The handcrafted stuff definitely gives you better protection against the cold, but its not always that simple. Making your own gear from animal hides is super effective, like those bearskin coats are absolute beasts when it comes to keeping warm and the wolfskin stuff is great for keeping those predators at bay. Its pretty amazing how much warmer they are compared to regular clothes you find lying around.

Thing is though, theres always a trade-off. Those animal hide clothes are really heavy and can slow you down quite a bit, which isnt great when youre trying to outrun an angry wolf. The regular clothes you find, like expedition parkas and climbing socks, are way lighter and still do a decent job keeping you warm.

What i've found works best is mixing and matching stuff. Use a crafted bearskin coat as your outer layer, but stick with lighter synthetic stuff underneath. Makes a huge difference when youre exploring pleasant valley, where the temps can get really nasty. And hey, maybe interesting to know that those moose-hide satchels are actually pretty handy for carrying more stuff while still keeping some mobility.

For repairs, the store-bought clothes are easier to fix since you just need cloth, which is everywhere. The crafted stuff needs specific animal hides which can be a pain to get sometimes, but they do last longer once fixed up. Just something to keep in mind when youre planning your gear setup.