Extra warmth

[Tony]

You're out in the cold, and for some reason you can't get to a place of warmth (bear with me ) What natural resources are there to help you insulate yourself from the cold?

A couple to get started on would be plant down, leaves etc What others?

 

[Viking]

There is a plant called in latin Typha latifolia and Typha angustifolia these can be ust to insulate you clothes. It think you only use the top that looks a bit like cotton.

A pic of the plant

 

[Adi007]

Forget about insulation ... where did you get the cool smilies from!!! :-D

 

[Tony]

They would be a big thank you to Viking :biggthump

:camp:

 

[Stuart]

we call it cats tail over here, i think you can use the whole head it comes apart like down

 

[Kath]

Yes, bull rushes are lovely and soft and warm. As kids we used to pull the heads off and spread the insides on the ground to lie on. Spent many an idle summer's day, dangling a toe in the lake and watching the clouds go by, (which was great until you tried to get the bits off your clothes before going in for tea. )

There is a plant called in latin Typha latifolia and Typha angustifolia these can be ust to insulate you clothes. It think you only use the top that looks a bit like cotton.

A pic of the plant

 

[MartiniDave]

How about using branches off of a "fur" tree! :-D :-D


Sorry about the above, but it's friday, a nice day outside and I'm stuck at a CAD station trying to design something boring! :-(

Dave

 

[martin]

You could do an impression of a Scarecrow. Stuff your outer layer with straw, hay/grass or sedges. Could be a bit itchy though. Birch bark is another possible, might be a bit risky near a fire. :bu: :f:

 

[Adi007]

I think that since cold and wet go hand in hand I'm starting to see the logic and the potential upsides of waterproof drop liners (like the Combat 2000 army clothing system where you wear the gore text beneath the outer layer). This would mean that you could stuff yourself "scarecrow" style and still remain dry even if it was wet.

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

First I would seek out any natural shelter of any use. A rock on a featureless plain is my shelter. An overlooked resource is dung. Fresh or aged, it will provide insulation. I've created more than one dried cow pie mattress out in the desert. Of course, there is the desperate measure of killing, eviscerating and crawling into the body cavity of a large animal. Any manmade materials left about can provide superb insulation. A heavy sunday paper provides plenty of sheets to crumple up. An added bonus is it's relative cleanliness. Inside sheets make for improvised bandages. Of course, one could scratch a characature of a Taliban into the ground. Within minutes a spy satelite will send a jet screaming overhead dropping several million of our tax dollars in napalm. :shock:

 

[Hoodoo]

IIRC, in the "old days," the leaves of common mullein were often used to line shoes for warmth.

 

[Mel]

The fluffy stuff from the seed heads of the cat tail also makes very good tinder.

 

[Scott]

The fluffy stuff from the seed heads of the cat tail also makes very good tinder.

I once collected cat tail down and stuff it in the thigh pocket of my combats, within 10 minutes my leg by the cat tail was absolutely scorching. It also dried quite nicely for use as a tinder.

 

[al]

dried grass ,spruce boughs, i`m not splitting hairs but cats tails are reed mace and not bull rushes,people only call them bullrushes because of the classic painting,blah blah among the bull rushes,cant remember his name but its bible orientated so people think they`re bull rushes when they are infact reedmace, anyway i said i`m not splitting hairs but i just have so i`ll shut up and stand in the corner for a while :-D

 

[Kath]

dried grass ,spruce boughs, i`m not splitting hairs but cats tails are reed mace and not bull rushes,people only call them bullrushes because of the classic painting,blah blah among the bull rushes,cant remember his name but its bible orientated so people think they`re bull rushes when they are infact reedmace, anyway i said i`m not splitting hairs but i just have so i`ll shut up and stand in the corner for a while :-D

I'm confused :-? So what's the proper common name of Typha latifolia or Typha angustifolia as mentioned and pictured in viking's post above?

Cheers

 

[al]

cat tail or reedmace, i only know this cos i couldnt find bulrush in my food for free book,then i did and it explains why there is a mix up with the names,and it was moses in the bulrushes, i think the artist had already called it that before he/she realised they got it wrong i just tried to find it on the net but there are lots of versions and i dont know who done the original as i havnt got my book to hand:-D

 

[Adi007]

Typha angustifolia = Narrow leaf cattail, aka bulrush or cattail
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/typhaan.html

Typha latifolia = Common cattail or broad-leaf cattail aka, reed mace or bulrush.
http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/aquatics/typhalat.html

 

[JohnB]

The OED gives this definition of bullrush:

A name applied in books to Scirpus lacustris, a tall rush growing in or near water; but in modern popular use, more usually, to Typha latifolia, the ‘Cat's Tail’ or ‘Reed-mace’. In the Bible applied to the Papyrus of Egypt.

 

[FJS90-91]

Typha latifolia or "kaveldun" as we say in the north isnt just good for insulation, its damn good bushfood when the going gets tough..(actually it tasts like ****)

 

[ditchfield]

Chris K,
The idea of covering myself in shite or crawling into the anus of a dead buffalo doesn't really appeal to me.