# How to wear a fur skin **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818 "2019-08-17T22:24:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/21 "2019-08-19T03:48:31Z")
The ‘lovely furry pelt’ is not always soft and snuggly; think of the difference between an angora rabbit and a shar-pei or ‘sand-skin’ with its short, rough, scratchy coat. The tanned skin side might end up being chamois-like and more comfy than the hair side. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/22 "2019-08-19T04:46:20Z")
To me, it always seemed like you’d want the fur on the outside, like the animal has it. Why would you have it the other way around? I would think the tanned skin side on the inside would feel warmer than the other way around, though I’m not sure where that intuition comes from. When I sleep, I usually have the fluffy comfirter as the topmost later and the thinner, but denser blanket against my body. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/23 "2019-08-19T05:14:55Z")
It seems to me that leopard is not the best fur for warmth, and areas leopards are found in the inhabitants rarely need warm clothes. (Unless we’re talking snow leopards). More likely, the pelt pattern is displayed to say “the person who owns/provided this pelt is a mighty hunter who defeated on of the higher predators”. I.e. it’s for show and status. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/24 "2019-08-19T05:36:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > To me, it always seemed like you’d want the fur on the outside, like the animal has it. Why would you have it the other way around? If you think about it, though, the animal is literally wearing the fur next to its skin. That’s different from wearing the animal’s tanned skin next to your skin, even though it looks more or less the same to an observer seeing the fur on the outside surface of either you or the animal. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/25 "2019-08-19T06:53:55Z")
Not next, it is the skin. Unless you consider that brown thing to which your various hairs are attached not-your-skin, I mean. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/26 "2019-08-19T12:54:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > To me, it always seemed like you’d want the fur on the outside, like the animal has it. Why would you have it the other way around? Because, with the right kind of fur, it traps more air and keeps you warmer. If there was an easy evolutionary path to a sustainable “skin outside the fur” solution for Arctic animals, they would have their fur inside the skin as well. ---
**Author:** ![Fundisi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Fundisi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fundisi)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/27 "2019-08-28T12:22:56Z")
Having stroked a lion cub, and felt a number of animal pelts (from african animals), I suspect there’s also the reason that the fur is anything but soft and comfortable, some are downright wire like. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/28 "2019-08-28T13:27:53Z")
Don’t forget that we’re not talking about modern times, here. The hairy side was probably full of bugs. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/29 "2019-08-28T15:27:10Z")
It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it’s told. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/30 "2019-08-28T17:19:02Z")
I read the OP and thought about how you would use a fur blanket. Since the fur “works” because it captures air between follicles and the trapped air forms insulation barriers it seems to me that you wouldn’t want to compress those barriers. Using the blanket fur side down would add the weight of the hide over those barriers. That weight would compress the fur. Fur side up would maintain larger barrier areas. Think of the situation like some of the older attic insulation methods (fiber fill) which lose R value due to the gradual settling of the fill. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/31 "2019-08-28T17:37:23Z")
> [@Fundisi](#): > > Having stroked a lion cub, and felt a number of animal pelts (from african animals), I suspect there’s also the reason that the fur is anything but soft and comfortable, some are downright wire like. The fur is not homogeneous; there is an undercoat of soft, warm, non-pointy down hair, and an outer layer of wire-like guard hairs on the top, with a possible additional layer in between. Fur clothing is, of course, chemically treated, which can affect it in various ways. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/32 "2019-08-28T18:07:38Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I read the OP and thought about how you would use a fur blanket. > Since the fur “works” because it captures air between follicles and the trapped air forms insulation barriers it seems to me that you wouldn’t want to compress those barriers. > > Using the blanket fur side down would add the weight of the hide over those barriers. > That weight would compress the fur. > Fur side up would maintain larger barrier areas. > Think of the situation like some of the older attic insulation methods (fiber fill) which lose R value due to the gradual settling of the fill. This is true, but you also have to think of the fact that an important part of insulation is preventing air flow. Using a fur blanket fur side down would compress the barriers, but it would also completely stop convection of hot air up and away. Whether these two factors cancel out or tip the scale in either direction depends on the conditions you are using the furs in and what kind of furs they are. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/33 "2019-08-29T13:17:26Z")
> [@naita](#): > > This is true, but you also have to think of the fact that an important part of insulation is preventing air flow. > > Using a fur blanket fur side down would compress the barriers, but it would also completely stop convection of hot air up and away. > > Whether these two factors cancel out or tip the scale in either direction depends on the conditions you are using the furs in and what kind of furs they are. I think the scale is tipped heavily to fur side out since, well that’s the way evolution created it. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/34 "2019-08-29T15:43:46Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > I think the scale is tipped heavily to fur side out since, well that’s the way evolution created it. Yes, and planes should have flapping wings and propellers are dumb. The solutions we can make with technology, and using another animals skin is a form of technology, can sometimes be inspired by nature and evolution, and sometimes surpass it. Animals not having air bubbles in their skin isn’t a consequence of fur being better as an insulator, it’s about the probability of such an approach evolving and how well it would work in practice. Fur for instance also protects the animals skin from external damage. It’s easy to shed hairs in spring and add hairs in fall for varying insulation requirements. For some furs and in some conditions it might be better to wear the hairs out, in others it’s vise versa, and “that’s the way evolution did it” is not a good argument. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/35 "2019-08-29T18:02:03Z")
Propellers aren’t dumb. Just ask some of your local maple seeds. I was hoping that reading up on how the Inuits used fur would help us clear up our little disagreement. I found that in some cultures the natives would wear fur apparel with the fur **in** during the spring and summer. and then add a separate layer fur **out** during cold months. Not much help there as there seems to be some comfort preferences involved as well as insulation. Some tribes wore fur **out** for leg apparel, but that can be a factor of movement range more than insulation. Hide can stiffen or freeze up in extreme cold so keeping the hide flexible might take precedence over insulation. I had a pair of rabbit fur gloves that were lined **in** that were the warmest gloves I owned, but didn’tt have a pair with fur out to compare. Results: I didn’t get enough evidence to win or lose my position. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818/36 "2019-08-29T21:22:16Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally Posted by Rev George Strong, A Modern Hiawath > > When he killed the Mudjokivis, > > Of the skin he made him mittens, > > Made them with the fur side inside, > > Made them with the skin side outside. > > He, to get the warm side inside, > > Put the inside skin side outside; > > He, to get the cold side outside, > > Put the warm side fur side inside. > > That’s why he put the fur side inside, > > Why he put the skin side outside, > > Why he turned them inside outside > > And, to fill out the posting requirements, I remember long ago reading about a fictional character who was searing a coat made with the fur side inside, because she was from a background rich enough that they didn’t have to show off by putting the fur on the outside. And very similarly, an old Mother Goose rhyme: > [@](#): > > Brian O’Lin had no breeches to wear > So he bought him a sheep-skin and made him a pair > With the skinny side out and the woolly side in > “A-ha! That is warm!” said Brian O’Lin [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-wear-a-fur-skin/838818.md?page=1)