Should you wear long-sleeve or short-sleeve clothing in the desert?

[Fanghur]

I recently got into a pretty big debate with somebody on YouTube after I watched an episode of 'I Shouldn't Be Alive', in which a father and his 12-year-old daughter had gone camping in the Australian desert and their car broke down out in the middle of nowhere. I had demonstrated my incredulity that they had both left the house wearing jeans and sweatshirts (or some other long-sleeve clothing) even though it was something like 45 degrees Celsius out. I understand that it would help to protect you from the sun, but I know from experience, having been in similar temperatures while on vacation in Cuba, where I was often in nothing but a bathing suit and no shirt, and sunblock seemed to protect me just fine, except the spots I accidentally missed.

 

So, my question is this: In a situation such as the one described in the episode, where someone is lost in the desert with limited water, and assuming they did have several cans/bottles of strong sunblock, would they be better off dressing in shorts and t-shirts, or in jeans and sweatshirts? I'm talking with regards to surviving as long as they can. I would have said that wearing jeans and sweatshirts would make them lose a lot more water, and be a lot more miserable too, but I don't know for sure.

[CaptainPanic]

It's not a matter of protection against the sunlight to avoid sunburn. It's the heat.

 

Thick clothes, as we all know, form a nice insulation to keep you warm in a cold environment. But just like they can keep the heat in on a cold day, they can also keep the heat out on a really hot day. So, at 45 degrees, you just want to keep the heat out, and a sweater + jeans will help. Actually, nomads in the Sahara desert do the same.

 

I guess you still shouldn't overdo it: you need some kind of ventilation, because you still rely on sweating to cool down.

[Arete]

Most of my fieldwork has been in the Australian desert.

 

Long sleeves hands down.

 

a) It's not humid like the Caribbean, so having a light layer of clothing is nowhere near as uncomfortable as it is in a jungle.

b) Sunblock can only do so much, especially if you're exposed to the desert sun for extended periods of time, days on end. Sunburn costs water from your system. In addition Australia is under the ozone hole, so the sun burns worse down there than it does in the Northern Hemisphere.

c) The desert gets cold at night, like below freezing cold. There is a serious risk of hypothermia at night even in the hottest parts during the day.

d) There are big, bitey venomous snakes in the Australian desert, so long pants and boots are essential if you're going to walk anywhere.

e) Virtually every plant you encounter will be spiky/thorny and generally unpleasant. You'll get fairly torn up fairly quickly walking through any brush in the Australian desert.

 

Light, breathable long sleeves are vastly preferable to short sleeves for any remote, desert work.

 

As an aside - many Europeans I've met simply don't comprehend the remoteness of the Australian outback until they experience it for themselves, and I've seen some horribly under-equipped people try and tackle it. I've stood with people, with the map out and pointed out that the two towns are 600km apart, the road is unsealed, there is nothing in between and their standard 2wd sedan only has ~450km fuel range - and been completely unable to convince said person that there is literally no people, water supply or place to buy fuel between the two, and watched them drive off.

 

We always take a 4wd vehicle with a winch, a shovel, at least 2 spare tires, 3 separate fuel supplies (tank, reserve tank, jerry can/s) totaling at least 200L, three water supplies with at least 60L and at least two forms of remote communication (sat phone, hf radio) when we go remote in Australia.

Edited June 14, 2012 by Arete

[John Cuthber]

Is the winch for rescuing Europeans?

 

Incidentally, if the desert concerned is the Antarctic, long sleeves are better.