sheeple or fashion?

[BorderReiver]

hoping to ask (and using that as an example) was what people wear and why, not whether it was best to go out dressed like old Mearsy, buffy or coco the clown!

I wear a lot of green/brown stuff 'cause I like these colours.

Most of the practical clothing available happens to be in "natural" colours.

I'm sure if good,practical clothing was available in the full spectrum,the woods would be ablaze with colour.

 

[Rhodri]

Hi all,

Mixed motivations for me. I started to think seriously about this and my head started to hurt - I seem to be one big paradox...

Warning. I may be about to waffle

First, I definitely go out of my way not to look 'military' - have a few OD things but deliberately don't wear some together 'cos I think I look a bit of a berk!

Some items (Swannie, ullfrotte) I bought partly because I wanted to see what the fuss was about and partly I suspect a subconcious desire to 'look the part', whatever that is. I also like to wear natural fabrics when I can. Some of these I like, such as Ranger shirts (though a bit too much to do seriously hard work in I find) and 200g Ullfrotte underwear (though I like Ice Breaker just as much). Others I don't use (600g Ullfrotte cardy never out of the wardrobe - it just don't get cold enough...).

Other stuff I use when doing bushcrafty things is also used in work, which has justified me spending a few extra quid in some cases. As a result I tend to look like a walker more than anything.

Don't like goretex so sometimes I use a WW double layer ventile parker (a green one strangely enough). Stops anything but a bit heavy. Incidentally the double layer stuff really does stand up on its own when wet - sit it under your tarp and balance a Tilley hat on it and voila a bad 'invisible man' special effect - the bushcrafter with no face

I tend to use 'modern' trousers like Rohan Bags or Columbia's current ones - rarely in OD (it's not often available anyway). This is where I get hung up on the natural fabric thing - I wish I could find some that suit but the 'modern' stuff works for me... Don't like cargo style ones, as while the carrying capacity is nice again I think they look a bit miltary. The pockets fill up with muck when I'm in work anyway.

Footwear: I just wear what I like and what works. Again, don't tend to wear surplus boots because of the look, while I recognize that many are great (US jungle boots I do use for example). I'm prone to unfortunate impulse buying with footwear - at the moment my favourite boots are some ridiculous US things bought while on holiday over the pond. Dunham 'Waffle Stompers': absolutely brilliant but unfortunately bright red and a bit 'modern design'.

My Personal Top Tip. There's one item that I trust absolutely . That's a Buffallo Special Six shirt. Never fails to keep me comfortable. Ever. If I had to go out into weather that was life-threateningly bad this is what I'd take. I've used the same one pretty much every day in work between Sept to April for the last 10 (yes 10) years. It's been abused horribly and sent back for repair once. Even when it has had holes in it it's just as effective. I wear this when I'm serious and have to be working hard outside - I wear a Swannie when I'm relaxing outdoors (ie Bushcrafting).

So, after all that rambling (sorry ) - I make some vain choices about my appearance outdoors and some practical ones. As a result, and after deliberately trying not to look like a berk, I suspect I look like a.... berk.

Anyway I'm sure I'm not alone in being confused - I bet there isn't one of us who looks like they do only for 'sheeple' or fashion reasons or only for practical reasons.

Apologies for the long post. For some reason I needed to blather

Cheers,
Rod

 

[JimH]

JimH - your right worrying about it is probably as bad as wearing it but it doesnt change the question?
...

was what people wear and why, not whether it was best to go out dressed like old Mearsy, buffy or coco the clown!

Defensive, moi?

Best 'fess up then:

OD lightweight trousers (based on price, performance, wore them fishing when Ray was still doing Tracks)

Barbour merino long sleeved t shirt/ thermal shirt (wool, non-itchy, got it cheap on EvilBay) in winter.

M&S thermal 65% wool socks (best for the price and seemingly indestructible)

Swanndri ranger/explorer shirts (this *is* Ray's fault, though I think they are an excellent choice) I avoid the "Default bushcrafter" colours for reasons amply explored elsewhere, my current fave is orange/green check YECH!!

Green Swanni Mosgeil if it's *really cold*, or the aforementioned big old baggy jumper.

AltBerg boots (hangover from motorbikes, but fantastic walkers, too)

Pertex windshirt (HI-GEAR? some cheap brand, anyhow)

Regatta lightweight packable waterproofs (cheap, good enough) in summer

Berghaus 3 layer GTX Lightning jacket in winter (mostly up hills)

Tilley hat in summer, Paramo cap in winter

I think I'm nearer Coco than the others, mostly, or possibly a heavily laden tramp

Jim.

 

[BlueTrain]

While I only discovered and joined this forum a few days ago, I see than I have independently managed to have acquired the proper outfit and should blend right in. However, it is very hot and humid around here (Virginia) half the year, so I get by on much less.

I actually have three DPM smocks, plus an arctic windproof smock as well, that are about just the best outer garment for the money at surplus store prices. For a shirt in cooler weather I prefer a washable wool Pendleton. I actually have two pair of TML's that I've had for 25 years bought direct from some store in England. I've never found anything better but plain old poly-cotton work pants are almost as good except they don't have that handy map pocket in just the right place.

In really cold weather I still rely on battledress serge trousers and I have two pair of those. One British and one Canadian. Both are about 50 years old.

As I said, around here it's hot and humid at least six months out of the year. If I actually have to wear anything, it has to be thin. I know pure cotton feels best when it's hot but it takes forever to dry out. After being mistaken for a ranger in a No.2 dress poplin shirt, I have switched to a poly-cotton t-shirt and everyone is happy.

I have varied footwear for varied weather conditions and have even hiked in sandals as an experiment. I thought the experiment was successful but I haven't been out again. Mostly I wear a fairly ordinary pair of hiking boots.

Even though it is I who wear surplus store uniform items, everyone else seems to be in uniform, too, as if they all shopped at the same store. In point of fact, they probably did, not that there's anything wrong with that. However, I don't read any magazines or follow any forums on hiking and camping other than this one and one more that is, uh, rather specialized, so I have no idea what current fads or fashions are. Even though I happen to already have the things I mentioned, I've never heard of most of the other things or the instructors mentioned. I mostly study things written before 1940.

 

[NickBristol]

Before I moved into my current office role I did a lot of surveillance and enforcement work. This was almost entirely in a semi-rural environment (people thought nobody would be watching them 1/2 mile out of town - Doh!), such as the edge of a small industrial park, farmbuildings, city wasteland and the like. There would be frequently be the need to move in an 'urban' environment as well as a more natural 'green' environment. Not looking out of place in either was a real challenge, but some of my favourite outfits were a mix of well chosen fashion labels and tried & tested ex-mil kit.

For example, I have a nice very civvy Quiksilver darkish green blouson type jacket in a fairly heavy cotton with a simple quilted liner. Nice logo on the front too. If I was thinking of bushcraft kit it wouldn't have even crossed my mind as first choice would have been a norgie and a SAS smock or a buffalo special six like Rhodri rightly has so much faith in. But this jacket, with a LoweAlpine goretex lined polartec fleece underneath (in teal) and a long sleeve t-shirt does a good job in most weathers without looking like a wannabe. Trousers are cargo trousers from H&M (Hennes to some people) - windproof pretty much, good pockets, very well made with lots of double stitching and all for a tenner, came in black, navy, dark green and sand so I got a few of each. Look good and wear them all the time I'm not in jeans or a suit. Disposable gaiters that just tear off keep most mud off the bottoms to help moving from muddry rural to urban... Undies are thermals from Asda when they had all their ski stuff in. Footwear was generally either Berghaus walking boots or Merrell cross-type trainers, tho I did wear issue boots for a while but trousers never bloused inside the boot. On my head I tend to have a reversible baseball cap, red one side, dark blue the other. Tends to work quite well I think...

The point is that it is all nothing special and that good kit can come from a non-specialist maker. I've pretty much carried this set-up into all my bushcraft, like all of last weekend in some friends woodland in Essex. It seems sensible to me to look vaguely 'normal' in a country where there is little chance of being undisturbed by the 'public' on any given day. Plus it is nice to be able to drop into any old pub without having to change first or it going quiet when you go through the door...

Clothing seems to be one of the few things we tend to get hung up on here with 'needing' a swanni or ventile everything, when for other things we're hugely keen on the uses of a cheap or novel item from the 'real' world and applying them to bushcraft, such as tampons in firelighting or coke can stoves. Why isn't this thinking applied to all bushcraft kit, including clothing?

This post seems to have gone on forever - sorry about that, I should learn to describe thoughts in shorter sentences and more clearly.

 

[ssj]

One reason I wear more muted colors is that they tend to show dirt and grime less conspicuously. That being said, I don't care to look like a park ranger or military man. My primary concerns are whether the article of clothing is right for the intended job, are the colors non-flashy, does it have a military look to it? My preferred answers to those questions are yes, yes, and no.
Steve

 

[bambodoggy]

Loads of my kit is ex-army as I kept it when I left ...but clothes wise I tend to wear what's right for the situation...a lot is OG but not all. I still have "bright" clothes from my Outdoor Instructor days but I don't like it much.... It's not that I don't want to be seen in the woods...it's just that I feel happier blending in....and green is a very relaxing colour too hence actors sit in "green rooms" before they act.

My tops change depending on what I'm doing but I ALWAYS wear shorts, for bushcrafting, walking the dog, chilling at home and also at work.....so no matter what my top half looks like I can't be mistaken for a squaddie as they're not the shorts wearing types! lol

Bam.

 

[spamel]

Why not? I've got a pair of shorts made from an old pair of lightweights cut off and hemmed just above the map pocket. We wore them in Oman as it was redders, but I look crap in them 'cos my legs are pale white bits of string!

 

[Spacemonkey]

I wear green stuff 'cos I like it, and that's that!

During the summer months from late June to late september i live in shorts though. My faves this year are the £20 specials from Millets in stone made from some ultra lightweight modern ripstop stuff, yet they are so light and comfy! Put on last years cottons yesterday and ripped them straight off again. This has got to be one of the first years I have ever had well tanned legs! This is the first year I have gone for shorts that are cut above the knee, and they feel so much better-they don't stick as much as the longer ones when it gets hot. Being built like a racing snake (I'm 6' 2" and 10.5 stone-185cm x 67kg) I have always been conscious of looking so skinny, yet now I am proud to be slim when surrounded by sloths, so I just don't care anymore what people think. People tend to notice the all over dragon tattoo first anyway and it works as a good distraction!

If don't wear green, it's stone/khaki/sand in the summer. Because I like it. Would like a cheapo safari jacket though to complete the 'Walter Raleigh' look though....

 

[bambodoggy]

but I look crap in them 'cos my legs are pale white bits of string!

Whereas I, am a bronzed Adonis lol

Ok ok, everyone wears shorts but you have to admit very very few squaddies wear them on duty in public and that's what I was talking about, looking like a soldier or being mistaken for one.

Bam.

 

[JimH]

My tops change depending on what I'm doing but I ALWAYS wear shorts, for bushcrafting, walking the dog, chilling at home and also at work.....so no matter what my top half looks like I can't be mistaken for a squaddie as they're not the shorts wearing types! lol

Not wrong! When I got to Ashdown, I thought I'd wandered into a remake of Daktari - all Landrovers and kneecaps

Jim.

 

[CLEM]

Everyone should just wear what they wish too wear,i understand the point about not wishing to be thought of as xxxx sas special special forces pretender types but i wear OG just because i like it.