I know that I've, excuse the expression, "brief"ly touched upon this subject before, and this is not an abiding preoccupation of mine as subjects go, but thinking about the number of useful tips, anecdotes and even critical information to convey on this topic I thought that there would be no harm in revisiting this subject in more depth as a separate article, so to speak.
It's probably something that most of us little think of when thinking about survival, or in combat, while traveling, or just recreational camping, but if you don't choose undergarments wisely or don't properly care for them, there is the very real potential for a series of minor cascade of exigencies that lead to a chain of potentially serious consequences in the field (sores, infections/pus, debilitating irritations, necrosis, sepsis/fevers, death).
At it's most fundamental, underwear is simply the base layer. That layer of clothing which is directly against the skin, especially that which covers the genital/rectal area and also, with many gender and style variations, the area around the chest. Socks can also be considered a sort of (vital) undergarment for the feet, as they actually serve most of the same functions.
It's probably something that most of us little think of when thinking about survival, or in combat, while traveling, or just recreational camping, but if you don't choose undergarments wisely or don't properly care for them, there is the very real potential for a series of minor cascade of exigencies that lead to a chain of potentially serious consequences in the field (sores, infections/pus, debilitating irritations, necrosis, sepsis/fevers, death).
At it's most fundamental, underwear is simply the base layer. That layer of clothing which is directly against the skin, especially that which covers the genital/rectal area and also, with many gender and style variations, the area around the chest. Socks can also be considered a sort of (vital) undergarment for the feet, as they actually serve most of the same functions.
Since ancient times, underwear serves primarily as a liner layer or a physical barrier between the skin and the next layer of clothing. Laundering and caring for the various outer wear garments is usually more labour intensive and leads to more noticeable wear and tear, so the undergarments simply extend the time between washings by providing a protective, absorbant layer between the outer clothes and the human body with all it's pores, ducts, openings, stoma and ora. The body is constantly secreting and discharging biological products and by-products, among these sweat and oils, dead skin cells, possibly blood from small cuts, clear lymph from insect bites, pus from acne and other bacteriological eruptions, mucous from the sinuses, saliva from the mouth, ear wax, not to mention the various resultant residue of micturation, defecation, menstruation, and copulation. A diaper basically serves the same purpose, just on a different scale.
Perhaps, secondarily, undergarments serve conversely to protect us from our own clothing. Outer clothing usually designed mainly to look good outwardly is usually made of hardier, rougher, less flexible materials and often have irritating seams, bumps, backs of zippers, knots, and other otherwise impressing physical features that underwear by being smoother, softer and more slippery protect us from. For both genders, it literally pads and protects the soft, vulnerable genitalia from injury, the squeezing, pinching, binding, abrasions, snapping, zipping, and poking. If you have no idea what I am speaking of, try wearing a new pair of jeans without undies sometime and try walking and sitting down.
Other functions of underwear that may concern us in survival or travel are its insulative functions (keeping us warm or thermo-regulated) and its supportive functions (keeping our various dangling parts from freely swinging). And, yes, perhaps lastly, I will mention that it protects our modesty (it hides us from complete nudity) and in some situations it is even meant to be seen (as a focus of allure) and can re-shape the human outline.
For thermoregulation, it is my opinion that there are few fibers better than natural silk. It is very thin and lightweight compared to other bulky materials, but yet it efficiently traps air and remains insulative even when wet. I think I've elsewhere mentioned the characteristics of silk fabric and it's astounding utility in survival situations. Perhaps secondly, I like polypropylene (and or silk weight micro-capilene) which performs almost as well as silk for thermo-regulation and wicking (moisture transport) from the skin to the air. If neither of these are readily available almost any good synthetic material nylon, spandex, Nomex, woven into a thin, elastic, absorbant panels is the next best thing. My last choice of common underwear material would be 100% cotton. Yes, cotton is comfortable and it's actually good if you have the means to change frequently. However, it does get damp rapidly, and then remains damp. Then it quickly gets abrasive and will chafe once damp. And, yes, while cotton is absorbant, it will also readily retain and even culture the odor causing bacteria, speaking nothing of the ammonia from urine.
I personally prefer underwear to stay close to the skin and follow the contours of the body. I like the feeling of support, and slight compression so that things don't move around. However, I do acknowledge that looser, freer form of underwear has it's advantages also, mainly in ventilation, unrestricted comfort, and even in being "seen". However, through years of trial and error, I think that the optimum underwear design for survival, hiking, combat, travel and general long-term use is something in between the two, like boxer-brief.... or something like a boy-shorts design. This design has the advantages of briefs with the coverage of boxers, and eliminating some of the problems of briefs, like chafing at the leg openings. Good coverage also has it's advantages in better protecting the body and the outer clothes, plus, it allows for extra liner layers and/or adult diapers.
It's a very small consideration, but I personally prefer underwear that is coloured and does not obviously look like underwear, that is, at a glance underwear that looks like shorts or swimtrunks. I suppose in an emergency it really doesn't matter, but I've had occasion to evacuate a building suddenly in the middle of the night and was glad not to be huddling out in cold in tighty whities. On one unforgettable occasion, my MP unit successfully repulsed a EPW rescue raid by elements of the 75th Ranger Bn during an exercise, and half our unit was fighting in their skivvies!
I don't recommend extremely tight underwear, or underwear with any rough or irritating edges or accoutrements. I don't recommend thongs because they don't adequately fulfill many of the practical functions of underwear. I have heard many times how wool underwear is great and practical and warm (even when drenched), but I have never found wool underwear of any type to be comfortable. And I honestly don't find "wearing no underwear" prurient or practical in most cases. It just makes me think.... "ewww, your clothes must be contaminated". I inspect underwear carefully for vinyl care tags, raised welts, thin elastic, or seam stitching which would leave marks or impressions, and eventually chafe and abrade. I have heard all the arguments for white and I understand the many advantages of it, but I always prefer a coloured fabric perhaps a light heather grey being the lightest.
Of course, when one has the means, changing underwear once a day every day is the best option, but sometimes this is not practical or possible. When I camp or go into survival mode, I will (yes, I know, yuck) try to wear one pair until it is really badly soiled (from 2 to 4 days!). My thinking is, is there really that much difference between yucky, really yucky and really really yucky. There seems to be a point where it seems to not matter anymore, you just can't get much dirtier. This of course assumes a situation where washing, bathing and changing is just impractical, which is rare. If the situation allows lots of down time and ample time for personal hygiene, I will try to rotate out my underwear every other day, one hand-washed and drying in my drying bag while one is worn. When I travel, I use a 4-day rotation, 3 pairs hand-washed in the hotel sink and drying on my portable clothes line, while one is worn.
Getting down to some nasty details... if one is by situation forced to wear the same set of clothes for an extended time (as in some desperate survival situations), there comes a time when the outer clothes become just as dirty, sweaty, smelly and contaminated as one's underwear. In that case, one might consider first turning underwear inside out (ewww) and then second just going "commando"... lol, and trying to launder/dry one's undies for that day. If the particular situation does not involve lots of movement, hiking or running, but instead long periods of waiting (stuck in one place), or like driving/sitting for a long time, then one might consider putting improvised "liner" layers in one's undies.... TP, paper towels, feminine hygiene pads, or even a folded piece of cloth or towel. Without spelling it out, this (obviously) puts an extra layer of absorbant protective barrier between your skin and your underwear, prolonging the clean "life" of your underwear.
It was not much discussed, but it was understood that in combat, a soldier would have to do what he/she had to do when he/she had to do it. Troops engaged in combat or on the move may not be able to stop for the call of nature of individuals. One modern adaptation to this exigency of life was the adult diaper (many commercially available brands now available). Of course one avoided "using" it if one could, but it was always there just in case.
There are several very practical, easily improvised underwear forms which can be made with pieces of cloth, including the loincloth, the fundoshi, and basically, what amounts to a cloth diaper. I don't include the codpiece, which is actually outerwear, nor the primitive gourd penis sheath, which is just rubbish.
On the technology side, among the modern high-performance synthetics available today the British Army had been researching underwear with silver fibers woven into the material which essentially make them "odorless", that is, odor causing bacteria will not grow on them. Now, I have a pair of expensive high-tech liner socks with silver fibers and I can aver that they are indeed "odorless" as advertised. So I imagine the silver underwear must work the same way.
