Other Insulating Uses

Tom Brown Jr.

Cattail down can be used to make any number of survival clothing that is inexpensive and works very well. But let's consider the many other things you can do with the insulation found around the landscape.

Old leaves can be bundled up in newspaper or old sheets and used as a stuffer around the drafty areas of the house. A tube made from an old sheet can be stuffed with cattail down and placed as a pillow along the bottom edge of a doorway or larger pillows can be made to be used around the house to sit on or as warm foot cushions. Remember that all these insulators are not fire resistant and will combust.

Friends of mine, when adding an addition to their house could not finish it before winter set in and were left with a huge open wall. Putting plastic on the outside of the house, then on the inside, they had created a dead airspace, but this was less than adequate. I suggested that they stuff the air space with dried leaves and grasses. Not only did the wall make a great insulator, but also created a gorgeous mosaic pattern of grass and leaves. They hated to knock it down in the spring.

House slippers can also be fashioned out of old socks and some cattail down. By sewing the socks together into a double sock pattern, stuffing them with down from cattail or thistle, and sewing a piece of old denim to the sole, you will have a good warm pair of house slippers that you can use again next year. Simply empty out the filler, wash the slippers, and replace the down next season.

By taking two old and well worn blankets and sewing them together you can make an excellent sleeping roll that is lightweight and will keep you warm no matter how cold it gets. When you sew the two together, leave an opening in one end so that it can be easily stuffed with fiber during a survival outing.

As you get into the camp area stuff the blankets with leaves, cattail down, thistle down, or bark fibers, then roll the blanket around you. The colder it gets, the more stuffing you can put into it.

When you break camp, dump out the blankets and roll them up into a light ball on your back. This type of blanket sleeping bag will take care of you in style without having to carry in a big conventional sleeping bag.

From The Tracker magazine, February 1982, published by the Tracker School.
For more articles from The Tracker magazine, visit the Tracker Trail website

For more material by and about Tom Brown Jr. and the Tracker School visit the Tracker Trail website.