Zombie Apocalypse Guide

Base Layer Clothing

While it may be tempting to skip ahead to the weapons sections, clothing has just as much to do with your survival as the weapons you carry.

This chapter deals with base-layer clothing and footwear

Base Layer Clothing refers to your shirt/jacket, and pants

With that being said there are four requirements you should look at when picking clothing, Visibility, Durability,
Ease of movement, and Protection

For Visibility, you are going to want to blend or be disrupted with your environment, think hunting/military camouflage or natural-looking solid colors.

In addition to not standing out in your environment, you and your group are also going to want to be easily identifiable as friendly forces to each other, by having a standard color pattern, or camouflage for your group, as it makes it easier to distinguish allies in a battle. After all, can you really rely on recognition of an ally's face in the heat of battle? What if you get separated and you see them again, but they are too far away to recognize their face? Thus, it is best to use a standard look or uniform for your survival group

Solid Color Options

When picking a solid color, a natural-looking color is best.

Lighter Colors
such as tan or khaki can blend in with sandy, arid, grass-based, or snowy environments and also reduce heat absorption (and heat exhaustion) due to being a lighter color. They also make it easier to tell if you or an ally has been wounded/bitten as blood spreading from wounds is easier to see in light colors

Darker Colors
Such as brown, green, blue, or grey can blend in with forests and urban environments. They also make night camouflage more effective and blend in more with shadows, however, they have a higher heat absorption than lighter colors.

For whatever color you pick, just don't go with solid black. Yes, you may look really cool and intimidating, but solid black has much more disadvantages than advantages. For starters, it does not blend in at all and really sticks out, which can get you or your group killed. It also has the highest heat absorption out of every color, you will be baking in the Summer. During Winter, you are going to stand out in the snow or when there is a lack of greens. The only real advantage it has is for night operations and some urban environments. (It blends in with asphalt)

Camouflage patterns

If choosing a camo pattern, it is important to not pick one that is in use by a branch of the military, as this can cause you to be confused as one of them. Ex: don't pick MARPAT, Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP), Navy Working Uniform (NVU), or other camouflage patterns that are actively used by your country's military.

Some good options would be hunting clothes as these are already designed to fit in with natural environments. Other options include patterns that have been discounted or replaced in military branches ex; Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), Airman Battle Uniform (ABU), or Universal Camouflage Pattern (UCP).

What Brands?

Some options for this would be work-centered brands like Carhart, hunting clothes, military surplus uniforms, or reputable high-quality civilian-branded military uniforms (sorry, I don't have any recommendations)

Face Paint

Face paint is a good way to decrease your visibility in an environment, when applying it you are going to want to paint in a vertical stroke (from chin to forehead) as nature grows upwards (think how trees and vines grow upwards) and it will make you blend in more than if you were to paint horizontal strokes. You are going to want to use light colors in places where there are natural shadows in your face ex: around the eyes, under your nose, and bottom lip. With darker colors in places where there would not be shadows, ex: forehead, cheeks

For Durability, this has to do with the quality of the clothing,

Is it built to last?

Can it be easily repaired if a tear does occur?

Do the pockets use quality Velcro or zippers?

As mentioned before working brands, hunting clothes and military surplus will last much longer than the latest jeans with intentionally made but fashionable rips and holes

Ease of Movement (EOM) and Protection

These two stats go hand and hand, often times the more protective a clothing is the less EOM you have. It is up to you to decide which balance fits your environment and needs

Some things to consider for protection are as follows

Does it protect me from the weather?
Ex: water resistance, insulation for cold environments, and breathability for hot environments

How easy is it for a zombie to bite or scratch through the material?

Does it have built-in or insertable knee pads or can kneepads be comfortably worn with straps? (For shooting while kneeling)

Are the shirts and pants long? This protects you from ticks and mosquitos. Along with reducing your chances of being scratched or bitten by a zombie. Despite the increased heat insulation in hot environments, long pants and sleeves are a must for minimal protection against parasites, scratches from contacts with your environment (think army crawling or kneeling), and protection from zombies

How easy does this material catch fire or is it flame-resistant? Flame-resistant clothing, while having obvious benefits, also tends to be less breathable which can cause pickily heat and rashes

Does this particular clothing rub a lot against my skin in my groin or joints? Too much friction can cause you to get blisters or rashes which can make it painful to travel long distances

Does it have deep and secure pockets?

Footwear

Hiking shoes, combat or work boots are best.

With hiking shoes and combat boots, composite toe is preferable over steel toe. As if something heavy were to fall on your fall, steel-toe shoes can literally bend and cut off your toes or into your foot which can make it difficult to take them off without causing further injury. Composite-toed shoes are also typically lighter than steel-toed shoes.