Thank you very much for those references-good, thoughtful reading. I was most interested in the material on fire shelters. My first fire fighting season was 1956 and back then we had nothing in the way of protective clothing (other than hard hats). We all wore cotton routinely. Although fire fighting was an occasional job through the years, I didn't encounter fire shelters until the 1990s. By then everyone on the line was wearing Nomex.

That's my approach exactly. By the way, the ScotteVest has several neat ultimate solutions for that. I have just purchased the sport coat on Cyber Monday from them ($50 less): http://www.scottevest.com/v3_store/SeV-Sportcoat.shtml In the past, I have been traveling overseas wearing their Revolution system (fleece jacket zipping into the outer shell, 42 pockets total! All weather top clothing in one piece). At the TSA station you just take it off and put on the conveyor ignoring funny looks. On one of the trips I've been able to lighten my checked bag for almost 30 pounds (!) of various gadgets to avoid paying for overweight, and it felt like nothing on my shoulders, thanks for the SeV's weight distribution net. Add their ingenious Personal Area Network to that. The only problem I had is that it takes several days after the trip to find and fish out all of the stuff you hid in all these pockets... Oh, and I had been delaying the line to the Stratosphere tower overlook in Las Vegas once, as they've decided to search me when I've been wearing the SeV Fleece and didn't pass the metal detector, having all 20 pockets stuffed with various survival kits and other travel bits Took me about 10 minutes to unload everything and pass the detector. Fortunately, I had also a collapsible nylon bag on me to just grab that pile afterwards not bothering to stuff it back right away

Just checked their new Revolution system. The older version seem to be more thoroughly thought out for practical aspects. The new one has some new neat features, but seem to incline to a "fancier looks" direction. E.g. the older version of the shell is longer and even have an overhang on the back, which allows to bend forward in the rain and keep the bottom dry.

Re: Fires. If I'm in a situation where the synthetic fibers are seriously burning ... I've already got much bigger problems. Really.

JACKETS - My own impression is that jackets that have a front zip are a better choice. I find that I am more likely to carry a jacket that can be unzipped ... it is easier to adjust how much body heat is retained - by altering the zip.

I suppose this comment seems 'picky'. But after i put on a jacket then put on a backpack, i like to start trekking and allow my body to fall into a steady natural pace. it is efficient to hike this way. so i adopt the mindset of marching for a very long distance ... and i really dont want to keep stopping frequently, dragging off my backpack, and adjusting my jacket. instead, its much simpler to change the front zipper and so adjust body heat while walking.

cheers,
Pete