Greetings to all the good people of weldingweb.com and all of the members likewise.
It’s 4:39 in the morning in Finland and time to gear up and get going.
Nevertheless I wanted to say that I’m happy to be a new proud member of
the weldingweb community.
Cheers to all and have a good day!
I think I now understand why so many pioneer log cabins had packed dirt floors.
Ease of construction may have been the #1 reason. Lacking dimensional lumber, time, and labor, a dirt floor was an easy solution. You weren’t necessarily poor, but the term, “dirt poor”, stuck. Believe it or not, there’s a growing number of wealthy folk returning to earthen floors.
With my self-reliance on trial, I wanted a wooden floor for my little log cabin in the woods… complete with a front porch overlooking the creek. As promised in our last article, here’s what I came up with for my budget floor support system.
Round Log Floor Joists
A big box hardware store is a 10 minute drive from the cabin site. They sell dimensional lumber of all sizes to speed up the build. However, this whole “self-reliance on trial” thing had me going another direction.
The living area with five log joists set in place.
When I first started this project in February, the cabin dimensions were going to be a cozy 8’x10′. The first tree I felled was bucked into 10 foot sections for the 8 foot walls. Since expanding the cabin size to 10’x12′, the 10 footers wouldn’t work for wall logs. Bingo! These would become my floor joists.
Hew One Side Flat
Ax-cut logs need to be sawn flat on both ends to start the hewing process. Secure the log to cribbing with log dogs. Last year I made two from half-inch rebar which work fine. Hammer one point into the log and the other into the cribbing log. Repeat on the other end of the log.
I choose the side with the fewest knots to hew. Pine knots are a curse from the devil for hewers. The chosen side is turned and secured to the cribbing perpendicular to the ground. Dog the log before marking plumb lines.
Measure the center of the log end horizontally and place a mark at the halfway point. Place a level on the mark vertically and draw a plumb line. Do the same operation to draw a level horizontal line through the center mark. You should now have two lines intersecting to form a cross hair on the end of the log. Repeat this step on the other log end.
One more plumb line to draw before we’re done. Determine how much wood you want to remove from the side of the log. Place the level at that point and draw a vertical plumb line. I took off about an inch of wood which created ample flat surface on the joists.
Plumb and level lines drawn
Where this second plumb line meets the top of the round log, use a knife or ax to score a slit through the line. Drive a nail shallow in the cross hair. Hook the string of a chalk line box to the nail. Slip the string into the slit at the top of the log and run the chalk line to the other end of the log. Secure it in the other slit you made. While holding the line in the slit, reach down the line with your other hand and pull the chalk line up vertically, not horizontally. Release and the sting to “snap” or “pop” the chalk line.
The chalkline secured in the ax slit at the top of the line to be hewed.
By the way, all my logs have been debarked. If hewing with bark on the log, strip off a section of bark where the chalk line will be snapped. Read more about hewing with the bark on in this article.
Scoring
Scoring is the process of making relief cuts down the side of the log to remove the bulk of wood before hewing to the line. With so little wood to remove from the floor joist, I thought slash cuts would be best. Slashing is a series of overlapping 45 degree cuts about 4 inches apart down the length of the log. However, the logs had seasoned enough to make it difficult to remove wood after slashing.
Slash scoring with the log turned 30 degrees added too much extra work.
I ended up cutting “V” notches about a 8 inches apart down the log side. The raised wood between the notches are called jogs or joggles. The joggles were removed close to the chalkline with my ax. The log floor joists were all in the 6-8 inch diameter range. Not large enough to stand on to cut notches with my long-handled felling ax. I stood on the opposite side of the log and cut notches using a 26 inch boy’s ax. Make sure that the notches go all the way to the line and are plumb through to the bottom of the log.
Joggling or Juggling
Now is the time to remove the joggles. On these small logs, I used the grub bit of my double bit felling ax mostly. The 36 inch handle allowed me to swing almost upright, saving my back. Removing this excess wood can be the most dangerous part of the whole hewing process. A forceful swing is needed to knock off the protruding joggles. Be aware of where your legs and feet are before swinging.
I hewed several logs with my double bit only.
My most comfortable stance was to straddle the log with my right foot well to the right of the log. A slight bend at the waist and knees adds insurance that the ax will strike the ground and not my boot. The grub bit will strike the ground as it passes through the wood from time to time. Wood chips create a barrier between the bit and ground as the process continues.
A safer way to remove joggles is to rotate the log on the cribbing about 30 degrees (captured two photos above). A lateral swing (out of the frontal zone) is used with the log between you and the moving ax. You’ll need to re-plumb the log before hewing to the line.
Hewing
With a thin layer of wood (1/2 inch or less) proud of the chalkline, hewing begins. I used my broad ax on some, and the double bit felling ax on others. I’ve become fond of using the longer double bit even for hewing. It dealt with lighter’d knot better. I found that once the joists were rough-hewn with the double bit, I could set them in the sill log notches and comfortable hew high spots by swing horizontally with my broad ax. And it could be done while I sat on the adjacent joist.
Hewing to the line with the double bit ax. This log was almost too short to use. Notice the ax-cut end almost makes a nice tenon.
The angle in which the double bit struck the wood had to be adjusted. It’s not a vertical swing like the broad ax. Once the angle is dialed in, the wood begins to slice off. I actually obtained smoother finishes using the double bit over the broad ax. I got closer to the chalkline as well. Keep in mind, this is rough-hewn lumber.
Mortise and Tenon
Before joists could be set, a level line was needed on the inside of the sill logs. Using a water level, I penciled in marks on all four corners. A chalkline was snapped to give me a level line on the two sill logs where the top of the joists would rest.
I marked the sill logs at 2 foot intervals for joist positions along the 12 foot walls. Mortise joints (pockets) were cut into the sill log with a 2 inch chisel and dogwood maul. The mortise pockets measured about 2″x4″. Each joist measurement, from pocket to pocket, was different. Working with round logs of differing diameter is entirely different from building with dimensional lumber.
The faint blue chalkline is still visible. This joist needed to be lowered. I switched to red chalk as it seemed to last longer.
Tenons were cut on the ends of each joist to match the mortise pockets. Joists were set and raised or lowered to meet the level line on the sill logs. A simple wedge of wood underneath or trim of the tenon did the trick.
Mortises chiseled to 2″x4″ dimensions.
Leveling Joists
The four-foot level on top of the aluminum bar extended my reach to four joists at once.
Though each joist tenon met the level line on the sill logs, rough-hewn logs will have high spots… at least from a hewer like me. I used a long piece of rectangular aluminum as a straightedge coupled with a 4′ level to ride atop four of the five joists. I moved the level from sill to sill checking for high spots and dips in the joists.
Close enough!
Taking a comfortable sitting position on an adjacent joist, I planed the high spots down with the broad ax. This was a great change of pace on how I typically swing this heavy hewing ax. Recheck level, plane, recheck, plane… until my OCD subsided. It’s close enough for an off-grid log cabin in the woods!
After shimming and shaving to level joists, I carved and drove wooden wedges into the mortise pockets to take away any wiggle that might be present in the joints. I’m following the same process for the front porch log joists. I’m running 3 long joists perpendicular to the living area joists with a girder underneath at the halfway point. The 6’x12′ front porch will provide hours of relaxing ambiance as creek water tumbles over rocks.
P.P.S – If you find value in our blog, Dirt Road Girl and I would appreciate your vote on Top Prepper Sites! You can vote daily by clicking hereor on the image below. Check out all the other value-adding sites while you’re there…
I’m Jake Wyld, and I eat “gross” things, so you don’t have to. Check out my work with Creek Stewart’s Survival Kitchen here:
When It comes to eating bugs, the western world views it as something taboo. It could be blamed on culture itself or the fact that economics in the West tend to be a bit healthier, affording people the ability to not “have to” eat bugs to survive. In fact, I’d dare say that most of us in the West would consider bugs as a last-ditch food option, purely for survival. That thought pattern isn’t the norm throughout most cultures in the world. Large amounts of insects, cooked in various ways, are not only consumed, but considered delicious treats—something to be savored and enjoyed. So, what’s the deal with eating bugs for survival and beyond? I want to find out! Join me on this series of posts where I delve into the creepy, crawly, and delicious scoop behind SURVIVAL BUGS.
COCKROACHES!
I’ll be honest, I associate cockroaches with some pretty nasty things—decay, uncleanliness, and even disease. And to be honest, none of these associations are without merit. Cockroaches feast on rotting garbage and thrive in warm, germ-infested environments. Because of this, it’s logical that cockroaches can spread diseases to humans through defecation—things like salmonella, streptococcus, and staphylococcus—they can even carry the polio virus! In recent years, studies have shown that cockroaches even cause and agitate allergies.
Okay, so I’m not painting cockroaches in a positive light. But these bacteria-infested bugs, the ones that we know in the West (American Cockroach, Brown-banded Cockroach, Oriental Cockroach, and German Cockroach) are portrayed so negatively everywhere! Could there be any chance that cockroaches could serve, in a pinch, as a survival food?
DID YOU KNOW: Most cockroaches are considered beneficial. Roughly, only 1% are considered pests.
WHO EATS COCKROACHES?
Note: This is by no means anywhere close to an exhaustive list of peoples or places that consume cockroaches. It simply includes several examples.
China
China has a booming market that has just come about in the last decade or so—cockroach farming! China is exploring options to help minimize the cost of medical care for its large and aging population. Cockroaches are farmed and fed healthy, clean fruits and vegetables and then consumed as a cheap and sustainable source of protein. It’s believed that cockroaches have medicinal value, too.
How They Eat Them: Skillet-fried, or double-fried
Cockroaches and other insects are widely consumed in Asian Countries. In some places, they are so popular that they can be found in busy markets being sold a street food snacks.
Thailand
I had a friend in college whose parents were missionaries in Thailand, and he had spent some of his latter formative years there. I definitely heard some stories about the food and the “ick factor” it could have on someone with a Western palate. This includes the cockroach! He was adamant that people there LOVED them, and they touted that cockroaches were delicious. In fact, in Thailand, cockroaches serve as the base for many dishes considered “comfort” food in their culture.
How They Eat Them: Deep-fried; you can find lots of street vendors selling them on skewers. The Thai people love to cook their cockroaches with strong spices to give the cockroaches a pungent flavor.
Tangy and spicy chili salad with cockroaches and other insects.
Anyone Who is Feeling Brave
I’d dare say many readers know of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. It’s large, loud, and downright creepy looking. I saw them for the first time when I was 12 years old watching Joe Rogan host Fear Factor. They made this guy get in a glass box and poured them on him. He lasted a few seconds before involuntary high-pitched squeals ensued and he bailed out of the challenge. In recent years, with the rising popularity of things like Fear Factor-style contests and YouTube food challenges, the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach has had its 15 minutes of fame.
Madagascar Hissing Beetles in the wild.
Though they are only found on the island of Madagascar, off the cost of Africa, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches are shipped and eaten all over the world. People even keep them as pets! That’s right, apparently these massive cockroaches are easy to care for, cheap to feed, and don’t need much space to have an enjoyable existence. Many places, including the United States, require permits to own a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach as a pet. There are strict limitations from fear of the species becoming an invasive one. They just need some warmth. Be forewarned, they are nocturnal insects, so unless you find the sound of their hissing the perfect white noise to fall asleep to, you may want to find a more agreeable pet.
How They Eat Them: Deep-fried, skillet-fried, boiled, or raw (Note: I’d NEVER recommend eating ANY insect raw).
Other Ways Cockroaches are Consumed Around the World: Roach Stir Fry, Roach Fondue, Roach Tacos and Burritos, and many more!
WHY EAT COCKROACHES?
It should be noted that I’m not suggesting anyone, anytime, or anywhere eat a cockroach. Particularly in the United States. Roaches in highly developed places tend to be what they eat, which is usually garbage and rot from urban areas. The cultures that consume cockroaches seem to either be attempting to farm them cleanly and healthily or eating them from the wild jungles and forests, where the diet of the cockroach consists of a lot of wild fruits and/or vegetation.
Cockroach farming has become popular in recent years for the same reason cricket farming has—done correctly, it’s a healthy and sustainable high-protein food that is cheap and easy to maintain. That’s huge for developing countries and poorer regions of the world.
Raising or farming clean-eating cockroaches ensures their place as a championed cheap and sustainable source of quality protein.
WHAT DO COCKROACHES TASTE LIKE?
I have eaten some weirdly disgusting things. I can’t personally speak to the taste of cockroaches, as I have never tried one. However, after researching and scouring videos and the internet for articles, I can confidently say that the consensus is that they are somewhat bland in taste, taking on the flavor of any strong spice or marinade they are cooked with. However, it’s suggested that alone, cockroaches have a slight shrimp-like flavor. I will say, having eaten a tarantula and a centipede cooked over a fire, I can imagine how that might be the flavor profile. Weirdly enough, the insects I have devoured do have somewhat of a fishy/shrimp-y taste to them.
THE VERDICT: NOT A SURVIVAL FOOD (FOR ME, AT LEAST)
When it comes to our bellies here in the West, it looks like we got the 1% on the cockroaches—purely pests. I’d say it’s the best and healthiest option to stay away from eating cockroaches, even in a survival scenario. I don’t deny that if hunger strikes, you might do whatever you need to fill up on calories and survive. But when it comes to eating the cockroaches that we know here in North America and other highly developed places where the cockroaches aren’t feeding on fruits and wild veggies all day, I think the risk of potential disease or sickness are enough to make me pass. Besides, if you’re in a survival situation and you eat something that will make you sick, you’ll end up losing more bodily fluids and doing more harm than good for yourself and your situation.
Disclaimer: Neither the author nor the publisher of this post advise that anyone, anytime, anywhere eat a cockroach.
Jake Wyld is a former chef, photographer, content creator, producer, avid writer, and a professional editor in the outdoor space. He currently operates as Senior Editor at DROPSToNE Press and works for Wilderness Survival Instructor and TV Host, Creek Stewart, as Director of Operations for APOCABOX (https://www.myapocabox.com/), SURVIVAL SKILL of the MONTH CLUB (https://www.survivalskillofthemonth.com/), WILD EDIBLE PLANT of the MONTH CLUB (https://www.wildedibleplantofthemonth.com/), SURVIVAL on the 7th (https://www.survivalonthe7th.com/), and OUTDOORCORE (https://www.outdoorcore.com/). Jake is currently working on his first fiction novel, due out in 2020. You can follow him on his Instagram and Twitter, both handles are @thejakewyld
Considering a multi day excursion out to Death Valley in January. What are some killer day hikes to do in Death Valley? Are there any easy to moderate backpacking trails that you would recommend? Probably not gonna backpack when I’m there due to the water situation, but still want to here what options I’d have should I change my mind, Are there also any sights accessible by road that I should check out while there? I also heard that dispersed camping is allowed 1 mile from most roads in the park – I assume this means I’d have to backpack my gear out from the car and leave my car on the side of the road – correct?
Is there anything else I should know about/prepare for in DV before going? I’m a formerly seasoned camper/backpacker returning from a 2year hiatus on this trip.
Happy Thanksgiving, America! Despite our nation’s problems and the ongoing degradation of our liberty, we still have a lot to be thankful for! — On November 28th, 1520, Magellan finally reached the Pacific Ocean after navigating the dangerous straits on the southern tip of South America that now bear his name. He became the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic. Next year will be the 500th anniversary of this event. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 85 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for …
Bullies are weaklings who pretend to be tough. Snowflakes are weaklings who prefer to be weak. They both represent extremes of dysfunctional and maladaptive behavior. They can also be viewed as a circular rather than linear model.
Snowflakes do plenty of bullying by their incessant whining and reporting their outrage to sympathetic third parties They use their victim stance to gain power and force their will on others. Bullies use a cruel and counterfeit model of strength to force their will on others. Neither does well under stress.
The short version: I don’t want the company of either. I would rather be by myself. However, you may not have that choice. In the workplace, you will have to deal with bullies and snowflakes.
You may have them for neighbors. You may have them in your family. Alternatively, you may find yourself in the company of both if things go sideways and land shit-side up.
Bullies
Bullies are cruel, angry, and sadistic. They are among the most despicable human beings. They may have antisocial or narcissistic personality disorder. They are miserable people who can only feel good when they are hurting others.
They have a compulsion to dominate others, physically, or intellectually, or socially. They delight when their victim cringes, submits, is outraged, or simmers with suppressed rage, or acquiesces to their demands.
The only momentary relief they get from the psychological pain they hold inside themselves is when they make someone else hurt. Most bullies pick and choose their targets with care; weak men, women, children or animals. In addition, they are well represented among domestic abusers.
I have noticed that domestic abusers don’t do very well when their victims fathers, brothers, uncles and male friends intervene. They tend to fold up and suddenly become very humble and apologetic.
They are epidemic in elementary school, middle school, high school; they dominate the weak in venues from factories and offices, to correctional facilities.
They want to be in charge, but they have no leadership skills, and no concern or consideration for the good of the group. They tend to lack fortitude, character, and honor. They project a counterfeit strength to compensate for their weakness.
Some Reflections on the Complexity of Human Psychology
What does not kill us makes us stronger.
Friedrich Nietzsche, in Die Götzen-Dämmerung (Twilight of the Idols), [1895 ]
Now for a reflection on the complexity of human psychology. Some suggest that bullies serve to fortify and strengthen weaker people through their abuse.
If you have never experienced hardship, adversity, and challenges, if you have grown up sheltered and spoiled, how will you cope when life inevitably does not go your way?
The outcome of being bullied, like almost all experiences, will mostly depend on how we perceive it. It will wear you down and make you crumple, or train you and make you tougher and stronger. How we look at our experiences, how we perceive them will determine the degree of distress we experience.
This idea is rooted in Stoicism, the Greek philosophy which is the basis of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). CBT involves identification of maladaptive and dysfunction thinking.
Once these cognitive errors are identified, their validity can be rationally challenged. They can be discarded and replaced with more realistic and useful thoughts. In this way, we build mental fortitude and toughness.
Option A
Bullying can make one cringe from hardship and adversity and avoid challenges. A Bully’s cruel insults can be internalized by their victims, and they will see themselves as weak, ugly, stupid, a loser, or whatever else they are labeled as.
Bullying can make you submissive, always trying to please others and not make anyone angry so you don’t experience their wrath. Bullying can make you an emotional wreck, fragile and quick to yell in rage or burst into tears or shake with fear at the slightest threat. You may lose all sense of value, and spiral downwards, becoming even more submissive, and allowing others to dominate you even further.
Option B
Bullying can also be an opportunity to learn how to withstand hardship, and how to develop a deeper sense of self-worth when you are subjected to abuse that you do not internalize.
It can teach you how to be assertive, how to manage your emotions, and how to value yourself. You can gain self confidence when faced with later hardships, telling yourself that you have endured worse situations. You can decide with a deep determination that nobody will ever dominate you again.
Snowflakes
Snowflakes are sensitive, frail, fragile, and delicate. They tend to be physically weak, and have emotional breakdowns when challenged, and feel unsafe in response to words or ideas. Yet they can wield tremendous power in their victim role.
People tiptoe around them, try not to upset them, lest they have a dramatic meltdown, cause a public scene, and make everyone uncomfortable and embarrassed. Managers in the workplace indulge their complaints.
They have to have things their way or they have a breakdown and become hysterical. While Snowflakes make very attractive targets for bullies, as observed in the Introduction, they are ironically bullies themselves.
Building a Team
It can be hard to of any pros for either bullies of snowflakes. The cons are numerous, and mostly described above. However, a crisis situation can bring out the best as well as the worst in people. What to do if you are stuck with them?
First, anyone who wants to go out on their own, let them go. You may be better off on your own, or with a core group that intuitively realizes that in a crisis situation, mutual survival is dependent largely on teamwork.
Whoever sticks around, work to bring people together to function as a team. Small group dynamics will be acted out in pretty predictable ways whenever you get a small number of people together. There will be leaders and followers.
Someone will have to step up and get the group united and working together. One way to do this is the path of least resistance, and letting people default to the familiar. What do people in the group know best? Where is there familiarity and comfort zone?
Find Everyone’s Gifts
What I have discussed thus far is mostly about personality. From a different perspective, identify what people bring to the table in terms of abilities.
Give everyone a job to carry out. The anxious snowflake may be the equivalent of a wound up five-pound yappy dog that throws a fit over the littlest noise. Make them a lookout.
The tough guy bully? Now is his chance to step up and show he has real courage. Can someone cook or bake? Or sew? Is someone strong enough to carry a heavy load? Does anyone have any medical training? Find out and be the glue that binds the group together.
Conclusion
Which are you?
Are you a bully? Do you get off on dominating and abusing others? Great way to hide and overcompensate for what a pathetic scared loser you are isn’t it.
Find a good counselor. Stop mistreating other people. Do you know what is going to happen to you if you don’t stop? You will wind up alone, and even more bitter, angry and resentful toward others and the world, and become even more filled with contempt and hatred for yourself.
Are you a snowflake? Why are you deliberately embracing weakness? You are just asking to be victimized, led, or dominated. I know there is a lot of power in being a victim. The need for power is a fundamental human need.
There are much better sources of power. Find one. Examine your irrational thoughts and understand you can’t always have things your way. Stop being so easily led by the leftist rhetoric you are bombarded with, and take the Red Pill.
Security overload leads to apathy. How often do you hear a car alarm go off and roll your eyes hoping the owner would disable the blasted thing before the incoming headache comes a knocking? The primary objection I have to such systems is they work too well. Every week I hear an alarm being triggered […]
We’ve mined the web for the best home security system reviews in 2015 and piled all of the nuggets here for easy pickings. You won’t find any desktop reviews or …
Several months ago, we were contacted by the American company Wama which specializes in hemp underwear. They asked us to test some of their products and since we love to test base layers, we of course agreed. Now, hemp is not the most well-known material and before we got in touch with Wama, we didn’t really know much about it. According to online sources hemp garments are usually breathable, strong, UV resistant and odor-resistant (antimicrobial). Nevertheless, there is very little information available online on hemp as a performance fabric. Therefore, we were curious to test the Wama underwear on hiking trails and see how it performs.
I received a pair of Wama Boxer Briefs and a pair of Wama Trunks. I thoroughly tested both garments on various hikes here in Denmark and I also wore them for running, gym training and other activities. Below is what I learned about Wama underwear.
Wama underwear is suitable for:
Everyday use
Hiking in warm and dry weather
Material
Wama Boxer Briefs and Wama Trunks are made of hemp, but they feature organic cotton and spandex fibers as well. Hemp is in general mostly mixed with other fibers for garments because it’s not very soft to the touch on its own. Nevertheless, it is supposed to get softer with every wash. The Wama underwear thus contains the following blend of fibers; 53% hemp, 44% organic cotton and 3% spandex. The cotton fibers make the garment softer and spandex fibers add stretch and recovery performance.
Both the Wama Boxer Briefs and Trunks are made of the same material and when I unwrapped them, I was surprised how strong the fabric is. It’s much more robust than polyester or Merino wool and thus I assume that this underwear will also have a longer lifespan. Both products are also very pleasant to the touch and feel nice against the skin. However, I did notice that the fabric is a bit thicker than the fabric of my other performance underwear. Nevertheless, it’s surprisingly porous for its thickness, which is good in terms of breathability.
While I was testing the Wama underwear I focused on breathability, moisture-wicking properties, drying time and odor-resistance. These are in my opinion the most important qualities when it comes to performance underwear. I wore the Wama Boxer Briefs for the first time on a long hike here in Denmark and I was impressed over the comfort at first. I noticed that despite the relatively thick fabric, the boxers provide good breathability. Many of my much thinner polyester boxers are not as breathable as the Wama boxers. To confirm this, I conducted a simple experiment of blowing air through the various fabrics of my performance underwear and observing the “resistance”. The Wama underwear is indeed some of the most breathable underwear I have.
However, when the intensity on the hike increased, and I started sweating I was less impressed with Wama underwear. While the boxers nicely pulled the moisture from my skin, they also absorbed most of it. Therefore, they dried slowly, and I got cold during every pause on the hike. I’m quite sure that the culprit is the high percentage of cotton fibers in the fabric and I’m indeed very curious how the hemp underwear would perform if it had been blended with Merino wool or polyester fibers instead of cotton. For more information about the various materials do check my guide to base layer materials.
After the hike I didn’t wash the underwear immediately in order to see how odor resistant it is. I can confirm that it does provide a certain level of odor resistance and doesn’t become as smelly as for example polyester underwear. However, it’s not as odor resistant as Merino wool underwear which you can basically wear for weeks and it won’t become smelly. The lower level of odor resistance is probably due to the high percentage of cotton as hemp is fairly odor resistant on its own according to many sources.
Comfort, fit, sizing and functionality
The Wama Boxer Briefs and the Wama Trunks fit tightly to the body and I found them so comfortable, I started wearing them for everyday use. The fabric feels nice against the skin and because it’s very stretchy it provides good freedom of movement. I also haven’t encountered any chafing or rubbing so far. The Wama Boxer Briefs are with the inseam length of 6 inches slightly longer than the Wama Trunks which have the inseam length of around 2 inches. I prefer the Wama Boxer Briefs but that’s purely a matter of personal taste.
Both pairs of underwear feature comfortable flatlock seams and a printed label to prevent chafing. The waist band is soft and provides good stretch. The Wama Boxer Briefs also have a fly. I got both garments in size XL and they fit me perfectly (my waist circumference is 94 cm / 37 in.). As most of my other performance boxers are in size L, I think that Wama underwear runs small. So, if in doubt, size up.
Washing and drying
Wama underwear can be machine washed at 30º C, but you should steer clear of softeners and bleach. The underwear also shouldn’t be tumble-dried. As the material is very robust, I don’t think that washing the garment regularly will reduce its lifespan.
Verdict
The Wama Boxer Briefs and Wama Trunks have become my underwear of choice for everyday use because they are breathable, durable and very comfortable. Furthermore, both garments are made of natural materials and provide great fit and support. However, for hiking and sports there are better options out there. The Wama underwear simply absorbs too much moisture and dries too slowly to be efficiently used for activities that make you sweat. I won’t go into details why sports require quick-drying clothes here but if you are interested in the topic check out my article Why should you wear quick drying clothes. That being said, I do think that Wama makes great everyday apparel which is not only functional but also environment friendly. Hemp doesn’t require pesticides or enormous amounts of water to grow like cotton, and is naturally biodegradable. So, it might very well be that hemp clothing has a bright future.
If you have any questions about this product, drop me a line in the comments below.
Outdoor enthusiast with experience in all types of hiking and mountaineering. Hiked in the Alps, Iceland and other countries. In love with via ferrata trails and snow-covered slopes. Check out my hikes.
