Also sounds a little strange, but it’s good to think about what you wear to sleep. Are you ready to wake up and immediately grab your loved ones and run out of your house, or will you be fumbling for clothing? Dress warm enough to not need blankets and you’ll fair better outside than in your skivvies.

Thanks Mr. Stokes for the insight. I view linen and hemp as the natural version of nylon (or nylon as synthetic linen) 50/50 +/- 10/10 cotton/linen or cotton/hemp has decent moisture performance (much better than straight cotton), great abrasion strength, comfortable unlike 100% nylon, and does not contribute microplastics to the water supply. Best of all, they are lightweight and breathable blends allowing for ease of motion in a tough but thin outer shell under which you can later your thin wool baselayer to handle moisture and just-in-car insulation / smell resistance. Thin, purposeful layers work in warmer conditions than you could otherwise layer clothing in. Wool and Prince, Icebreaker, Ortovox, Taylor Stitch, Huckberry, Edgevale, Patagonia, Outdoor Research, Orvis, Kuhl, Kuiu And yes Best Made is mostly lame, but I have two pairs of the Duluth Trading Best Made 60/40 cotton/linen 5 pocket pants (hard to find) that are very nice, though not as bulletproof as I would like.

Try alpaca wool. All the qualities that make merino great, alpaca does each better, and no lanolin which is what most wool allergies are from. Appalachian Gear Company and Arms of Andes manufacture outdoor alpaca gear. No nylon blends though.

Thank you for your highly informed and practical articles on the critical topics. I’m not seeing this anywhere else.

Unlined Supply Jacket (I like unlined for layering flexibility) just went on sale at Stag Provisions 25% off. I’ve got one on the way.

I’d call 3M

Update: Received the U.S. G.I. Extreme Cold Weather Arctic Mittens from Coleman’s this evening, size large. They are laughably enormous, like oven mitt. I could fit my head in the gauntlet. It doesn’t matter that they have leather palms; you’re not stacking firewood or doing anything with these things. Back they go.

This article sent me down a 2 month productive/interesting rabbit hole having known basically nothing about textiles, and while I’m no expert, I wanted to share my conclusions/findings with the group in case it points someone in the right direction (typed up anyway for my notes). Outdoorgearlab.com is a great place to start to get information/recommendations performance outdoor clothing. norwaygeographical.com has a lot of material and brand comparisons and it’s not an annoying review site where it’s clear all the author did was read Amazon reviews all day. The authors aren’t engineers or anything, but it’s a good place to start. norwaygeographical.com/polyester-vs-wool/ norwaygeographical.com/wool-vs-cotton/ norwaygeographical.com/polyamide-nylon-vs-polyester/ norwaygeographical.com/dryvent-vs-gore-tex-technology/ Interestingly, my son’s down coat with polyester exterior veruses mine with nylon exterior – I could never tell which is which in a blind test. bullmoosepatrol.com/bmp/2014/12/1/keep-your-hands-warm-in-winter MN boy scout winter camping leader, good advice Warmth is all about layers! Wool base layer for insulation and moisture mgmt (you will sweat), down mid layer, waterproof outer layer. For those of us in cold climates, down is the #1 insulator with wool at #2, but unlike wool, down is worthless when wet. Down mfrs have various ways of coping with this, but plan on a waterproof hardshell over your down. Wool slighly repels water due to its natural lanolin present in varying degrees based on mfg method and absorbs a lot of water before feeling wet, still insulates when wet. DWR is a waterproofing applied to synthetic material exteriors (polyester, nylon/polymide) and has special washing requirements. It can be reapplied (Nikwax laundry soap/products). gsm or g/m2 is the measurement of material density. For reference, 150 is a lightweight baselayer, 250 is inulating but not thick. Smartwool (Outdoorgearlab highly rated)- I’ll see how my new 100% merino 250 baselayer holds up as a baselayer. I wear it a lot as such and hardly have had to wash it. When I do, it goes in the pedestal washer on Hand Wash with LANACare Lanolin Soap which replenishes waterproofing lanolin natueral in wool. Superwashing is a chlorination process which negates many of the environmental benefts of wool versus synthetics. It “de-scales” merino for a softer feel. I’m not sure if Smartwool superwashes. Patagonia and European mfrs do not. I have to say my Smartwool baselayer and Fits socks were just a tiniest bit itchy upon first wear, but this quickly went away with wear or first wash and now they’re amazingly comfortable. The cut on the Smartwool is also excellent. See this image to understand wool scales, course wool vs merino, etc: ellaswool.com/blogs/news/soft-wool-vs-scratchy-wool-heres-the-difference Fits socks – I first went with the Light Rugged Hiker and Medium Rugged Hiker (merino interior, nylon/wool exterior). Extremely comfortable, not too constrictive. The crew cut doesn’t quite stay up perfectly on my calf, but it really is fine and the foot/ankle stays locked in place which is the important part. The Light Rugged was too hot for a 70 degree hike so I got the Micro Light Performance Trail which I think will work great when it gets warm again. Also the Heavy Expedition might be the best sock on earth, albeit very warm. I want to try the OTC cut to see if they stay up, but not sure I want that much material up my leg. It’s really hard to go back to regular cotton socks after wearing these out and around the house. Good thing I can wear them for days without washing, just airing them out at night. Europe has been doing merino for a long time (Engel in Germany, Janus in Norway, Hocosa in Switzerland). Janus has nylon blends. Engel has wool/silk infant/kids baselayers for comfort along with insulation. A bit hard to find, but cheshirehorse.com has a lot of great kids and women’s gear, some men’s. I’m awaiting receipt but the quality appears high. Alpaca (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpaca_fiber) – Everything merino does, alpaca does it better except for (1) availability especially in performance gear and (2) price. More water resistant without lanolin (which some are topically allergic to), only absorbs 10% of it’s weight in water versus wool’s 30%. Drys much quicker than wool (this is wool’s downfall). Warmer yet equally breathable. Odor resistant and flame resistant like wool. The most sustainable option (rasing cashmere goats is terrible for the environment). Appalacian Gear Company – Mfd in North Carolina. Demand is insane; they sell out minutes after a restock announcement. Get on their email list, know your size ahead of time, and jump on it. I’m awaiting mine in the mail. Arms of Andes – CA based, mfd in Peru (Alpaca HQ of the world). Nice small business story. Definitely performance oriented although not as obvious as AGC. I got my wife one of these 230 hoodie zip baselayer shirts (wanted the 420, but man, expensive). Seems really nice; time will tell on durability. Again, like the merino, actually the tiniest bit itchy according to her, but I have no doubt this will “wear off” like the merino. Woop Wear base layers. Blended 70/30 with tencel (another great non-synthetic textile – strong, performant). Too lightweight for me @ 170gsm And that’s it as far as performance alpaca goes. Qiviut – Wool from muskox (a badass arctic animal) A interesting novelty. 8x warmer than wool, softer than cashmere, durable, not water resistant. Extremely expensive ($2000 sweater, $200 beanies) reactual.com/clothing/warmest-socks-gloves-hats-scarves.html Here’s the gear I purchased so far, organized by layering system. Since I was buying so much at one time, I emphasized bang for the buck with minimal quality sacrifice. -Carhartt Waterproof Breathable High Dexterity Glove – XL -Coleman’s Miliary Surplus Gloves, Wool 5-finger, 2 pair – L (fits under the Carhartts) -Coleman’s Miliary Surplus U.S. G.I. Extreme Cold Weather Arctic Mittens -Seakskinz Waterproof All Weather Ultra Grip Knitted Glove (thin, waterproof, merino lined = an amazing mitten liner glove) -Smartwool 250 baselayer shirt & pant -Appalacian Gear Co alpaca mid layer hoodie -Rab Microlight Alpine Jacket (one of the best water-resistant down jackets) -Marmot Minimalist Jacket & Pant (technically a rain jacket, very durable, hardshell-esque because true hardshells were expensive) -Fits Light/Medium Rugged Hiker / Micro Light Performance Trail -Red Wing Exos Lite boots -Fits Heavy Expedition -Coleman’s Military Surplus U.S. G.I. Extreme Cold Weather N-1B Mukluk Boots & Liners (breathable, warm, not waterproof) -LaCrosse Utah Brogue Overshoe 14″ Black (waterproof outer layer for mukluks, will use as-needed mainly for getting out to the hunting stand where they will be removed) I got my wife basically the stuff except her alpaca is the Arms of Andes as mentioned and I got her this mitten setup instead of the military ones. The two mittens combined were about the same price as a one-piece down-insulated, waterproof, but I figure much better this way since if the outer gets a tear, I can replace only that for half the cost. -Outdoor Research Revel Shell Mitt -Outdoor Research Transcendent Down Mittens Honorable Mentions: -Military Mikey/Bunny Boots (the latter are the white ones, warmer). They work so well because there’s a rubber liner that keeps its insulation air gapped, but your foot is basically guaranteed to get wet with sweat, albeit still warm. -Meriwool – good budget merino brand, they have a nylon/merino blend crewneck sweater -Sullivan Glove Co – hand made reasonably priced leather work gloves -Frost River Pennsylvania Choppers in the water resistant waxed cotton

recommend reading* their FAQ

I have one each for my wife and I. They are very comfortable and only look slightly Darth Vader-y. The silicon seal is fantastic Its vertical length is a little small for me (6’3″ average head size), but it’s only an issue when trying to have a conversation with someone and your jaw is moving a lot to talk. While certainly not the most rugged respirator out there, it’s also much more acceptable looking on the street. I recommend taking their FAQ re: N95 cert/comparison. They also cite a decent amount of third party research. It seems legit.

Thanks for the response! VEDC is what this article references regarding items you carry every day / consistently in your vehicle, i.e. Vehicle Every Day Carry, so my question was aimed at using a Little Buddy if stranded in a vehicle in the winter.

Does anyone have any thoughts on a Mr. Heater Little Buddy kept in a VEDC? If it were just me, I think blankets/clothing would be enough, but I have young children. However, I’m not sure if the tip-over/fire danger is too great. For what it’s worth, I also have a vehicle specific fire extinguisher.

Thanks for this excellent write up. I’m a little confused, however, after reading its recommendation against NiMH in favor of Li-Ion, “Other chemistry types found in removable batteries, such as NiMH, are not good enough to be considered for these needs.” This seems to be in contrast to the recommendations from the “Best rechargable batteries” and “Beginner’s guide to batteries” posts. I understand why Li-Ion is better for solar chargers in a BOB (energy density) and it makes sense, but I’m no longer sure what the advantage is to stocking up on rechargable NiMH is, as recommended by the other articles. If I’m not going to be recharging them in a grid-down emergency, wouldn’t I be better off stocking up on disposable Lithium batteries which are better in every category other than rechargability? Or do the NiMHs still have a role, being recharged by solar for AA-family powered devices, albeit not as effectively? Or do I recharge the NiMHs from the Li-Ion?

If you go to the Scepter website, you’ll see that they only make two models of water jugs. The consumer model looks distinct from the military grade. The one in the Walmart link is the military grade.

The O2 Curve is intriguing. It’s not yet NIOSH N95 certified, but that is due to idiosyncracies in the NIOSH testing process that are not compatible with the O2 Curve’s design. I bought one and am happy with it, very comfortable. https://o2canada.com/products/o2-curve-1-2?variant=32523139383395

The Rhino-Pak isn’t listed on Reliance’s Products page anymore and it’s out of stock everywhere. It seems to be discontinued, maybe temporarily due to demand or supply-chain issues? https://relianceoutdoors.com/products/hydration.html

Mr. Centers, Than you for the timely write-up. Besides newspapers and leaves, are there any other ideas for paper products that don’t require the water grid to be operational? Also, I’ve been browsing the site for some guidance on quantities of bulky consumables. I’m picturing a shelter with its walls lined with a year’s worth of toilet paper and paper towel. The would require a huge space; the stuff is pretty bulky. I did see compressed TP in the bug-out bag checklist.