Snivel Gear: Things to Make Misery Bearable

[Music] [Music] hello again everyone and welcome back to the underground sorry that we've been absent from these normal podcasts for a while but we've been quite busy out in the cold and the wet getting ready for some future projects and just training in general right now though it may seem like current events have gotten kind of quiet things most certainly have not slowed down so we have found it more important for we intel weenies to get out from behind the desk and do some field work and work on some tradecraft and on one particular day sitting in a tent with freezing rain making everyone miserable we got to talking about our favorite snivel gear so that's what we're going to talk about today so first off what is snivel gear well the definition is pretty simple any gear that is meant to keep you a little bit more warm dry and comfortable the term originated within the military as a way to describe gear or items that are intended to stop a person from sniveling or whining during inclement weather and of course this means that within the military at least this can be positive or derogatory depending on the context or the mission for instance try wearing a fleece cap in front of an the military at least this can be positive or derogatory depending on the context or the mission for instance try wearing a fleece cap in front of any army sergeant major when the temperature is 41 degrees fahrenheit but for we civilians who are not so much concerned about things like that we can afford the luxury of civil gear and actually some of this stuff isn't so much a luxury as it is a requirement to increase mission success so first up let's start with clothing and by clothing we mean thermal underwear and sleeping bags thermal undergarments are a great way to drastically increase your comfort out in the field in fact a lot of sleeping bag manufacturers are relying on it as a lot of companies make their sleeping bag temperature ratings based on the person wearing thermal undergarments so before you hop in that 20 degree sleeping bag and assume that it's going to work it would be a good idea to figure out how they got that degree rating most people by now know that there are often two different degree ratings for sleeping bags one number is the comfort rating and the other number is the survival rating so if you get a bag that's rated for survival at 20 degrees and you actu one number is the comfort rating and the other number is the survival rating so if you get a bag that's rated for survival at 20 degrees and you actually take it down that low you're going to be very very uncomfortable but say that you know that you have a 20 degree sleeping bag that is comfortable at 20 degrees and the temperature is going to be at that level or below that level or even better a surprise winter storm rolls in and you're trapped with an inadequate sleeping bag one great way to increase your warmth factor is to put on thermal undergarments depending on what gear you choose you could easily increase your sleeping bag's temperature rating by 10 to 15 degrees just by doing this another great clothing item that often people forget is the concept of the grid fleece this is a type of fleece clothing that was first designed by i think polar tech and the fabric is sewn into little pockets in a grid-like pattern if you don't know what i'm talking about just search online for grid fleece and you'll know exactly what i'm trying to describe but this design has been taken by a lot of other manufacturers and replicated so it's now become sort of a style of clothing but these gri to describe but this design has been taken by a lot of other manufacturers and replicated so it's now become sort of a style of clothing but these grid fleece jackets and shirts really regardless of brand tend to be very warm and comfortable and they are often very lightweight as well so you don't really end up eating a lot of pack space by bringing one along or by wearing one during the day as well another thing that people tend to forget or just not use at all is a watch cap a watch cap a beanie cap toboggan toke whatever you want to call these some kind of lightweight warm insulated hat is always a good thing to have many people are aware of the statistic that ninety percent of your body's heat is lost through the head in actuality quite a bit of research has been done that disproves this the amount of body heat lost through the head is anywhere from seven to nine percent and the head's surface area accounts for about 10 percent of the surface area of the rest of the body so in reality we actually lose less heat through our heads because we have hair the reason for this disproven statistic still being a thing is that it seems accurate for a pretty simple reason when you're outsi ecause we have hair the reason for this disproven statistic still being a thing is that it seems accurate for a pretty simple reason when you're outside in the cold weather you're usually clothed hopefully but what a lot of people forget is any sort of head or face covering just think about how many times you yourself have thought that it's too cold to go outside without a jacket but you don't bother with putting on a warm hat as well so keeping a warm hat on hand is critical in cold weather especially since most modern sleeping bags haven't quite figured out how to keep the head area of a sleeping bag just as warm as the body part which isn't any manufacturer's fault it's just that you have to keep a hole open for breathing out of so that part of the sleeping bag is just going to stay a little bit colder than the rest some people rather than take along a warm hat prefer to use a full-length neck gaiter or a buff of some kind which can be fashioned in such a way as to be a hat and these are great i personally always carry one with me just because they're so lightweight and they can be used in hot weather as well as cold weather and these are now super popular which is partly due to just because they're so lightweight and they can be used in hot weather as well as cold weather and these are now super popular which is partly due to this whole covet thing existing but there are many different varieties out there now ones with pockets or made of a fire resistant material like nomex you know stuff like that so you can find these in any number of materials and patterns to fit whatever need you might have and breaking out of the clothing area the next thing we have is the wubby also known as the poncho liner and this item has great cultural significance there is nothing in the entire military arsenal that is coveted as much as the poncho liner and for good reason it's very warm lightweight and does the job perfectly the reason for its godlike status is largely due to it being small enough for most troops to carry it with them everywhere often times troops are not permitted to take along their bulky sleeping bags but rather forced to go light and bring along the only piece of comfortable gear that the military makes the poncho liner after all troops are paid to kill people and break things not be comfortable and that's why it is a piece of gear that warrants such pow poncho liner after all troops are paid to kill people and break things not be comfortable and that's why it is a piece of gear that warrants such powerful emotions not only because it is a piece of gear that is actually very good but it is usually the only piece of comfort that soldiers have to get them through a rough and uncomfortable night and a lot of people have modified these over the years routinely you can find aftermarket upgrades such as zippers and a hood being installed and currently since poncho liners are such a cultural item as much as they are a practical one you can find people making everything from jackets to baby blankets out of the beloved poncho liner the original poncho liner hasn't really changed much over the years it's pretty much the same thing that was around during vietnam but the civilian market has taken this idea and run with a good example of this is the helicon tex swagman role if you haven't heard of helicon techs before they are a polish company that makes a very inexpensive military style gear i say inexpensive because in no way is there stuff cheaply made in fact it's every single helicon product that i've owned and have tried before has been ay inexpensive because in no way is there stuff cheaply made in fact it's every single helicon product that i've owned and have tried before has been of suspiciously good quality for the price i only mentioned these guys i only mentioned this this company because they make what is a modern version of the pancho liner concept which is their swagman role now you can look this up on your own and we're not trying to sell you anything but the idea is interesting essentially what it is is a poncho liner similar fabric it's not the same stuff but it's quite similar with a zipper around its edge and a hood attached so that it can actually be worn as a semi-waterproof poncho this is pretty cool since most service members like i said usually added a zipper and maybe a hood to their poncho liner anyway also if you're looking to spend a considerable amount more money on something like this you can go with an american cottage industry style product from hill people gear called the mountain syrupy now i've personally had one of these for about five years now and i like it a lot although my personal one isn't recognizable from the original mountain therapy i added in a a full length zipper a a ch years now and i like it a lot although my personal one isn't recognizable from the original mountain therapy i added in a a full length zipper a a chest pocket a hand warmer area and some more insulation in the hood and i waterproofed it as well but i have found that it is a lot warmer than the normal poncho liner right out of the box so really those are the only two that we can think of that kind of do this sort of thing the the helicon one and the hill people gear one those are the only two products on the market that we know of that kind of take this poncho liner this would be set up and take it to the next level there are other whoopies out there that that you know add in the zippers and things like that you can actually get a few you know usgi ones that come with a zipper on them but we haven't seen anybody turn it into like an actual like poncho with an insulated hood or something like that so so if you know of another company that's making something like this just please let us know and if you'd like for us to expand on these two that we do know of just let us know and we might do a review on them one day or something i don't know so yeah the whole concept of the poncho lin two that we do know of just let us know and we might do a review on them one day or something i don't know so yeah the whole concept of the poncho liner whether or not you get it in its true original form there's just an actual poncho line or a lightweight blanket or if you get it sewn into something like an actual jacket that you can wear there's a lot of companies selling those nowadays the whole concept of the poncho liner is really just an interesting one and it makes a very very valuable piece of civil gear up next is something similar but not quite the the concept of the sleeping bag liner now this is one that i personally thought years ago was a huge gimmick and a waste of time and money um but after a few months of sleeping in sub-zero conditions i have really come to like the idea over the past few years of a sleeping bag liner now these things have been around for a while and they're essentially nothing more than a sleeping bag sack that is made out of a very very thin fabric sort of like a bed sheet most of the ones i've tried are essentially a bed sheet that is sewn into the shape of a sleeping bag i hesitate to call these things sleeping bags because they are essential ied are essentially a bed sheet that is sewn into the shape of a sleeping bag i hesitate to call these things sleeping bags because they are essentially just a bed sheet that is sewn into the shape of a sleeping bag a lot of these are made out of silk or fine fabrics and are marketed towards people who travel a lot who can sleep inside this bag in the event that they don't really trust the hotel linens and these sleeping bag liners work very well in that role i always use one when traveling and staying in hotels but really the full potential of these bags is in their intended role as a sleeping bag liner these can regularly raise the temperature of a sleeping bag anywhere from 5 to 25 degrees depending on the material you choose i personally use a sea to summit thermolite reactor extreme and i regularly increase my winter sleeping bags rating from about 20 degrees down to about zero degrees comfortably so these things really do work quite well which you absolutely would not think for instance if you were to hop in one of these and just use the sleeping bag liner as a sleeping bag you are going to freeze even in summer weather uh when i first got mine a couple of years ago i hopped t use the sleeping bag liner as a sleeping bag you are going to freeze even in summer weather uh when i first got mine a couple of years ago i hopped in it and tried it down just laid on the floor in it and i thought i just wasted like 80 bucks because for some reason it just doesn't work when it's on its own it's not like a poncho liner where you can wrap it around you and instantly feel warm with a sleeping bag liner you really have to be inside something else to feel the effect so if you take one of these and hop inside a poncho liner or a swag man roll or mountain therapy or whatever well then you can quite comfortably go down to and sleep at right around the upper 30s and if you have an insulated sleeping pad and a good set of thermal undergarments and a nice warm hat you can regularly take this this system down to below freezing and still be very comfortable of course everyone is different some people might sleep colder than others so you might find that you might be able to get away with a summertime sleeping bag and a liner that combo but other people might need a full on winter sleeping bag so up next is shelter items and you might not think of shelter items as being a sni at combo but other people might need a full on winter sleeping bag so up next is shelter items and you might not think of shelter items as being a snivel gear item that's more of a that's more of an essential item right you like always bring that with you right if you're staying out in the woods really what i mean is items that you keep on your person no matter what you're doing if you're going on you know a quick walk in the woods or if you're going on a multi-day event and you're bringing along another shelter i always keep a shelter option on me and for the longest time i always carried a poncho as sort of my backup shelter or a primary shelter if i wasn't planning on being outside for the night and it worked quite well but i found that size wise like packed down size wise it ended up not really working for me that well for things like ultralight trips or like bare bones setups for like you know like i said a quick walk in the woods so what i've settled on for now is a very small five by seven sil poly ultralight tarp when it's set up as a tarp it offers the same exact you know foot space as my poncho did but when it's stuffed down into its stuff sack it's a little bit smaller t up as a tarp it offers the same exact you know foot space as my poncho did but when it's stuffed down into its stuff sack it's a little bit smaller than a coke can and that's with all of the guy lines and things attached already so it easily fits in a pocket and i've found that this actually works quite well for lots of things for one it easily fits into an m4 style magazine pouch which is great because we all know the intel wings don't really have a need for a lot of mags and an extra quick deploy shelter can be a huge benefit in a surprise rainstorm but if you want to be super high speed you can also bring along an actual tent this is actually a decently common tactic for remote wilderness rescue teams one of the teams i worked with out in the pacific northwest would take a normal cheap three to four person camping tent and cut the floor out in the shape of a person lying down on the ground that way if you came upon a casualty that cannot be moved and it's going to take a long time to get them out of there but you have inclement weather coming in you treat the patient while your teammates assemble the tent and then the whole tent is lifted up over you and the casualty so you hav ather coming in you treat the patient while your teammates assemble the tent and then the whole tent is lifted up over you and the casualty so you have a shelter from the elements and you never have to move the patient this is quite handy and truly a lifesaver in the worst conditions and let's face it we tend to encounter the worst weather at the worst times with the worst circumstances kind of a lot of next is food keeping some sort of food on hand is very very important it doesn't have to be anything fancy but something that is easy to prepare would be preferable a lot of people get wrapped up in the concept of food for survival right and they commonly leave out food as part of preparedness because of the old statistic that a person can survive for three weeks without food well to be honest this isn't quite as accurate as we might think you might be dealing with an injured person or inclement weather or intense physical exertion all of which will shorten that time water is still a lot more important than food is vastly more important than food but food is very important not only for physical survival but for psychological survival as well food has a direct link to a person's mora t than food but food is very important not only for physical survival but for psychological survival as well food has a direct link to a person's morale so if you decide to take a team out for a recon mission or something and you decide to take little food with you for a multi-day mission well you will find that your effectiveness is not nearly as good as you would think hunger decreases physical and cognitive abilities so the hungrier you are the less you can think critically and that's not what we need especially in the intel world where we're paid to use our minds so that we don't have to use our guns a simple solution to this food problem would be getting something called hot wets basically this is just a way to make a cup of coffee and a hot cup of of broth of some kind some kind of bouillon cube or something it's hot and it's wet so there's there's the nickname even something as simple as this can turn a group of unhappy campers into a well-oiled machine again just because you have that little something to keep you going it doesn't really weigh that much and it can really increase morale and if people are happy and feeling good well then they're just all the more effective as n't really weigh that much and it can really increase morale and if people are happy and feeling good well then they're just all the more effective as such we recommend always bringing along some sort of backpacking stove and maybe a little tiny cup or or pot that everything can nest inside we all know that cool dude on deployment with the jetboil these things have become a status symbol in the military over the past few years same thing with hammocks but you don't need to spend the money on a jet boil a cheap 30 to 40 dollar stove and a couple of fuel canisters from a backpacking store these are cheap and lightweight and they can infinitely improve morale in the field and last but not least one of the more important pieces of snivel gear are baby wipes once again every service member who is deployed or really anyone who has gone to an austere environment for a period of time knows the importance of baby wipes not only can they be used for their intended purpose in which case they are vastly better than toilet paper in the field but they can also be used to clean yourself off in the field when you can't properly shower and this is very very important in the field you wouldn't think hey can also be used to clean yourself off in the field when you can't properly shower and this is very very important in the field you wouldn't think that remaining clean would be such a psychological factor but it really really is and a lot of sort of the backpacking community tends to not really focus on this too much because backpackers let's be honest the backpacking community is not exactly uh focused on carrying a hundred pound rucksack 20 to 30 miles over you know a day or two they're meant to go light and fast right and have luxury and have time and enjoy being outdoors whereas if you're having to embrace the suck something like baby wipes can really help you out because hygiene being able to clean yourself off being able to make sure you get bacteria and sweat and dirt and grime off of you is very important not just for morale but for making sure that you stave off infections making sure that wounds stay clean making sure that rashes that you have don't turn into something more serious and this is something that we don't really see a whole lot of people including in the whole bug out bag community you can always tell someone who has sort of built their bug out bag just to lly see a whole lot of people including in the whole bug out bag community you can always tell someone who has sort of built their bug out bag just to get a youtube view because they will have a bug out bag that they say that they're going to be using to traverse 20 30 miles with but you'll notice that they don't carry anything like baby wipes no mole skin no foot powder no fresh changes socks things like that and you know that they're just full of it because that's the kind of stuff you need to go just a few miles but baby wipes are a critical part of this especially for the medical side of the house a lot of veterans have gotten out over the past 10 years or so and drastically changed the outdoor market and nowadays there are a lot of very expensive options for wet wipes there are ones that are advertised as being more durable more like made out of fabric as opposed to say like a normal wet wipe or made of biodegradable materials or camouflaged in a darker color or even ones that are like bigger like some wipes can be as big as a normal sized like towel but again you don't have to spend a lot of money on these regular baby wipes work just as well now i will caveat that a lot of m rmal sized like towel but again you don't have to spend a lot of money on these regular baby wipes work just as well now i will caveat that a lot of modern baby wipes tend to be a lot softer and more disintegratable than uh previous in previous years so if you tend to be a very violent scrubber with baby wives or if you tend to be a pretty hairy person a lot of these baby wipes will tend to just tear up and disintegrate on you so depending on your own personal body type and habits you might actually want to get some of these more durable wipes but for the most part i found that you know normal baby wipes work just as well you can deal with it and considering that a lot of these you know specialty wipes are sometimes two and three times the price of normal baby wipes you know that's that's kind of a thing if you go through a lot of these at once and i would also recommend getting the unscented variety unless you plan on smelling like an infant during your time in the field which is kind of funny you might get some you know a little bit of hazing from that but this is a more serious issue than you might think because remember that scents travel a long way so this could be a security of hazing from that but this is a more serious issue than you might think because remember that scents travel a long way so this could be a security concern as well so that's really it that's our list of gear that can help you be not so miserable in the field even in a contingent circumstance though a lot of people and entities like the military kind of shun comfort a lot of times for understandable reasons we have to understand that this is this is a balance right pure misery and low morale will kill a unit's combat effectiveness for we civilians we aren't exactly training for a war here right but maintaining some minimal level of comfort in the field can quite greatly increase mission success so that's all we've got for now make sure to subscribe and check out our other platforms for more content and if you'd like to support us check out our merch store and our patreon page both of which are linked below and before you go let us know what you think in the comments below what is your favorite piece of snivel gear that one comfort item that you will never leave home without and with that we'll see you next time and as always fight in the shade you