Looking like a survivalist?

Camoflauge uniforms were designed for a purpose and I don't find a need to involve that in my woods experiences unless I'm hunting.
Click to expand...

Camoflauge in the woods during hunting season? Isn't that like going hunting with Vice President Cheney?

"Orange vests? We don't need no stinking orange vests!"
 
naked said:
Most people usually give me some strange looks, a BK7 on a completely naked person is an acquired taste I guess. Shoot, and I live in Arkansas, maybe I should think about changing my attire?
Click to expand...

I would say:confused::D
 
chrisaloia said:
Hiking with combat boots, a camo boonie hat with BDU's and a large knife on belt seems to be the stereotypical survival look. How do people feel about the survival look? Can it bring problems in a survival situation with other people?
Click to expand...

In a survival situation, I doubt anyone will care what you wear. However, depending on the situation, it may be advantageous to blend in rather than stick out.
 
chrisaloia said:
Hiking with combat boots, a camo boonie hat with BDU's and a large knife on belt seems to be the stereotypical survival look. How do people feel about the survival look? Can it bring problems in a survival situation with other people?
Click to expand...
Down here in Texas we dont have a problem with it. A lot of us dress like his while out in the wilderness and nobody gives a hoot. It is nice to live in one of the less sheeple filled states.
 
I guess it boils down to blending in with your environment. A man here wearing a fitted three piece suit and tie stands out like a camo clad hunter would on Broadway in NYC.

One point that comes to mind is that if a situation involved Homeland Security, or Martial Law, or the like, one would be advised to adopt a "non-military" look lest one draw unwanted attention. Again, the "gray man" concept.

Here where I live camo clothing doesn't draw a second glance most of the year. Dove season opened a while back and various hunting seasons will go on from now through next spring. Did I also mention that this is the home to the "World's Largest Coon Hunt", a benefit for St. Jude's Children's Hospital?

Codger
 
Where I live & grew up, most people hunt or fish or both & wearing camo is something that you see all the time, even on teenage girls, it is not strang looking around here, maybe in New York. different areas of the country have different cultures & a lot of country folks wear camos everywhere. I have 6 different camo patterns & I just like the way they look. my niece has pink & purple camo's!
 
I try to wear military type clothes in tan. It doesn't turn heads. But early goose season just started here and camo clothing is not unusual anywhere in this part of the country from now till the end of December. Heck guys have their trucks trimed with Mossy oak camo. Go into the big city and you will get stares. Out here it is just a way of life.
 
Come to think about it, the only thing that would turn heads here in L.A. would be a big knife. camos, boots, etc aren't all that unusual in everyday life around here.
 
I like the subdued colors as well, but today I was hiking an area of old growth Monterey pine woods that they were preparing for multi-million $$ estates near Carmel Ca., however the voters nixed the idea and it didn't fly, but they had put in a bunch of numbered roads, as well as hiking trails, so I've been walking these dirt roads for my exercise. Anyways, I'm walking down road 4, which is 3.5 miles long with a couple of other roads off of it and these two women were walking my way, so I tipped my fedora, said good afternoon and kept walking. I should mention that I was wearing a pair of Vasque boots, 501 jeans, a black Tshirt and a German military OD outer shirt with the sleeves removed and I was carrying my ratan hiking staff. I guess I took about 15 steps or so and I heard the woman say, why do they let people like that walk here? The other woman says, what do you mean? So she continues that my green vest, hat and staff say I'm a survival nut.:rolleyes: By now I had stopped and was watching them walk away and the younger woman turned, looked at me, shrugged and raised her hands, palm up next to her face and smiled. I just smiled and shook my head. But that's a good indication of the publics opinion of survivalists and what they look like. Heck, I'm even clean shaven, almost, and got buzzcut hair under that fedora. Not to mention I'm starting to look like an old man, so go figure.
 
I try to stay clear of a par military look myself although i sometimes where an old suplus jacket..Seems that just like shaft, "noone understands us but our women".....and even than only sometimes.....Well at least we have bfws forum.
 
Why is "Survivalist" such a dirty word. We are not nut jobs. We are just prepared for the
unexpected. If one of those women would have had an accident, aside from a cell phone that might have worked, she was probably carrying lipstick, mascara, money, and credit cards in her designer hand bag. You would have been a hero if you would have rescued her. I have different levels of gear for the type of hike I am doing. I have seen chicks in the Smokies hiking up to a waterfall in heels, now that deserves a second look.
 
zman, most of the people I've met who called themselves survivalists were living down to the sterotype. Met a few in over 20 years who weren't, but most were.

But I'm also a computer engineer. I would like to call myself a "hacker" using the circa-1980 meaning of the term, but even that meaning gets you lawsuits from Meglosoft these days.

As for camoflauge... Yeah, I'd describe it as a bad idea for survival clothing for two reasons. Around people, it has a certain image that Misanthrope described quite well. The other is really simple though: we camoflauge things to hide them. If you look like a pile of leaves by design, and you want to be found, you are really missing the point. :)
 
zman308 said:
Why is "Survivalis" a dirty word?

I have seen chicks in the Smokies hiking up to a waterfall in heels, now that deserves a second look.
Click to expand...

Survival is a dirty word, because the media, which are the talking heads for the gov., say it is. True that there are commando joes roaming the countrysides around the country that are what I would call, militaristic (militia) and this is exactly what the powers that be, want the people to turn against. Unfortunately, anyone wearing camo, or dressed out of the ordinary will also be catagorized the same way by the public.

High heels eh? Does that come with tight hiking shorts? :D
 
Words have meaning and meanings change. Militia is/was a highly respected word representing citizen soldiers who came to the aid of their country without pay or expectation of reward.

But meanings change. Media and alphabet soup agencies worked hard to change those meanings by making them synonomous with "racist", "supremist", and a bunch of other tags. It allowed them to do things like Waco and Ruby Ridge.

Perhaps it would be better to use the term "preparedness minded". My grandparents were prepared. They had a storm shelter for tornadoes, grew a garden and raised a few hogs and chickens, canned fruit and hunted wild game and fished. They raised their children through a depression and a world war because they were prepared for it. They weren't nut cases or supremicists. They had no desire to take over the country or become anarchists.

Heck, in the wake of Katrina, the Red Cross and every government agency has posted lists of what people should do to prepare for disasters. Most large cities and small towns have a "disaster plan" of some sort.

Codger
 
longbow50 said:
High heels eh? Does that come with tight hiking shorts? :D
Click to expand...

I would hope:D

Again thats why personally most days I have a plain polo shirt on, some painters jeans and a solid pair of boots. Now, you have to remember Im in oil country so their isnt a big problem. On my way home from work, If I stop in the grocrery store there are a whole host of diffrent styles of clothing.

Even at the local park you see anything from bikers walking along the river, to your average hiker with shorts and a t-shirt. I just like to blend into the majority, Sure I dont "stick it to the man, man" but again the less attention I draw to my self the better, another reason why I like camera cases, thats all it looks like, a camera case not a PSK.
 
I think in a survival situation any clothing style has its advantages or disadvantages.

Military clothing may look to police,or sheeple like trouble but "Crazy rambo guy" may not be high on a thugs "to rob" list, If you find yourself having to evade others cammo may be of aid.

Civillian looking gear, may not be a redflag at police checkpoints but it may look like easy prey to criminal minded folks, especially if its expensive looking gear.

In my case I have another dilema, If I wear clothing that denotes me as a Responder, I may have a leg up at check points, shelters, hospitals, or other environs where I may have an "in". but on the other hand I may be a target, for those seeking drugs, or someone who is pissed about not being rescued quickly enough( it happened in Katrina).

In the end I figure your actions will speak louder than your clothing in a SHTF situation. Again drawing from Katrina, there were guys in cammo shirts and blue jeans saving people and people in uniforms looting.
 
I wear what's comfortable and works well for me, screw the looks. In the woods, I generally wear clothes that would make me look like I came out of an old-fashioned safari movie. Hey, it's tropical (read: hot and humid). I don't look like Rambo, but I don't look like a regular joe either. I see it more as the "competant" look. Not someone who's got a light infantry platoon to back him up (or a raider on a shoot 'n' loot), but not some city schmuck either. Not a hard target, not a soft target, just a someone who might give you more trouble than you want if you have bad intentions, or might help you if you need it.

In the city, I dress like any other schmuck.
 
For me , my "survival" clothing is the same as my every day gear , black jeans , black shirt , black leather jacket , black riding boots usually johny rebs or similar .

I used to dress friendly for work , and get all kinds of smart alecs to deal with . Now I dont deal with the public near so much and I find being less friendly and soft looking means that smart alecs steer clear , and cops etc be that bit respectful too .

Probably in a situation where there was mass evac , Id get less leeway from cops .. but the extra space given by ordinary folk is probably worth it .. trade off like everything I guess .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top