wet and cold

[faca]

Hi everybody.
Please clear me up about this, you got wet and you need to dry your cloths, so you manage to get a fire so now the question which way is better?:
1.You take out your clothes now you are naked and cold and let them get dry in the fire.
2.You don´t take out your clothes and let them get dry on you near the fire :chill:

Thanks for your attetion and Happy Xmas for all of you.

 

[mercury]

You take 'em off , because if you are bright enough to carry flint/steel/matches/blowtorch or whatever then you are bright enough to bring spare clothing

 

[tomtom]

depending on what you have with you.. get naked and get in your sleeping bag!

 

[SquirrelBoy]

I think it depends on the conditions - weather mostly but also what kit you have - of course if you have spare stuff put it on!
But im thinking you mean with only the clothes you have on..?!

If its windy etc id probably keep them on as I wouldnt want to loose any more heat, even wet clothes can provide some protection.

If its a still mild day I reckon take them off, make hangers to expose as much material to the fire to dry quicker,arrange a reflector behind you them huddle round the fire.

 

[arctic hobo]

If it's really cold I'll have my bearskin, so I'll keep that on (always stays dry... fur on the inside ) and get in my sleeping bag. If it's warmer I'll just get in the bag in the nude. Otherwise you could spend a long time in wet clothes that could make you very cold.

 

[Paganwolf]

Get naked and hope no one spots the old acorn and wallnut shell as wet clothing in cold breezy conditions saps the heat from your body quickly, get your spare set on quick or/and wrap anything else you have around you to keep warm, dry them by the fire taking care not to let them become fuel for your fire :roll: , always take a spare set of warm clothing in a dry bag, keep your sleeping bag in one too if possible as warm dry sleeping conditions is a major player in this type of situation, you can use your rucksac as a giant slipper to keep your feet and lower legs warm while your boots are drying too..but every situation has its own factors use everything you have to your advantage and know your kit, people have been found suffering from hypothermia with a bag full of clothes a tent and sleeping sitting next to them :roll:

 

[ChrisKavanaugh]

The human body maintains a microclimate of 98.6 degrees f on the skin. If we get to warm we perspire. If to cold, we generate mechanical heat by shivering. It all depends on how we got wet; falling in water, a torrential downpour ,struggling in deep snow or even perspiring inside our insulation from excessive exercise and inadequate venting. If we have managed a fire then it is safe to assume shelter in some form from the above agents. Clothing will absorb only so much % of moisture and maintain insulation depending on it's material. Keeping our microclimate next to any item with a lower temperature is going to draw away precious warmth. Wet cold is always a faster conductor than dry cold. The usual action is to strip. In truly cold weather the moisture will freeze and a great deal can be squeezed , shaken and beaten out mechanically before drying near the fire. Remember the four ways of producing and maintaining heat in the human body; mechanical or physical activity, eating food, external heat and whatever insulation we have to store that energy.

 

[Hoodoo]

It's the deep core body temperature that counts. Current thinking suggests that you should keep your limbs cool while warming up the core. Otherwise, if your limbs become warm first, the limb blood vessels will dilate, and warm blood will leave the core of the body and warm the limbs. The result is that the core temperature of the body will drop. Under certain circumstances, this could be fatal. So if you are close to hypothermia or are hypothermic, I would wrap the core in whatever insulation you have and don't worry about the arms or legs.

 

[RovingArcher]

What material is your clothing? Wool can be worn wet, because it maintains it's insulating values and will help to keep you warm, even when soaked through. Most other clothing would need to come off and either way, shelter would be in order to help minimize exposure to the elements and the onset of hypothermia.

One thing you will want to avoid with the fire is over building it. To hot of a fire can put your system into shock and even cause death by warming the extremities too quickly, which as stated by Hoodoo, robs the body core of more life giving heat, which takes you deeper into hypothermia. Warm yourself gradually with the fire and heat up a warm brew to drink, which helps to rebuild the bodies inner core heat.

Perhaps our ancient ancestors had this hypothermia thing down with their exposed limbs and heavily insulated body coverings.

 

[Pict]

Faca,

There are only two kinds of clothes in the bush, wet, dirty, stinky clothes you wear all day and warm, dry, fluffy clothes you sleep in. I always pack a fleece sweatshirt, a long sleeve T-shirt, warm socks, and sweatpants in a dry bag. These stay in the dry bag and are only used inside the shelter. My outside clothes, usually tropical weight BDU’s, get wet and dirty, rained on etc.

In the morning you carefully take off the dry fluffy clothes and pack them away in the dry bag, then get dressed in the damp, dirty clothes. This is how I manage rainy season camping in Brazil where the temps are not very low.

If I get soaked to the skin and it has stopped raining I will make a larger than normal fire and sit/stand nearby letting the heat steam the clothes dry. They dry surprisingly fast this way. I usually strip off my outer layer and hold or prop it up by the fire.

If I was very chilled but wasn’t hypothermic yet then the dry clothes and sleeping bag would be calling my name and I’d hang the wet clothes near the fire. I don’t see the wisdom of getting naked and hanging the clothes near the fire. Once you get near the fire the wet clothes heat up very quickly and the heat/steam from them warms you up very well. The wind-chill factor would be a factor.

Now if you have plunged through a frozen lake and had to get warm your core temp is critical. The best way to warm up is to get naked and double up with someone you love or someone you trust in a dry bag. Never get into a wet sleeping bag and never get into a dry sleeping bag with wet clothes on. If I was that wet and alone in below freezing conditions I would build a very large fire and try to dry out the wet clothes by hanging them while I waited in a dry sleeping bag.

If I didn’t have a dry bag to get into I would strip off the outer layers and dry the inside of them hanging by the fire and wear the wet inner layers close to the fire. In cold/wet conditions your clothing choice is critical. I wear polypropylene thermal underwear and wool pants/coat. The poly underwear dries quickly and the wool retains its insulating value when wet. Wool doesn’t soak up water.

Hunting in Alaska this October I wore this clothing combo covered by a Gortex parka. I also wore a pair of saddle cloth overpants to keep my legs dry. Under normal conditions the gortex allows the perspiration to escape while keeping the wind and water off. If I had been plunged into water I would have built a large fire and stripped off the parka and poly to let them dry near the fire while I wore the wool staying close to the fire. Whatever dried first would be put back on. Avoid cotton in cold weather. It absorbs too much moisture and dries slowly. Mac

 

[Ogri the trog]

My two pennies worth,
Get naked - If you got a fire going, it is likely that you are in a sheltered position. Your clothes can be drying and more of your skin can be exposed to warm and dry by the fire.
The alternative of wearing the clothes dry is that areas such as crotch, under-arms etc retains moisture and causes softening of the skin in that area - further leading to soreness/ irritation/infection.

Mind you, for me to get naked in the wide outdoors, the locals would have to have pretty strong stomachs

Ogri the trog

 

[Bob Hurley]

I get wet with some regularity, and I've always dried by the fire while wearing my clothes. It works best for me to keep turning, rather than to wait until one side gets completely dry first - that way I start getting warm even before I get really dry. I tend to wear wool mostly, so that may have a bearing as well.

 

[Gary]

Orlando,

If you wear Woollen clothing even wet it will remain warm to a greater or lesser extent - but it will be harder to dry by the fire and cotton/poly cotton. Same goes for Ventile.

Persoanlly if I was soaked I'd keep my woollen base layer on and warm this by the fire while removing and wringing out my ouuter layers to help dry these quicker. Doing this the wool would help maintain core temperature and once my poly/cottons were dry I'd swap em over.

Of course if your wearing a synthetic or cotton base layer this may not work and as such removing all layers would be safest.

As pointed out carrying a spare dry layer is a good idea but in an emergency situation this might not be possible so dressing correctly in the first place is a better option always dress for the worst conditions you expect locally..

 

[spamel]

There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing!

Spamel

 

[Viking]

Since I have taken a little bath with my clothes on a late autumn day when the temprature was around 0 so this is what I did and it worked for me.

Get all your WET clothes of as quick as possible, then use what ever DRY clothes you have to warm you up and then make a fire to dry up your wet clothes. A think like a warm sweater was in this sitation a life save since I curled up and and the sweater covered all of me and kep warm enough. My biggest problem was my feet and since this was just a short daytrip I had not brought any extra socks so that is something very useful to bring ALWAYS.

There is no clothing in the worls that can save you when the accident is there...

 

[Gary]

Since I have taken a little bath with my clothes on a late autumn day when the temprature was around 0 so this is what I did and it worked for me.

Get all your WET clothes of as quick as possible, then use what ever DRY clothes you have to warm you up and then make a fire to dry up your wet clothes. A think like a warm sweater was in this sitation a life save since I curled up and and the sweater covered all of me and kep warm enough. My biggest problem was my feet and since this was just a short daytrip I had not brought any extra socks so that is something very useful to bring ALWAYS.

There is no clothing in the worls that can save you when the accident is there...

Bit of a difference in taking a dip at minus brr and getting wet in sunny spain though Johan! Anyone who goes out in the snow north without sensible emergency gear deserve to literally freeze their butt off!

 

[Edi_M]

Bit of a difference in taking a dip at minus brr and getting wet in sunny spain though Johan! Anyone who goes out in the snow north without sensible emergency gear deserve to literally freeze their butt off!

Or, for that matter, hitting the munros, at any time of year, on your own & covered in cotton. Such an easy place to die, our world.

Mental.

 

[anthonyyy]

Depends on what kind of clothes you are wearing.
Cotton clothes I would definately remove.
Woll or synthetics I would probably take them off to wring them dry then don them again.
First thing I would do in either case would be to light a fire before I got any colder.

The problem in real life when your really cold is that the auld brain stops working - I'd probably end up setting fire to myself.

 

[arctic hobo]

Depends on what kind of clothes you are wearing.
Cotton clothes I would definately remove.
Woll or synthetics I would probably take them off to wring them dry then don them again.
First thing I would do in either case would be to light a fire before I got any colder.

The problem in real life when your really cold is that the auld brain stops working - I'd probably end up setting fire to myself.

Cotton wouldn't be easy to dry as it catches fire so easily
Another reason not to wear it I think

 

[Toddy]

I sew linen for re-enactors because it's not supposed to flare the way cotton does with a naked flame. But as an underneath layer it's marvellous. It sort of breathes itself dry even under damp wool.
I got soaked to the skin four times last week, (four different sites, four different events, four different periods ) and the only time I was comfortable was in Iron age and then in Medieval style linen and wool. Modern clothing was still damp having driven home in a heated car; 20 minutes in sunshine and my wool cloak and skirts were dry again. Pity about the shoes though.....wet courrans aren't nice things
For field work I like silk underneath.....it's warmer, honest See
http://www.patra.com/facts.asp
Silk and wool, you can wear them wet and they're still warm. No need to strip off to the skin, just wring out the layers bit by bit and let your body heat dry them off if you haven't got a fire going. Damp wool swells a bit and stops the wind chill too. Goats wool is supposed to be the best for shedding the rain.
On the other hand, I've never gone into an arctic river with them to extreme test

Cheers,
Toddy

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