Winter Gear Even though we just rolled into Autumn here in The States, my mind is already on Winter gear. I made my living for decades working in weather extremes. I didnt have the luxury of modern fabrics like moisture wicking baselayers or breathable shells. In my experience, I believe the Trampers of old would embrace the new materials just as they adapted uncommon fabrics for unorthodox applications a century ago (silk, Egyptian cotton, etc...). When it comes to being warm, I wont be a material snob. Ive come to like polyester and fleece a lot. I still like cotton (ducks at rocks being thrown by the read about it, but never experienced it themselves nazis). Who doesnt like wool or sheepskin or leather? For baselayers, of course, wicking polyester does the trick. For a second layer, cotton or a light wool. For an insulative layer, fleece for sure or possibly wool like a sweater. And for shells, right now, Im stuck on ECWCS although Im going to look into a canvas thats waterproof and breathable. For me, the priorities are as follows; warmth, breathability, durability and freedom of movement. I dont like bulky at all. I tend to be active when I go out and warm up quick. Layering is another important factor to me. The components of my gear have to be able to work well with each other. Im going to play around with different combos and again, like the Trampers of a century ago, see what works well together. Right now, Im thinking that a poly baselayer, cotton or light wool mid layer and a fleece jacket would be the mainstay with wool for the extremities (feet, gloves, head, neck). Probably the most experimentation will come in the way of shells and rain gear. I love my ECWCS parka and it has all the features I need personally and I would bet my life on that gear, but for recreational activities, Im going to see if I an find a less bulky alternative again, like canvas. For a hardcore hard winter outer layer, I am so leaning towards getting another sheepskin coat like I had when I was a teen. I never knew what cold was with one of those. I also had great results with goose down and synthetic fill jackets (aka bubble coats), but they are definitely not bush-friendly gear for sure. While many are attracted to wool pullovers and improvised anoraks and I can see the attraction, Im probably going to stay away from them. I really want something thats going to be water/weatherproof as my outer layer, thats why Im going to focus a strong insulative mid-layer with canvas as my shell like the mountaineers of old used. This isnt about just pitching a tent and stoking up a campfire and sitting still while cooking. Im planning to do some trekking this season and go deep into the bush like I like to and study the flora and fauna of my region. I know that after hunting season is over, Im going to come down off this high Im on and crash and woodcraft is going to have to take up all that mental energy Ill have left over and Im looking forward to that. Im saving up a lot of what I could be doing now for then to stave off the effects of cabin fever. While the look of vintage gear is cool, again, Im going to practice the prudent application of practicality with my gear as Ive been doing over the past year where performance and application triumph over cool and trendy and where what works for me where Im at is whats going to be the standard of judgement and not any desire to fit in with the herd. This is a place where my experience in working outdoors all my life kicks in.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 13:42:02 +0000
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