towels and clothes for vandwelling

[MrNoodly]

I have a question for those of you who dwell in the desert during winter.

During the coldest winter I spent in the desert, I wore a long sleeve T made out of that high tech fabric under a flannel shirt or fleece pullover and a down vest. During the mildest desert winter, I wore a t-shirt.  

My general purpose jacket for nippy mornings and evenings is a heavy flannel jacket with a quilted polyfil lining. Or an old 100% cotton hoodie.

The desert doesn't get much rain (which is why it's a desert) but some sort of lightweight, water repellant jacket/poncho should do the trick. Or just an umbrella. A windbreaker would come in handy, too.

After a year or two living mostly outdoors you might become so acclimated that winter wear becomes unnecessary. I've been at campgrounds where the weekenders and other occasional campers are all bundled up while I was fine in just a long sleeve T.

 

[highdesertranger]

I know nothing about those jackets you posted. what I do is wear thermal undershirt, a tee shirt, and a light weight jacket. I always bring a heavy jacket but seldom wear it. I always bring a Goretex outer jacket that I use more then my heavy jacket. of course I can put as many of these layers on or off as needed. highdesertranger

 

[waldenbound]

They are basically lightly insulated jackets, and fleece jackets. Plus vests. I guess I can dump them all in the cedar chest and just whatever wears out first goes, then I'll have a backup. I do hope I acclimate down to a light jacket eventually.

 

[DLTooley]

Puffy vests are great, they will usually stuff into one of their own pockets.

I carry a lot of clothes, 3 weeks of daily underwear and socks, plus a calendar equivalent of other items. This saves the need to visit civilization for extended periods. When it is **cold** I wash and change less.

 

[bpdchief]

Makes a lot of sense. We will be full timing in a van... The clothes are no problem - I have two jeans (not a shorts guy - that may have to change) a few short sleeve shirts. We were concerned about the bulky items and as suggested above we are going to get the three drawer plastic bin from walmart and see what fits. Winter gear will go in a tote under the bed, just in case. Thanks for your input.

 

[iloozyun]

a little idea re: towels, washclothes, etc: i just buy a big bag of white cotton painter's "rags" from the big box hardware store and use them for everything.  they are cheap, absorbant, take up little space, and i actually cut a lot of them in half and sew up the edges to get double the number.  use one to wash your face till it's too dirty for that, then use it again to wash other body parts, then again to scrub bugs off the van grill or whatever- you don't have to feel bad about mucking up a 'good' towel, or about tossing it when you use it till it's used up.  dishes, dog paws, dusting and cleaning, good for everything and, i like to think, environmentally better than using excessive paper towels.  a whole one is plenty to dry off with when doing a 'sponge bath'.  helps me keep it simple.

 

[DannyB1954]

When traveling I stay away from cotton. When wet, it is cold and it stays wet for a long time. If you buy synthetics, you can usually wash them in a bucket and hang them up to dry in not much time. If you use a laundromat, a couple of quarters will dry a full load.