A patchwork survival suit is exactly what it sounds like – a protective suit cobbled together from spare fabric, insulating materials, surplus power supply circuitry, and other second-hand parts. As a result of this, most of these survival suits bear little resemblance to one another in colour and form. They are fabricated in large numbers with only one thing in mind – cost avoidance. While most of these suits are destined for use by corporations that require their workers to work in moderately hostile environments, a fair number are also thrown together by opportunistic or desperate individuals. One would truly be hard-pressed if they are willing to entrust their lives to such dubious protection.

Most of these suits consist of an outer layer of tough cloth to resist wear. Underneath this will be a layer of insulating material, usually efficient enough to keep a sentient alive in temperatures from just above freezing to half the boiling temperature of water. However, a truly hot or extremely cold environment would be beyond the protection capability of this suit and a wise individual would be well advised to find better protection. Most of these suits are not hermetically sealed, and will not provide adequate protection against a caustic or noxious environment, although an appropriate sealed helmet and breathing gas supply will help a wearer of the suit survive longer.

While good survival suits are closely fit or even tailored to their wearer, most patchwork survival suits are not so well designed. This further reduces their utility to the wearer, unless they are fortunate enough to find one that fits well. The patchwork survival suit is better than nothing if one intends to enter a hostile environment, but there are much better choices- if one has the credits.