How to dress for the weather, as our grandparents did

With all the modern materials turning up we are starting to forget the old and reliable way of dressing for outdoor life. Techniques which our ancestors used in everyday life while working in the forest, hunting and harvesting are in many ways far more efficient and reliable than the clothes used nowadays.

The three layer system

The three layers are the base layer, used to wick moisture (sweat) from the skin, it is worn closest to the body. The mid layer which is your insulation. And the outer shell, which protects you from the weather. They all serve very important roles in your heat regulation.

The genius thing about the three layer system is that you can remove just one layer to regulate heat and adjust for the weather. On a warm but rainy day you can skip the mid layer and just use the base layer and the shell. On a calm but cold day you may just need the base and mid layer for maximum ventilation. Also, when you are moving fast by biking or using some vehicle it's great to wear the shell layer.
Both the base layer and the mid layer works well in the sleeping bag, since they breath well. This means you can bring a smaller and lighter sleeping bag on the trip if you follow the three layer system.

A few words on wicking

Wicking is a key feature in fabric materials and how they should be used. Another term for wicking is capillary action. Capillary action happens when a liquid enters a narrow space. When this happens the liquid moves up the narrow space, using adhesive forces between the liquid and the walls.

Cotton and water for example, have a very strong adhesive force. This is what makes it so absorbent. And is also the reason cotton will cool you off when it gets wet. It absorbs, but also evaporates the water faster. Evaporation uses energy in the form of heat, which cools you off.

Wool and water on the other hand have very little adhesive force due to the natural fat of the wool. This means an old wool sweater which have been washed many times with the wrong detergent will absorb water and cool you off more than a new one. The best is if the wool is as untreated as possible. I prefer clothes which still has a smell of sheep and makes your fingers a little oily from touching them. Then I know they will do their job. 

Base Layer

The base layer should be either wool, cotton, bamboo or linen. There are some synthetic alternatives as well, but they don't handle moisture as well and they quickly get a bad smell.

The reason for the bad smell in synthetics are the Micrococcus bacteria. Which likes the well-ventilated synthetic fabrics and lives off the acids from our sweat. And if you think about it, it is quite obvious that nature has ways to handle bacteria, while synthetic fibers do not.

Wool

Back to the natural fibers, they have very different purposes. Wool is amazing for heat-retention, and it has the great benefit to keep you warm even while wet. Wool clothes come in many different qualities. For a base layer you want a thin fabric. They are usually specified in grams per square inches. A thin one can be 200 grams per square meter while a thicker one is 400 grams.

Thinner ones are better at transporting moisture from your skin, but wears faster. The most common wool in base layer nowadays is Merino wool which is soft and not scratchy at all.

Wool can absorb up to 30% moisture without feeling wet at all.
As we all know wool is famous for shrinking, this is because of small barbs on each fiber catching other fibers (felting) when it's moving, wet and hot. There are wool products sold called super wash, which do not shrink. But the reason they don't is that each fiber is coated with a synthetic to trap the barbs. Remember how wicking worked because of the oil in the wool? Now the water touches the synthetic instead of the oil. So the wool loses it's water-resistant properties.
A better solution is to use untreated wool which you hang on an outdoor line (or indoor if you can't hang it outside). This removes any bad smell. You should only wash it when you really have to, and when you do, do it with mild detergent at 30 degrees Celcius (86 F) using the hand wash program.

Cotton, Linen and Bamboo

Unlike wool these are used in warm weather, when you want to stay cool. They absorb a lot of moisture and cools off your skin fast. Cotton being the most common of the three. Bamboo have up to 40% higher absorption rate than cotton due to better wicking, excellent on hot summer days. But this wicking is bad in winter when you want to keep any heat you have.
Linen is historically the most used of the three up here in Scandinavia. It has the uncommon property that it is stronger wet than dry.

Mid Layer

The mid layer can be wool, cotton or down. A lot of people use synthetic fleece, but they have a very bad environmental effect. Every time you wash a fleece they release small particles which our sewage treatment can't handle. They end up in the seas, on our beaches and through fish, in our food.

Wool

Wool serves to keep the heat through pockets of air in the fabric. The wool fibers are crimped, this makes them keep their form in the fabric and create small pockets of air. Air can move heat through convection (movement). But inside the small air pockets in wool it's hard for the air to circulate. Thus they don't transfer heat away from you.

What's more is that the wool fibers can store moisture inside of the fibers. They do that by absorbing vapor and through a chemical process break the bond in H2O molecules to generate heat.

When choosing outdoor clothes, weight is of the essence. I have found that the best weight to warmth ratio is gained by using a loosely knitted sweater made from a loosely spun yarn.

Wool as a mid layer also works in summer and hot weather. It is heavily used in Africa because of it's advanced heat adapting properties and great breathing abilities. However, if you use it with an outer shell in hot weather you will most likely get a heat stroke.

Cotton

Cotton works well as a mid layer most of the year. The exception being the really cold months, when wool is preferred. But it is still sensitive to water and if you carry a backpack and get a sweaty back you will most likely feel cold when you stop for a break. It is, however the most common natural materials for pants all year round. You don't need as much insulation at your legs as on the core of your body so the pants usually serve as an outer shell, with just the base layer under. However, in really cold weather you can use a pair of wool pants under your shell layer.

Down

Down is definitely the lightest alternative for insulation. But unlike the other fibers you can't spin a thread of down. Instead it's contained in a shell of some other material. Which usually does not breath very well and can't handle fire. Down is graded in "fill power", a higher number means more warmth for less weight.

Outer Shell

For the outer shell there are a plethora of options. If you read outdoor magazines they will suggest technical materials such as GoreTex. Which, aside from being super expensive, contains PFCs which break down very slowly and are polluting our world to such a degree that we find it in everything from polar bears to mountain lakes. We don't want to destroy the nature we're out to enjoy, right? Another important point is the resistance to sparks from the fire. Synthetics melt, wool and leather are the most resistant.

But there are many better options, cotton has been used for hundreds of years, even longer in some parts of the world. Leather have also been used traditionally and are still used by some. Oil cloth is cotton impregnated with linseed oil or other hardening oil and even wool can be used as an outer shell.

An important feature of the outer shell is that it should breath. Not necessarily through the material. A smart design of a garment allows for air to circulate anyway.

Cotton

Cotton is perhaps the most common outer shell material when it comes to natural fabrics. It's possible to make very tight by weaving with thin threads and shrinking by wetting and drying. As long as it stays dry it has excellent breathing ability. As it gets wet the fibers swell which impedes the breathing but creates a barrier against the water.

But the swelling isn't enough to make it completely waterproof, so it is common to wax the fabric. It is waxed in thin layers so you can control how breathable vs waterproof you want the fabric.

Wool

Wool can actually be made very thick by weaving and stamping (felting) the fabric. It is very windproof and fairly water resistant. It can be worn in mild rain for a long while before you get wet. The drawback is that when you do get wet it takes a long time to dry.

Leather

Leather, if greased well works very well. It is common in boots because it's very resistant to wear and is completely waterproof. It does not breath well, and it is quite heavy so for a jacket or pants it might not be the best option.

Oilcloth

If you want 100% rain proof gear oilcloth is what you should go with. I make my drybags in cotton and oil them with linseed oil and they keep my belongings 100% waterproof. My rain jacket is made from thin thickly woven cotton fabric (cambric) which I have oiled. It is light and very waterproof.

The rest of the body

On the head

A big chunk of the body heat is lost through the head, so if the weather is cold you really should wear something warm, covering both ears. For maximal effect it should be windproof as well. This is also the number one body heat adjuster. This is the first thing to remove when you start sweating.

In summer you need protection from the sun and rain, then a hat is a good alternative. Often it's enough to have a hat with big brim to take a light summer shower.

On the feet

What to wear on the feet is a big topic so I won't go into detail. If it's cold, wear some big boots with lots of wool socks. You don't want too small boots, as that will stop the circulation in your feet.

For hiking it's a good thing if they are a bit higher to give good support.

If they are insulated the insulation should be removable. It is almost impossible to dry wet shoes in the field if you can't remove the insulation.

On the hands

A two layer system for the hands works really well. Knitted wool gloves or mittens on the inside and outer shell in leather on the outside. Make sure the inner gloves are long enough to cover your wrists, where you will otherwise loose a lot of heat. Mittens keeps your hands warm better, but limits your movements a bit. I prefer them anyway.

If it's not extremely cold, square mittens work well to stay warm and keep the mobility in the fingers.

Around the neck

I personally don't feel a need to wrap my neck. But if you do you can either use a scarf or a neck-gaiter. Again, wool is the warmest option. You might want one made from merino wool for comfort.

The belt

A strong belt has many uses in the outdoors, aside from keeping your pants up. For strength it's better if it's vegetable tanned leather, thick and has a strong buckle. It can be used for lifting heavy things, turning heavy stones, carrying firewood and much more.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and I hope you learned something new from it. If you enjoyed it please share it to help us spread our philosophy on bushcraft!

I would love to hear what you think down in the comments.

The next upcoming article will be on choosing water repellant gear without sacrificing our environment, a truly challenging task! Like us on our new Facebook page below or follow us on twitter @sustainablebush to get notified when it's published!

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