Besides my blanket I probably won't need much more.


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

Socks, long sleeve t-shirt, wool cap, and cargo pants that have the zipper so I can make them shorts if needed. I keep a change of clothes and hiking boots in all the trucks as well. ( Wife's has her clothes )


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

I don't plan on bugging out. But since I live in an area with four seasons, my get home stash in the car is always changing. Right now it's heavy coat, wool hat, gloves, wool socks, heavy boots, and hand warmers.


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## Operator6 (Oct 29, 2015)

Depending on the time of the year I keep different stuff.

Most of the time I keep surgical scrub pants and T-shirts. In the winter I keep thermal underwear and a hoodie along with the scrubs and Tshirts. 

Pair of socks or two. 

Even in the dead of winter here it's usually too warm for heavy clothing.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Like Sidekhar, I change the contents depending on the time or year. At least two changes of clothes, rain gear, boots appropriate for temperature and water proof. I prefer wool the majority of the year. Also some appropriate cammo


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

Clothes will change some depending on season. Some staples. Always underwear and wool socks. T-shirt, gloves -(-0always a pair of good leather work gloves, warm winter gloves can be added in winter, but the work gloves stay) wool hat and a cap always in bag.


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

Light weight layers. That way you can layer up and layer down as needed and if you lose a garment for some reason it wasn't the only one of those you had. Also - extra undies.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

ghostman said:


> What sort of clothes should go in a bug out bag?


Wool, wool, and more wool! I spent years wearing synthetics when I was a climbing instructor, As I got into prepping, and did more research, I found that wool was the best! All that money spent on synthetics was a waste of hundreds of dollars really! Everything in my kit for winter is wool, summer kit still has wool but a lighter marine wool!


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## SittingElf (Feb 9, 2016)

Many of the items listed above this post...BUT

Athletic WHITE socks.... and more than a pair or two. Your feet won't sweat as much with good quality white cotton socks and will wick away moisture better.

You may end up having to hike...a very long distance due to any number of causes, and you don't want blisters, or fungal foot rot (trench foot). It will stop you cold. Your feet need to be protected almost more than any other part of your body, and those socks, on your feet, should fit your hiking boots like a hand in a glove. Critical!

Learned this lesson well working in Africa with SpecOps years ago. Humid, Hot, and many, many kilometers on our feet. 

After having learned this lesson, I participated in the Belgian Death March three times, held each each in the 80's, where you trek 100 kilometers in 24 hours, and did so without a single blister or other malady except exhaustion. Also three years in Holland for the Nijmegan 4-tag... four days of 50 kilometers each day in military teams. No problems.

It also helped me earn the Expert Field Medical Badge in the Army, where the last test is a 12-mile overland march with 50lb pack that has to be completed in 3-hours or less.

Don't ignore your feet!


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

jro1 said:


> Wool, wool, and more wool! I spent years wearing synthetics when I was a climbing instructor, As I got into prepping, and did more research, I found that wool was the best! All that money spent on synthetics was a waste of hundreds of dollars really! Everything in my kit for winter is wool, summer kit still has wool but a lighter marine wool!


Wool is best for clothing, good insulation value when wet. But I've found some of the synthetic, hollow fibers are great for sleeping bags.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

Have you tried a hybrid bag yet? I picked up a down bag that had a synthetic bottom too it! The down kept you warm on top, but the synthetic bottom kept you dry and wicked moisture away!


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

Sleeping in synthetics in a mummy bag definitely help keep you dry! Don't get me wrong, there are some really warm light weight synthetics, but for long term physical use, I would stay away from synthetic top layers! Synthetic underlayers help keep you dry! Hybrid like Marino wool is best of both worlds, but expensive!! Icebreaker is one of the best Marino wool clothing companies in my opinion!


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

SittingElf said:


> Many of the items listed above this post...BUT
> 
> Athletic WHITE socks.... and more than a pair or two. Your feet won't sweat as much with good quality white cotton socks and will wick away moisture better.
> 
> ...


Thanks, Elf, this is excellent first-hand info. I always considered wool the best for wicking moisture away from your skin, but I'll reconsider and find some high quality white cotton athletic socks as you suggest.


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## Operator6 (Oct 29, 2015)

I use dry fit socks. There's no way to keep your feet dry down here unless you change out your socks. The dry fit socks dry faster.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

jro1 said:


> Have you tried a hybrid bag yet? I picked up a down bag that had a synthetic bottom too it! The down kept you warm on top, but the synthetic bottom kept you dry and wicked moisture away!


Down is great when dry, but it takes forever to dry if it gets wet.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

"Ultimax" makes some pretty good socks! I have pairs I wear twice a week amd have for the last 10 years! They are starting to show wear on the bottoms, but still kicking!!


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

I love the ECWS stuff both the modular sleep system and various layers. They work good. I'm really looking foward to see what the US Military brings out in 2017/2018, in their new clothing updates. I am guessing eventually the clothes themselves will be armour, like new carbon fibre aramind like materials. there are some new synthetics that are pretty crazy.

None the less I love silkweights and have to recommend them to everyone.

I'm also finding BulletSafe(tm) to be interesting http://www.bulletsafe.com/


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

sideKahr said:


> Down is great when dry, but it takes forever to dry if it gets wet.


Huge problem when in a survival scenario! I don't have much choice for my region! She's pretty cold! Summer time when chances of getting wet are almost 90% I switch my kit over to a good synthetic bag! Marmot makes a great light weight bag called the "pounder plus" I used it twice on the 80km west coast trail, and have put it to hard use hiking since 2005! Been a great bag! And of course it only weighs in at 1lb, summer only!!


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

I use the older canadian modular system for tenting and hunting! Two down bags with a cotton insert blanket! Warm as hell, but wouldn't want to carry that load on top of my already heavy bug out bag!! Aint happenin man!


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Will2 said:


> I love the ECWS stuff both the modular sleep system and various layers. They work good. I'm really looking foward to see what the US Military brings out in 2017/2018, in their new clothing updates. I am guessing eventually the clothes themselves will be armour, like new carbon fibre aramind like materials. there are some new synthetics that are pretty crazy.
> 
> None the less I love silkweights and have to recommend them to everyone.


Will2, what did you use when you spent that winter in your home without heat?


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## whoppo (Nov 9, 2012)

three pairs of Bridgdale merino wool blend socks, vacuum packed. Ziploc baggie to store the wet socks being removed.
One light weight, long sleeve fleece shirt, wool hat for cold, a "boonie" style hat for sun.
Gloves, one pair for work, one for warmth.

Additional clothing in the truck bag and three-season clothing in quantity in the motor home


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

Inor once told me " think militarily" most clothing from the surplus store will be good enough for a big out bag..and at budget prices too! I also really like carhart denim work pants for chores around camp! Heavy but we'll worth rolling up and throwing a pair into the bob or get home bag!


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

I see cotton recommended in here a lot.

All of my training has taught me cotton kills. I would assume wool along with that.

Maybe that's because I'm a desert dweller, but even up in Northern AZ, the outdoors-men say that cotton kills too. And that's up north of 5,000 feet of altitude with snow and wind. So what's the deal with that?


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

GTGallop said:


> I see cotton recommended in here a lot.
> 
> All of my training has taught me cotton kills. I would assume wool along with that.
> 
> Maybe that's because I'm a desert dweller, but even up in Northern AZ, the outdoors-men say that cotton kills too. And that's up north of 5,000 feet of altitude with snow and wind. So what's the deal with that?


What you just said!! Yall should read "freedom of the hills" cotton does amd will get you killed! I spent my 20's living on the mountain! I sent people home with their cotton bull$h!t! Don't put yourself at risk amd don't put anyone else in the group at risk having to save your butt from hypothermia!!


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

jro1 said:


> "Ultimax" makes some pretty good socks! I have pairs I wear twice a week amd have for the last 10 years! They are starting to show wear on the bottoms, but still kicking!!


Good socks are always the hardest to find. I've found the smartwool skisocks with spandex to be my favorite sort so far.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

I'm thinking wool and hybrid synthetics for the win!


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

Will2 said:


> Good socks are always the hardest to find. I've found the smartwool skisocks with spandex to be my favorite sort so far.


I like the smartwool too! Marks work warehouse has smart wool in all the time! MEC is a good place to find socks and lighter wool clothing!


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

sideKahr said:


> Will2, what did you use ... in ... winter?


My winter clothing loadout is fairly normalized.
This is my ideal
Layer 1 Silkweight, then silkwool, then wool, then fleece, then weather resistant. At the time I was using the "fake" spetznaz urban blue outer with fleece inner, topped with US ECWS layer cold/wet outer. 3 pairs of socks, with the other layer being wool, the middle layer being a mix fibre smartwool, and the innerlayer being smartwool with more stretch.

Three of the layers had hoods, plus I wore a tuk, no pompom. and gloves, when outside I also had white mickey's.

Things varied slightly but I am pretty sure I have a few videos on youtube on this.

The key was having my outer layer water proof, then various layers of insulating breathing inners. no cotton I can post up the videos again if you are reallyinterested but I think I may have already done that.

I really like the MEC hoodie I had, I really enjoyed the silkwool/cashmere I had. I picked up some Alpaca wool sweaters for cheap also. I am a big fan of wood. For my most outer layers the cold/wet ECWS layers and the Layer 7(basically snowsuit) layers are good. Its all about having a lot of good insulating layers. I like natural fibres for the most part over synthetics but also some of the newer synthetics are getting pretty good.

I changed it up a bit this year as an experiment with the layer II fleeces, and I found in most situations I was just too hot, but I wasn't in the same cold conditions. So I am thinking the layer I with layer II would be even more effective than just using the layer 1 and a bunch of wools. Layer II caused me to sweat in anything but frosty weather. (I've found that polyesters and wools and spandexes are what ends up on me in addition to permalofts, and thinsulates)

I also had an Eaton's wool cap that I like to use as liner for the feel for my head/face. I can say I did not have enough foot warmth as my feet physically froze on two occasions, everything else was ok, but I was suffering mild hypothermia when going to sleep and waking up. I also occasionally woke up a couple of times in the middle of the night, so it wasn't ideal. I wasn't freezing (Except my feet) but I wasn't really warm until I got active and move around a bit generating body heat.

I would definitely recommend putting money into good socks and gloves, they are the most overlooked cold weather clothing items.

You don't know what it is like until your feet are paralyze from being physically frozen, it is very distressing for any part of the body to physically freeze.

I take cold serious enough that my #1 prep for freezing temps is to be nowhere near them.

Bear in mind I also now use the MSS with 2 cold bags in addition to the warm bag now. That winter I only had 1 cold bag and some blankets. I also had some heat as I had a propane stove, but not enough propane to run it ongoing, so it was only used during meals. Which was often enough to warm the place above 0, or atleast turn the ice on the ceiling into moisture that would drip then refreeze afterward. So I did get warmth once or twice a day depending on how much rice I cooked at once, whether enough for the day or if it would require two. I also occassionally treated myself with hot protien chocolate. So it wasn't complete hardship.


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## jro1 (Mar 3, 2014)

This has been a really good post! It's not like a gear post where only a handfull of people have the gear! But every ody wears clothing and has tried just about everything to stay warm and dry! I think it will be different geographically! Up here in Canada is going to be different that what someone would wear downin the southern parts of the US! But I think most can admit to having a soggy cotton sock at least once in their life time!


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

But isn't cotton and wool basically the same thing? One is from a plant and one from a sheep - but they work the same way. Right? Or am I one with the crazyness this morning?


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## Operator6 (Oct 29, 2015)

jro1 said:


> What you just said!! Yall should read "freedom of the hills" cotton does amd will get you killed! I spent my 20's living on the mountain! I sent people home with their cotton bull$h!t! Don't put yourself at risk amd don't put anyone else in the group at risk having to save your butt from hypothermia!!


It was 75 degrees here yesterday on Feb. 12th. Freeze I will not !


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

GTGallop said:


> But isn't cotton and wool basically the same thing? One is from a plant and one from a sheep - but they work the same way. Right? Or am I one with the crazyness this morning?


No. They are very different fibres.


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## essdub (Feb 13, 2016)

This is a good thread. Lots of opinions. But I'd like to add this:
What if it's important to remain unseen? You're hiking home or to bug out location under the worst of circumstances? The point is that there could be so many different things that could cause you to have to walk. From car accident out of cell range all the way to armed invasion or declaration of martial law to flood to whatever. Just something to keep in mind. I'm not suggesting that you buy only camo and keep more ammo than food, but maybe buy clothes that would be relatively inconspicuous around others AND blend in to whatever environment you have to hike through.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

essdub said:


> ...What if it's important to remain unseen? You're hiking home or to bug out location under the worst of circumstances? The point is that there could be so many different things that could cause you to have to walk. From car accident out of cell range all the way to armed invasion or declaration of martial law to flood to whatever. Just something to keep in mind. I'm not suggesting that you buy only camo and keep more ammo than food, but maybe buy clothes that would be relatively inconspicuous around others AND blend in to whatever environment you have to hike through.


Concerning clothing, I'm a fan of "The Gray Man Strategy" also:

Gray Man Strategies 101: Peeling Away the Thin Veneer of Society : ITS Tactical


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