The Buckskin leggings - the best bush investment you’ll make.

Sweats are great for comfort and mobility, but they wont last two feet in brush. Jeans have no mobility and arent much more durable. I used tight under pant pants that were nice as they hug the legs (how to design your leggings) and were shockingly durable but they are made of plastic which will pollute the environment. The thorns and bramble penetrated and snagged, and like most woven material, they cant prevent mosquito bites.

 In winter I have used military issue, nylon, heavy weave, pants. These are surprisingly durable in snagging bramble when it comes to an outer shell for more delicate inner layers; but these are plastic and they make all sorts of noise from scrunching to whacks and zips from the trees and they WILL frey and tear eventually. The groin being too low can also be a pain; you can set them higher.

In the dense bush, buckskin leg covering is prime to cover to your legs. Until the deer hide buckskin became a scarce or pricey commodity, they were the only material that could stand up to the bramble, keep the legs warm, kneel on the floor, break kindle, dry relatively quick (think swimmers shammy), and protect the body from all  biting bugs.

Leggings will free up the groin for crouching, climbing, and log crawling. You make them with no crotch, which would inhibit thigh and joint mobility. 

In the bush i just wear boxers, unedies, a loin, wear a short cloth skirt if you want... - whatever you want  and is loose - you're alone - consider the bugs and tall bramble however that will trash you nuts is you think nude is the way to go.  I wear a long buckskin top that is made to reach my low thigh, but open about the hip on the sides; the stitched on rump flap covers your butt when sitting down on bramble. 

When mornings are cold, an extra breezy loin can be an uncomfortable caloric drain on you. Use a wool - as in a reused, shrunk sweater cut up - or pelt skirt  as a privates cover with a tie cord to close the gap between the legs - think fur diaper.

If the bugs are particularly nasty, I'll use some cotton shorts under my loin; maybe I'll make a pair from buckskin soon.

No cotton weave or polyester fiber bought at a hunting shop will compare to the non polluting quality, toughness, expediency of pooping or durability of deer skin; It's just a leather glove for your legs.

Made to be live-ins, as in you ware them day in and out, but you have to take them off now and then; let's face it, a leather glove can't be worn all the time, and they are not comfortable.

Your pair could be the last leg covering you will need to buy. All outdoorsmen and women, like nature photographers, hunters, foresters, law enforcement and trappers can benefit too from this technology.

The only way to ruin them is rot them. Rain is fine and experience has shown that leggings hold up to water quite well. I smear bad tallow, food grease on my hands, on the bottom border. Grease makes the hide look dirty, but it also keeps hide exposed to constant water from stiffness. To be fare, you can get them wet, but they eventually will stiffen. Don't swimm in them. 

The leggings look better with time and wear and don’t need to be washed. 

When making the hides to use for the leggings, make them as soft and plush as the base dunk solution can offer. Also, design them tight and flush with the contours of your legs. Have the lower part of the leg made such that you can just comfortably fit your foot through when putting them on. As you move up the leg determining the size of material, crouch and make sure you can bend your knee. They may be painful to wear on the first two days, but they will quickly stretch and adapt to the bend of your leg. Keep in mind also, when soaked, they will then slack, stretch and dry conformed to your body.

My leggings are made to reach from my hip joint to well bellow the moc rim. Make sure the end of the legging covers well your angle and foot to leg joint as this is where branched will migrate while pushing bush; if this bottom section is not covered by buckskin, because you designed them too short, all the branches will tear at you exposed skin here while moving.

Dirt increase the camouflage qualities but a spot clean may be appropriate at times.

What you need are two bucked hides and a means of keeping them up. You can buy finished skins from artisans who would appreciate the business or just get some raw skins yourself or from hunters and make a pair.

I don't like tight things around my waiste, so the belt attachment design was out. As my first attempt, I used some old coveralls (legs torn off - like, hip-torso-alls') and attached the top of the legging to the bottom of the pocket section on the outside of my legs - did not work; when I needed to lift my arms (say for bow hunting) the leather would catch my inner thigh.

Suspenders, were my second approach. One attachement at the front of the leg, the other to the side of the butt - not over. I could see that this would soon wear out and destroy the suspenders. I also determined that the metal clips and synthetic elastic bands were out of place in the bush and irritating on my skin.

My third and final solution has me using thick moose hide smoked thong/suspenders. Where the suspenders cross over the shoulders I widened the strap. The thong would attach to both the front and rear/side of the legging so that the strap did not cross over my butt. At the high chest and high back, the straps were tied and secured to each other by a separate thong; this was done to prevent the suspenders from sliding off the shoulders during use. 

These moose hide straps can be very rough on the skin and you will find that normal required body movement such as crouching, standing from a sitting, bending down, all caused much, abrasion from the leather that crosses over the shoulders; the solution to this problem however is to pair your leggings with a thin cheap cotton shit worn under the straps - the leather will easily and harmlessly slide over the cotton.

Blood may be abraded with a stone to clean buckskin.

Have an awl as it is the only required tool to make modifications and repairs to buckskin clothing,

As always, watch and respect life, big and small, that will be around you while these are in use. The temptation will be to smash your way through everything and - as always - you must refrain from neglecting small life trying to cary on around you.

Leather leggings, you will find, are one of the most empowering tools of mobility in the woods - but, with power comes responsibly.

Also read this. 

Don't tell me you don't see the history of man in this photo.