Durable survival clothing from Hycreek

[opsec]

https://www.hycreekorders.com/survival/

Ron Hood is a vietnam era special forces soldier. He speaks glowingly of this clothing on his website and says it outperforms other clothing he has from North Face. I plan to secure this for myself as soon as finances permit. If he recommends this, you can be sure it is top notch.

[hancocs]

I saw this to and it is on my list to get. Looks like really nice stuff and a nice layer system.

[hancocs]

Just order this outfit. I will give it a review when it arrives. Getting cold up here in the Northwest.

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Good. Now I can get a first hand field report before I spend the money on it. Thanks Hancocs.

[hippiechick]

Nice, but too expensive for my budget.

[Ryder]

(Posted on my lunch break) Shop the thrift stores if you don't have the bucks for the good stuff. I like motorcycle and snowmobile nylon gear for the cold. It sometimes is well made and has enough warmth for the colder climates. I personaly don't like the leather gear myself. Right now the temp has warmed up to the low twentys F and I have been working outside. I am wearing a fleece hooded sweatshirt, fleece vest, lighter insulated jacket and nylon ski bibs. The whole outfit prbably cost me $20.00 from a local religious based thrift store. I just wish I had smaller feet then I could take advantage of the insulated boots for $5.00. Not too many thrift stores have size 14.

[hancocs]

One other thing I have added to my cold weather gear are Bunny boots ( the white ones they are rated for lower temps then the black ones) or Mickey mouse boots. The warmest boots I have ever own and well worth the $80. Just make sure you get the ones made by Beta. They are good to -20 and your feet should still be toasty warm. The first things to get cold and develop frost bit are the toes and finger so having a good pair of wool gloves and boots are a must.

[Atash Hagmahani]

One thing I find is that too much cold-weather clothing is designed for sporting, not hard labor. Another problem in this particular climate is fighting dampness. Lately I've been wearing multiple layers with the outermost having a semi-waterproof membrane.

Wool is supposed to be better for fighting damp cold than cotton because it retains more insulating ability when damp, but almost everything is cotton or polyester. Hard to find wool especially for work clothes.

[hancocs]

If you buy something with a gortex shell you are sure to stay dry. As far as work clothes, Carhartt puts out some real nice stuff but not cheap. Wool is your best bet if you can find it.

[Atash Hagmahani]

Oddly enough every once in a while Carhartt overalls go on sale which is when I stock up. I don't buy the lined ones because those are expensive even when they are on sale.

For those who don't know, they are canvas not denim. More durable, and warmer because the weave is more impermeable to wind than denim. The difference is the weave; canvas is over-under-over-under, denim is something like over two under two over to under two. That's what creates the diagonal pattern on denim's weave.

[hancocs]

Yup. I would say Carhartt for working, As far as working in the cold ( like Alaska ) our crew leans toward layering. First layer against your skin would be a thermal layer then a fleece layer then a waterproof/windproof layer one other layer if you work on deck would be a flotation device. Wool hats are a big thing. considering that you can lose 80% of your body heat out the top of your head.

[opsec]

For damp weather and shedding water vapor, fleece is the way to go. I'd use a moisture wicking layer of thermal underwear followed by however many layers of fleece you need for the temperature.

[Ryder]

carharts are the state clothing of rural montana. Tough stuff. Just came in from welding horses for the farmers market and my semi heated shop was right around 25 degrees. Outside it is 8 degrees with a wind blowing. Layered fleece is great but once the temps get below about 10 degrees the hands get to be a problem. For my feet I have pac boots and a pair of army surplus bunny boots( I used bunny boots in the army and they really work) but my hands can get cold and then they don't work. I have various snomobile gloves with gortex and also mittens but lose most of my limited dexterity with the mittens. Anybody have a favorite cold weather solution for the frigid digits?

[opsec]

I've heard good things about Arctic Shield. I saw a test they do where they let you wear their gloves and boots in a box filled with dry ice and people say it works. I bought a pair, but have yet to run into temperatures low enough to test their claims. Here's the website: http://www.bkkenterprises.com/products.asp?cat=3  You might be able to find that test being shown on youtube. They weren't that expensive either.

[Mike]

Nice, but too expensive for my budget.

I'm with ya on the budget, hippiechick!

I inherited from my son, two nylon/cotton  rip-stop summer army coats.  Medium is too small to wear as a coat.  But as the weather turned cool I found them to be excellent shirts.

Atash wrote,

...canvas [is] not denim. More durable, and warmer because the weave is more impermeable to wind than denim. The difference is the weave; canvas is over-under-over-under, denim is something like over two under two over to under two.

And then there is rip-stop (what kind of weave?).  My coat-shirts are thinner and tougher than denim.  They have excellent wind breaking qualities.

I'm going to hit the 2nd hand stores today looking for quality:
Carhart
ripstop
goretex
motorcycle and snowmobile nylon gear
nylon ski bib over-alls
insulated boots
fleece lined stuff

Regarding PAC boots. 


I had a pair of Walmart PAC boots.  Very quickly the rubber bottoms tore.  Besides that, if I walked, they pulled my socks down under my heel.  Are these examples of poor design (sock-drop) and poor quality (rubber tear)?

And the Walmart moon boots?


The soles fell off right away.