Clothing is
often our first line of defense in a survival situation. It is quite simply
shelter for our bodies. No matter how “thick-skinned” we think we are, the
human body is quite fragile when compared with most of the creatures in nature.
Although this may at first seem to be one of our weaknesses, it is actually one
of our greatest strengths. Clothing gives us the ability to readily adapt to
almost any type of environment.
Being able
to adapt quickly to a changing environment is often overlooked as one of our
most important abilities. We easily put on a heavy coat or jacket and brave the
worst that winter can throw at us. We avoid the effects of a heavy downpour
with a poncho or a rain slicker. Nature can do its worst and we can devise a
solution that will protect our bodies against the harshest of conditions.
Environmental conditions that might otherwise be fatal are easily handled with
the proper clothing.
One
important and very fascinating part of clothing is the pocket. Whether the
pocket is on a shirt, a pair of pants or a jacket, it’s a simple feature of
clothing that serves a multitude of purposes. A pocket is truly an amazing
thing. In a winter coat, it is a shelter for our hands if we’ve lost our gloves.
And what would a survival vest be without pockets? A pocket can also serve as a
container for our daily survival gear. Many of those items which we pack in our
pockets on an everyday basis would be a lot harder to carry without pockets.
In fact,
the more pockets an item of clothing has will quite often determine its
ultimate usability. All you need to do is look at all the pockets on a set of
BDU’s to realize this simple fact. Not only is clothing ranked quite often by
the number of pockets it has, it is also applied to many clothing accessories
as well.
Probably
one of the worst disasters you can face on an everyday basis is getting a hole
in one of your pockets. Not only do you face the possibility of a sudden lost
of important items but your ability to carry many needed items has been
seriously diminished. In fact, a great many items have been designed directly
as a result of the simple pocket and its ability to carry needed items in an
extremely handy manner.
Many times
items are specifically designed to fit in a pocket (i.e., pocket knifes, pocket
books, etc.). Even if it wasn’t specifically designed to fit in a pocket, many
times items will still wind up in someone’s pocket. If it needs to be kept
handy, someone will figure out a way to get it in a pocket. One way or another
it will eventually wind up in someone’s pocket. It’s simply one of the best and
most versatile ways to carry “stuff”.
Pockets
have even become a part of our daily ritual. Many times we can’t wait to get
home and “empty” our pockets. We’ve survived another day and can rest easy now.
When
choosing clothing for survival, you might want to count the number of pockets.
Got
pockets? You betcha!
Staying
above the water line!
Posts
4 comments:
Absolutely love my heavy duty cargo pants for winter chores, and light duty cargo pants for any traveling or hiking. Great to have the extra storage and options. Nice article on auh a common and important item, thanks.
Yep, read a tip from Backwoodsman magazine some time back. If you need to add a pocket temporarily, safety pin a glove to your apparel, looks funny as heck but it gets the job done in a pinch! 8^)
For me, the pocket that hardly EVER gets used is the watch pocket - I need to change that!
To: northernhomesteader
It's the main reason I keep a small sewing kit handy...to fix that hole that always seems to show up in my pockets.
With the right choice of clothing, you can utilize a lot of "built-in"
storage space.
Thanks.
RW
To: anonymous 7:30
Great tip. Thanks for passing it along.
I got the idea for the post from RW, Jr. He's a big fan of those "cargo pocket" type pants.
Although I don't have a pocket watch, you can use the watch pocket to carry a small compass (the round type) or similar items.
Thanks anon.
RW
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