Bugging out in the UK

[jansman]

The legend is -
Three minutes without air
Three hours without shelter
Three days without water
Three weeks without food

Regarding shelter, just having some sort of cover that was dry would suffice. As long as you have dry warm kit to put on at night then you'll be okay. The ability to dry out waterproofs, and wet clothing would also be handy.

You can often dry wet clothes just by wearing them. Obviously don't try that if it's cold and windy. Say you had nylon walking trousers on, and they got a bit wet. In the summer I'd just keep wearing them, they'd be dry pretty quick. A lot of thru hikers actually cross rivers wearing mesh trail running shoes and just keep walking. In fact when I used to go hill walking I wouldn't wear waterproofs in drizzle in the summer.

Another thing to bear in mind is that in cold weather if you get sweaty that is dangerous as when you stop moving you freeze. So don't wear too much and wear breathable and have pit zips preferably.

Some years ago I fished on a very warm day in July. The bank gave way and I went in!I thought that wearing clothes would dry them in the sun. Inside 45 minutes I started shaking and teeth chattered. Literally. I was so cold I abandoned my kit and got home fast. As I stripped in the yard,my wife ran a hot bath. Got hot drinks inside me and it still took an hour to warm up. That was reality.

And nobody nicked my kit!

[Frnc]

Regarding shelter, just having some sort of cover that was dry would suffice. As long as you have dry warm kit to put on at night then you'll be okay. The ability to dry out waterproofs, and wet clothing would also be handy.

You can often dry wet clothes just by wearing them. Obviously don't try that if it's cold and windy. Say you had nylon walking trousers on, and they got a bit wet. In the summer I'd just keep wearing them, they'd be dry pretty quick. A lot of thru hikers actually cross rivers wearing mesh trail running shoes and just keep walking. In fact when I used to go hill walking I wouldn't wear waterproofs in drizzle in the summer.

Another thing to bear in mind is that in cold weather if you get sweaty that is dangerous as when you stop moving you freeze. So don't wear too much and wear breathable and have pit zips preferably.

Some years ago I fished on a very warm day in July. The bank gave way and I went in!I thought that wearing clothes would dry them in the sun. Inside 45 minutes I started shaking and teeth chattered. Literally. I was so cold I abandoned my kit and got home fast. As I stripped in the yard,my wife ran a hot bath. Got hot drinks inside me and it still took an hour to warm up. That was reality.

And nobody nicked my kit!

Bit of an extreme case. It does depend on what you are wearing and how active you were. I'm talking about light rain on synthetic material, but I maybe forgot to mention, you'd need to keep walking briskly until they were dry, and you'd probably need a thin, light, synthetic, highly breathable windproof outer layer. I always used to carry/wear a pertex windproof. I still have one on my bug out clothes rail. I have a similar but cheapo orange one for cycling.

Buffalo built a whole brand based on this: pertex outer, pile inner, worn even in the rain. Don't try this at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLtklD4LSX0

Also I was taught it as a kid, along with avoiding cotton and "keep cool to keep warm" ie avoiding getting sweaty.

Those thru hikers will be walking non-stop at a fair pace for a good hour or two after walking through a cold river. Wouldn't fancy it personally. They even wear mesh trailrunners in snow, but only to cross short sections. These are American who walk thousands of miles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TyRdhlEOfI&t=0s

[Trig.Point]

Regarding shelter, just having some sort of cover that was dry would suffice. As long as you have dry warm kit to put on at night then you'll be okay. The ability to dry out waterproofs, and wet clothing would also be handy.

You're right, but drying clothes that way is a miserable experience. Also even if you're doing it that way, you should always have dry clothes waterproofed and ready to go just in case.

Also in my bug out solution, I'd probably be keeping my physical activity way down. I wouldn't try to make a permanent shelter, and just go the stealth camping route.

[Frnc]

Regarding shelter, just having some sort of cover that was dry would suffice. As long as you have dry warm kit to put on at night then you'll be okay. The ability to dry out waterproofs, and wet clothing would also be handy.

You're right, but drying clothes that way is a miserable experience. Also even if you're doing it that way, you should always have dry clothes waterproofed and ready to go just in case.

Also in my bug out solution, I'd probably be keeping my physical activity way down. I wouldn't try to make a permanent shelter, and just go the stealth camping route.

That wasn't actually me that said that in the quote.

What I have bugout-wise:
Waterproof jacket
Poncho (not really needed as well as the jacket obviously)
Overtrousers in winter
Gaiters in winter
Waterproof over-mitts in winter
Leather boots with GTX-type membrane
Pertex windproof jacket
Tent
Insulated jacket even in summer

Obviously lots of warm clothes in winter

[Trig.Point]

Regarding shelter, just having some sort of cover that was dry would suffice. As long as you have dry warm kit to put on at night then you'll be okay. The ability to dry out waterproofs, and wet clothing would also be handy.

You're right, but drying clothes that way is a miserable experience. Also even if you're doing it that way, you should always have dry clothes waterproofed and ready to go just in case.

Also in my bug out solution, I'd probably be keeping my physical activity way down. I wouldn't try to make a permanent shelter, and just go the stealth camping route.

That wasn't actually me that said that in the quote.

What I have bugout-wise:
Waterproof jacket
Poncho (not really needed as well as the jacket obviously)
Overtrousers in winter
Gaiters in winter
Waterproof over-mitts in winter
Leather boots with GTX-type membrane
Pertex windproof jacket
Tent
Insulated jacket even in summer

Obviously lots of warm clothes in winter

Apologies I deleted a lot of the previous message as it was becoming unreadable!.

I have waterproof gloves and socks, the socks are sealksin brand and they work in wet boots. I've kind of give up with goretex boots, as once they do get wet they just seem to stay wet. I'm also a huge fan of Ponchos as they're easier to dry than a goretex jacket, also they're smaller and multi use.

[jansman]

You can often dry wet clothes just by wearing them. Obviously don't try that if it's cold and windy. Say you had nylon walking trousers on, and they got a bit wet. In the summer I'd just keep wearing them, they'd be dry pretty quick. A lot of thru hikers actually cross rivers wearing mesh trail running shoes and just keep walking. In fact when I used to go hill walking I wouldn't wear waterproofs in drizzle in the summer.

Another thing to bear in mind is that in cold weather if you get sweaty that is dangerous as when you stop moving you freeze. So don't wear too much and wear breathable and have pit zips preferably.

Some years ago I fished on a very warm day in July. The bank gave way and I went in!I thought that wearing clothes would dry them in the sun. Inside 45 minutes I started shaking and teeth chattered. Literally. I was so cold I abandoned my kit and got home fast. As I stripped in the yard,my wife ran a hot bath. Got hot drinks inside me and it still took an hour to warm up. That was reality.

And nobody nicked my kit!

Bit of an extreme case. It does depend on what you are wearing and how active you were. I'm talking about light rain on synthetic material, but I maybe forgot to mention, you'd need to keep walking briskly until they were dry, and you'd probably need a thin, light, synthetic, highly breathable windproof outer layer. I always used to carry/wear a pertex windproof. I still have one on my bug out clothes rail. I have a similar but cheapo orange one for cycling.

Buffalo built a whole brand based on this: pertex outer, pile inner, worn even in the rain. Don't try this at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLtklD4LSX0

Also I was taught it as a kid, along with avoiding cotton and "keep cool to keep warm" ie avoiding getting sweaty.

Those thru hikers will be walking non-stop at a fair pace for a good hour or two after walking through a cold river. Wouldn't fancy it personally. They even wear mesh trailrunners in snow, but only to cross short sections. These are American who walk thousands of miles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TyRdhlEOfI&t=0s

What happened to me was not EXTREME.It was Summer! Surely ,planning for “light rain on synthetic material “ should really be for EXTREME? My situation was for real,not an internet hypothesis.

[Frnc]

You're right, but drying clothes that way is a miserable experience. Also even if you're doing it that way, you should always have dry clothes waterproofed and ready to go just in case.

Also in my bug out solution, I'd probably be keeping my physical activity way down. I wouldn't try to make a permanent shelter, and just go the stealth camping route.

That wasn't actually me that said that in the quote.

What I have bugout-wise:
Waterproof jacket
Poncho (not really needed as well as the jacket obviously)
Overtrousers in winter
Gaiters in winter
Waterproof over-mitts in winter
Leather boots with GTX-type membrane
Pertex windproof jacket
Tent
Insulated jacket even in summer

Obviously lots of warm clothes in winter

Apologies I deleted a lot of the previous message as it was becoming unreadable!.

I have waterproof gloves and socks, the socks are sealksin brand and they work in wet boots. I've kind of give up with goretex boots, as once they do get wet they just seem to stay wet. I'm also a huge fan of Ponchos as they're easier to dry than a goretex jacket, also they're smaller and multi use.

I've thought about getting some Sealkinz waterproof socks. Kind of forgotten about it a bit recently. Although it did cross my mind as I got some Sealskinz extreme cold split finger mitts recently.

My boots have a membrane but they are leather, so the membrane is just backup. I can't do hillwalking these days anyway so they are only for emergencies. I also have fabric GTX boots which I do wear occasaionally eg to a festival.

[jansman]

That wasn't actually me that said that in the quote.

What I have bugout-wise:
Waterproof jacket
Poncho (not really needed as well as the jacket obviously)
Overtrousers in winter
Gaiters in winter
Waterproof over-mitts in winter
Leather boots with GTX-type membrane
Pertex windproof jacket
Tent
Insulated jacket even in summer

Obviously lots of warm clothes in winter

Apologies I deleted a lot of the previous message as it was becoming unreadable!.

I have waterproof gloves and socks, the socks are sealksin brand and they work in wet boots. I've kind of give up with goretex boots, as once they do get wet they just seem to stay wet. I'm also a huge fan of Ponchos as they're easier to dry than a goretex jacket, also they're smaller and multi use.

I've thought about getting some Sealkinz waterproof socks. Kind of forgotten about it a bit recently. Although it did cross my mind as I got some Sealskinz extreme cold split finger mitts recently.

My boots have a membrane but they are leather, so the membrane is just backup. I can't do hillwalking these days anyway so they are only for emergencies. I also have fabric GTX boots which I do wear occasaionally eg to a festival.

So come on , what if you fall in a river in Summer like I did ? You said that was extreme , so you are obviously some kind of expert. Or better still Winter? As it ever happened to you?

[Frnc]

Some years ago I fished on a very warm day in July. The bank gave way and I went in!I thought that wearing clothes would dry them in the sun. Inside 45 minutes I started shaking and teeth chattered. Literally. I was so cold I abandoned my kit and got home fast. As I stripped in the yard,my wife ran a hot bath. Got hot drinks inside me and it still took an hour to warm up. That was reality.

And nobody nicked my kit!

Bit of an extreme case. It does depend on what you are wearing and how active you were. I'm talking about light rain on synthetic material, but I maybe forgot to mention, you'd need to keep walking briskly until they were dry, and you'd probably need a thin, light, synthetic, highly breathable windproof outer layer. I always used to carry/wear a pertex windproof. I still have one on my bug out clothes rail. I have a similar but cheapo orange one for cycling.

Buffalo built a whole brand based on this: pertex outer, pile inner, worn even in the rain. Don't try this at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLtklD4LSX0

Also I was taught it as a kid, along with avoiding cotton and "keep cool to keep warm" ie avoiding getting sweaty.

Those thru hikers will be walking non-stop at a fair pace for a good hour or two after walking through a cold river. Wouldn't fancy it personally. They even wear mesh trailrunners in snow, but only to cross short sections. These are American who walk thousands of miles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TyRdhlEOfI&t=0s

What happened to me was not EXTREME.It was Summer! Surely ,planning for “light rain on synthetic material “ should really be for EXTREME? My situation was for real,not an internet hypothesis.

My bugout gear includes waterproofs - jacket and/or poncho, overtrousers, mitts, gaiters and leather boots. In the summer, I might not bother with some of that, and wear fabric boots. Obviously in winter I would be wearing/carrying similar to what I would for winter hillwalking, plus spares/extra.

I was just trying to explain how fast you can dry different clothes at different levels of wetness by wearing them. If you watched the video you know the Buffalo setup (Pertex/pile) dries in 15 minutes of brisk walking after full immersion in winter. I don't wear Buffalo and I'd almost certainly change if I got soaked.

NB. The whole point of Buffalo is not to bother with waterproofs at all. A bit extreme for me. But in drizzle I wear something very similar. I prefer the versatility of a separate Pertex wind jacket plus synthetic layer(s) underneath. I've worn this on hundreds of days in the hills and I think I may have got the idea from Buffalo in the 1980s. I always had a Pertex wind jacket from the mid 80s if I remember correctly.

I would wear waterproofs if it was raining. However in drizzle, I would be wearing a combo simlar to Buffalo: Pertex wind jacket (same as Buffalo), but something thinner than pile underneath, unless it's winter. But never cotton! In a light shower in summer I would either stick to Pertex outer or throw on the waterproof jacket or poncho.

If I did fall in a river when bugging out I would almost certainly change. The only thing I probably wouldn't have spare of is trousers. Nylon walking trousers don't hold much water and dry quick. My bugout bag always has lightweight merino mix longjohns in the summer, and thicker Rab longjohns as well in winter. Of course it contains a spare upper body base layer and hiking socks. It always has a spare upper body midlayer/outer. Usualy it is an insulated jacket (Mountain Equipment Rampart, which is 80g/m2 Polarloft). I only plan on wearing this if walking in freezing temperatures. Otherwise, it is in my rucksack. If it was cold and I wasn't wearing it, I'd be wearing a Mountain Warehouse Talus base/fleece mid/Pertex outer, (again, similar to a Buffalo combo). So, my point is, wearing that, I don't need a waterproof on. However, personally I would wear a waterproof if it was properly raining.

The great thing about Pertex is its versatility. It is windproof, but very breathable though. If it's hot you could wear it to keep the sun off. Actually nowadays there are different types of Pertex, and other makes. Plus it's a bit hard to get hold of. For cycling I have a cheap orange windproof by some unknown company, but it is very similar to Pertex, very tight weave.

[Frnc]

Here's an example of Pertex. They describe it here as 'emergency kit', but for me it is the most useful everyday hillwalking wear. I prefer a full zip. It's a bit hard to find Pertex wind jackets these days. Rab started using a different material, claiming Pertex was too expensive. It is found a lot in insulated jackets, sleeping bags, gloves etc though. Anyway, this one isn't expensive so maybe the price came down.
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/featherlite-smock/

There is also Pertex Shield which is waterproof, ie completely different.

Here is an article about Pertex. It says "The original Pertex fabric is still available today – with slight changes – as Pertex Classic." But I couldn't see Classic on the Pertex website. I think Quantum is pretty similar. The article discusses the differences.
https://www.alpinetrek.co.uk/blog/every ... x-fabrics/

I see Rab are doing one now, but it's a bit expensive
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/windveil-jacket/
Also this, cheaper
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/windveil-pull-on/

Montane (Pertex Quantum with DWR)
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/litespeed-jacket/

There are a lot of other types that aren't Pertex
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/men ... f-jackets/

If I remember correctly, Buffalo used to say that the way the original Pertex worked was that when a drop of water landed on it, it quickly soaked in, spread out through capillary action, and dried out quickly as a result. However I think now, some of the Pertex has DWR on it, which I guess has it's pros and cons. I'm not sure exactly what kind Buffalo are using.