Linen/Hemp Clothing

Sorry Brian, you misread. I said hypERthermia: heat stroke, sunstroke etc. When the core temp RISES to mortal levels and must be stopped, then reversed. I agree wholeheartedly with you, had I said hypOthermia and I would have jumped down the throat of such a poster as well.

The insidious nature of hypERthermic climb is the reason it's so dangerous, hypOthermia is typically the result of an identifiable trauma or event.

The point was to illustrate that universal rules aren't universal - it's more important that one understand the processes that are going on and use the right tool for the job, regardless of what arena we're talking about. Use of a catchphrase without the appropriate caveats is more dangerous to the uninitiated than no catch phrase at all IMHO

EDIT:
Most of the hemp products I've seen are blends anyway. Linen lightens the fabric overall and cotton lowers the price. I've got a linen shirt that I like to where when hiking in the interior in the summer. For such a light fabric it's surprisingly robust. It does take some care in washing (or at least that's what Mrs Lefty says!)
 
DOH, DeadEye! Sorry - I need to go reread the thread on "awareness...":o

We agree rules aren't universal. We agree 100% on not offering too little information that leaves room for much misinterpretation. The catch phrases can serve as excellent anchors as reminders of an already-received complete body of instruction, nothing more.
 
Good point. I'm always thinking of the lowest common denominator (untrained and unaware), because those are the folks who typically become statistics.
 
In the beginning, linen and hemp was the fabric of the common man (it was most affordable and durable). Cotton was for those who could afford it. Since our early Colonial days, things have sort of flip flopped. As our culture became more sedentary and sophisticated, cotton became the fabric of choice. Survival clothing (linen and hemp) was no longer necessary. Yep, we as historical reenactors study this stuff in our early American diaries and journals (I hear...boring!). Heaven forbid that one show up at the historical camp not being "period correct" in his fabric of choice. :) Even our early founding fathers knew of the benefits of linen over cotton...sort of like white bread versus wheat (nothing new under the sun).

Another use for linen, flax, and hemp: Most older experienced outdoors men (all reenactors) know how good tow linen is as a firemaking tinder. Tow is simply made up of broken fibers that are combed out before the fabric is produced. I purchased my tow from a weaving supplier (have a lifetime supply). When pure dry tow is formed into a birds nest affair and a spark from some char cloth (or other) is dropped into it, it won't be long before your tea is brewed. Wet tow can be easily dried out in the sun if it gets wet. Too, I have used a hank of wet tow to clean out the barrel of my musket, dried it back out and used it for firemaking that evening.

Some bulk tow (flax).
tw-196.jpg

This photo shows the lighter colored linen tow, and a spark caught by the char cloth. A puff of air and it all goes up real nice.
fands3qi8.jpg

Some better photos and explanation of tow linen in action can be found here. http://www.ravenlore.co.uk/html/fire.html
 
Moodino said:
I'm reviewing some hemp wear soon. Try ...
http://www.orvis.com
http://www.zappos.com
http://www.rawganique.com
I wear a mandarin collared hemp shirt BSC3 from ...
http://www.ecolution.com/

BTW- no difference between hemp and Linen these days. Real linen costs 4 times more and ends up in Designer wear $200+ for a shirt.
Click to expand...

Awesome! thanks for the links! Big thanks for all the contributions from everyone. The friendly banter, knowledgeable people (only here can I learn about Linen's firestarting properties), and rapid response is why I hang almost exclusivley around this subforum!

BTW http://www.theguayaberashirtstore.com/long-sleeve-linen-shirts-wbanded-collar-p-5.html this site seems to have nice simple 100% linen shirts for reasonable prices (ya I know most of their shirts are made for weddings)
 
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