Pants, Socks, Boots: Does the Order you Dress in Really Matter?

I would argue yes, the order does matter. Something that’s been ingrained in me since my days in BUD/s is the order in which I dress.

As I was getting dressed this morning, putting my pants on first, I thought I’d write about why we were taught back in the day to dress in a certain order.

Pants, Socks, Boots

The reasoning is this; if you’re suddenly awoken in the middle of the night and have to move out, that muscle memory of putting your pants on first means that you’re somewhat protected from the elements if that’s all you have time to put on. Especially if you’re going commando.

Next is socks, which I feel don’t necessarily stand on their own. If you have to move out and you’ve got pants on socks on, yes there’s some protection on your feet, but it can be easier to move barefoot than it can be with socks in certain situations.

With boots being the last thing on the list, you’ve got enough to be able to run, move efficiently and evade if necessary. Of course the elements have a lot to do with this methodology, as keeping your core warm is more important than your legs.

David Guttenfelder / Associated Press

I’ve always been able to see the reasoning behind why we were taught this though and granted it had a lot to do with the time constraints we were under at BUD/s to get our gear on and move out to the next evolution. That’s not to discredit this information though and hopefully you can see the value in it too.

This doesn’t necessarily have to apply to a soldier either, which is why I still do this. If something awakens me in the middle of the night, I’ve always got a pair of pants next to me just in case. More than likely though I’d just grab my gun and negotiate the threat, but at least my pants are there if I need them.

I also wanted to bring up this information to get you thinking about situations that might come up while you’re sleeping. Apart from a break-in, there’s also fires to consider and whether your evacuation plan requires clothing. If it doesn’t, it should. Especially with the winter upon us, having to climb out of a window on short notice without clothing to protect you from the elements isn’t ideal.

Following this will also ensure you don’t stumble out of a bunker with pink boxers on like the soldier above, despite how awesome that is!

What do you think, does the order you dress in really matter?