Using Tights In A Survival Situation
If you should find yourself in a survival situation then using everything and anything effectively could be the difference between life and death.
Tights and fine fabrics are one of the most useful resources that you may have with you, particularly if you are stranded in a group or are wearing light weight clothing during the summer months.
Once you read these top uses for tights in survival situation you may even decide to pack a pair or two on your next adventure just in case.
Mosquito Bites
Once your essential survival issues such as food, water and shelter have been tackled you may want to consider protecting yourself from the wildernesses biting insects. Mosquitos bites are my personal hate and I tend to find that they have a knack for biting through a layer of clothing. Wearing a pair of tights underneath your normal trousers is a great way to prevent this and you also get the added benefit of an extra layer to help keep you warm.
Filtering Food and Water
Tights have the perfect density for straining large and medium particulates from water and they also work well for straining foods cooked in water. After all if you have spent precious time and energy collecting food resources you wouldn’t want to lose a percentage as spillage when you serve your culinary masterpiece!
Fishing
There are many ways to use tights for fishing from simple nets to making a crab trap or bait bag. But you may be surprised to know that professional competition fishermen are making full use of tights in their secret arsenal to boost their catch numbers.
The first step is to cut the fabric into circles roughly the same size as a large thumb print. Next use glue to stick the fabric to bait or use the fabric itself to wrap around the bait and fix it to a hook. If tights are used the fabric will be invisible in the water and I am reliably told that one piece of bait can be used to catch up to three fish.
Honey
If stranded you may just get lucky and have a nearby bee hive, although you must tackle collecting this high energy food correctly to avoid extremely painful stings. You should first make sure that you haven’t found a wasp’s nest as these do not produce honey.
You should select light colored clothing if you have it as dark colors remind the bees of their natural predators such as bears and skunks. You can use the tights here to drape over a hat, preferably something like a cowboy’s hat but you may have to be inventive here if you haven’t got a hat at hand. For best results fit your hat first followed by your top to ensure it is tucked into your clothing securely.
The elastic waistband of the tights is also useful in this situation and can be used to make bands around the bottom of the sleeves and trouser legs to ensure protection from the bees.
Next collect some dry wood to make a fire in a container which can be as simple as a tin. Once lit top off with a few green plants to make lots of smoke and waft this around the bee’s hive. The smoke makes the bees expect a fire which changes their behaviour and stops them flying around and attacking you. Finally cut away a segment of the hive avoiding pieces that contain larvae and of course the queen bee that will be surrounded by eager bees who want to protect her!
Be Creative
There are many other uses for tights or fabrics in a survival situation so be creative. You might use tights for storing collected food or keeping it out of the reach of bears, making a sling or medical support and use them for making rope or rucksack if you have many items to carry on your survival escape.
About The Author
Michael Brown is an avid traveller and technology fan. He is also a fashion consultant for Tights Please, a company that provides tights online in the UK.
