Tag Archives: clothing

Pantsless

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I was out in the world doing Stuff and, somehow, tore my pants. Not just tore them, but I mean a gaping hole from the base of the crotch all the way up to the beltline, running parallel to the fly. In short, if it wasnt for the fact I was wearing a very long t-shirt, I would have been running around with Commander Seven-and-a-half snorkeling for air like an asthmatic elephant. To compound matters, there was no place nearby to purchase another pair of pants.

So..I dealt with it. But then I kept having a nagging thought in the back of my head….don’t I have an extra pair of pants in the vehicle? So, I checked the laminated card in the glove box that details all the gear I keep in the truckbox and…yes….a vacuum-sealed pair of jeans was, in fact, part of the loadout. Dug through the backpack, found them, retired the destroyed pair, and got back to business.

Preparedness for the win!

As an aside, I apparently keep, individually vacuum sealed: jeans, t-shirt, heavy shirt, boxer briefs, long underwear, and socks. Essentially, one complete change of clothes suitable for any season. Theres also a winter coat, gloves, scarf, hat, etc in there. The vacuum sealing helps keep the space requirements down.

Moral of the story: A spare change of clothes is a good idea because you never know when you might accidentally wind up ruining whatever it is you’re wearing.

And I pat myself on the back for my tremendous foresight.

 

Kifaru goodness

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I swear to Crom, the mail is so slow these days I could literally walk most of it to its destination before those idiots could get it delivered….

It shouldnt take 15 days to get a parcel from Colorado to Montana, but apparently it does. But that vote by mail thing? That’ll work just fine….

Anyway….

I have a collection of Filson outer wear. About six years ago I got a Filson Double Mackinaw Cruiser, which had been on my wish list for a long time.

A year or two ago Filson ran off a  limited run of a wool anorak. I desperately wanted this limited-run and very expensive item. By the time I got the money put together…*boom* they were out of stock with no resupply date. I was bummed. But the webpage for the anorak stayed up. I checked it, literally every day, for a year until a ‘coming soon’ banner appeared on it. When they finally had them available, I ordered one. And…it was everything I hoped for. Still wildly expensive, but it’ll last forever and I really, really like it. (Yeah, it’s spendy..and other companies do make a similar wool product. But this was a case of ‘I had the money’ and, honestly, a bit of brand preference. Once in a while, I’m a brand-name junkie. Not often, but in this case….yeah.)

And while I liked the wool product a lot for its ability to repel cold, evil, and shoddy workmanship, it was a bit bulky. It doesn’t compress very well. And although I like the Filson product, and have worn it pretty much every day this winter, I wanted something that would be just as nice but more compact for packing around when I didn’t need it at that moment. Ideally, I wanted something that would crunch down into a tight little package that would sit in my scout pack when I was out in the woods. And, sadly, the Filson wouldn’t do that.

Turns out Kifaru makes the same product, basically, but using the same materials as they use in their highly-recommended Woobie and Doobie products. It was on sale back in November for $200 and I ordered one up. Finally got it today. TPIWWP, so….

This is the Filson wool anorak/pullover which I cannot say enough nice things about. If you amortize it over the rest of your life it becomes more economical than first imagined. It is not cheap, but it literally will last you a lifetime. Problem is – bulky to pack. Enter the Kifaru product:

Heavy-duty (really heavy-duty) cordura on the wear points, detachable hood, drawstring waist…pretty nice. The color, which was advertised as coyote, is more gold than coyote. But…the elk won’t notice. More importantly, how does it compress? Well, Kifaru makes some equally nice and equally expensive compression sacks but for now I’ll just pick one up at REI.

This will be one of those pieces of gear that gets tossed in a bag ‘just in case’ when I’m off in the boonies because…a lot can happen in a hurry, and none of it good, if you aren’t careful. So..new piece of gear, Zero approves.

Wardrobe malfunction

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Apparently a large part of my summer ensemble can now be interpreted as making a political statement that is unpopular in some quarters….

Men wearing Hawaiian shirts and carrying guns add a volatile new element to protests

Wondering why so many heavily armed white guys are rocking hibiscus print?

I like Hawaiin shirts for three reasons:

  • Shock value – the ugly the better. I like stuff where people look at it and go “I can’t believe youre wearing that”
  • Utlity – Awesome for covering a holster in summer carry
  • Comfort – When its hot out, these things are darn comfy

Favorite? Hilo Hatties. Someone introduced me to these years ago and I like ’em alot.

Gear – Outdoor Research (OR) rain & sun hats

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Many years ago I got turned on to the Outdoor Research (OR) line of rain hats. They were basically big GoreTex boonie hats. What was appealing to me was that they were available in somewhat military colors (forest green), were waterproof, and could be crushed into a small baseball-sized bundle that could be stuffed in a bag or BDU pocket. I bought a few of them and when they made a multicam versionI bought that too. I’ve found them to be excellent for their intended purpose.

I spent a week in Puerto Rico last month. While the rain hat was useful for those days when the rain blew in off the ocean, most of the time was bright sun and clear days. Unfortunately, I had no suitable hat for the occasion. I decided that when I got back to Montana I would order up a suitable hat for those sunny days.

As it turns out, Outdoor Research makes a sun hat that is basically a non-rain version of the rain hat I love so much. ( Helios Sun Hat, Multicam)

The main differences between the sun hat and the rain hat, obviously, are construction. The rain hat uses different materials with an eye towards waterproofing. The sun hat is geared towards being lightweight and providing shade. Could the rain hat be used to shade your head and face? Absolutely, but if its suny and hot enough to need to do that then its also sunny and hot enough that the hat will make you sweat like a hooker in church.

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(L.) Sun hat, (R.) Rain hat

I suppose that you could pick up a ten dollar no-name boonie hat somewhere and be set for the sunny outdoors….thats what I did for a number of years. I had some woodland boonie hat that I could drag through a creek and plop on my head to keep me cool during a day of fishing, etc. But..now that Im a bit older…I like nicer things, and a lot of my newer gear is moving in the direction of multicam, soooo…….

The rain hat, though, I highly recommend. I actually recommend both hats but folks are more likely to cheap out on the sun hat and thats fine. But the rain hat…you wanna spend the extra bucks there and get a nice one like this.

Trying the new Gen III ECWS

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Bloody cold today. Actually, it’s not that cold…it’s simply what its pretty much supposed to be in Montana around this time of year. Currently? +3, although I expect below zero as the night progresses.

Since it was so cold during the day today, I figured I’d try out a new piece of cold weather gear. See, usually I wear my heavy Carhart coat in this sort of weather. It does a decent job, and its tough as nails, but it’s pretty bulky. I picked up a Gen III ECWS parka a few months back and this has been my first chance to try it out and I’m very pleased with it. Like most cold weather gear, it helps if you dress properly underneath it – you cant just put it on over a t-shirt and expect to be toasty.

gen3_level7_400x408One nice thing, right off the bat, is the compressability….the Carhart coat cant be stuffed down into a small(er) package the way this thing can. I was out this evening walking Nuke and I was wearing the parka over a longsleeve ‘waffle’ pullover and a ECWCS undershirt (which I recommend highly for its warmth and low bulk. Buy ’em cheap by the dozen on eBay) and was warm and comfy. I suspect I’ll troll eBay and pick up two or three extras for myself and one or two for the missus.

Not all military surplus lives up to the hype, but I have to say that thus far I’ve been pretty pleased with it. If you’re hunting for something warm but not overbearingly heavy/bulky you might wanna check these things out.