Whats involved with staying alive below +40 degrees?

H

Hotrod

Joined
Mar 19, 2003
Messages
978
Hey guys...

Jeans dont cut it... neither do dress khakis! So... what kind of pants are used in "Cold weather" (I'm in the south!)

I realize that wind chill is a big deal, cotton sweat shirts dont work when the wind is blowing, neither do wool sweaters, without some sort of wind breaker. How do you stay comfortable enough to function, or survive the night when its raining and the wind is blowing?

Thanks guys... dumb question, but something I've been pondering! :D
 
Hotrod,

Staying dry and out of the wind is key. In Alaska this fall I wore polypropelene underwear and sock liners, wool socks, wool pants, and saddlecloth overpants to keep my legs dry. On top I wore a wool sweater and wool jacket. The camo wool pants and jacket were from King of the Mountain. Over the top of all this I wore a Goretex parka shell. This combo stood up to 35 degrees and raining as well as 15 degrees and blowing. They say up in Alaska if you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes!

I felt good enough that I could have spent the night out in this outfit given a shelter and fire. The goretex is amazing stuff. That parka ($120 from Cabela's) paid for itself on the first 7 mile ATV ride in freezing rain. The wool retains its insulating value even when damp and the goretex allows the water vapor to exit so you stay nice and dry inside.

I needed better boots but I did just fine and the clothing didn't feel bulky. Mac

PS avoid cotton in all forms. It absorbs moisture and stays wet. It looses all insulating value and you freeze to death. You can get hypothermia in 40 degree weather.
 
From what I can tell... almost all of the US surplus stuff is cotton! The field jackets, BDU's... most everything cheap.

I've got wool socks, but thats because I've found them to last longer than cotton... not for warmth! ;)

What do yall recomend for wool pants?
 
I've been using a pair of these for about 7 years for hiking/backpacking:

http://www.railriders.com/store/Men_s___PantsWPN?Args=

They're light enough to wear in moderate to even warm conditions, highly wind resistant, durable, and dry very fast. In colder conditions I just layer varying weights of synthetic long underwear with them. If it's really cold and wet/snowy, I'll bust out the Gore-tex pants and fleece under-layer.

The same principle applies for your torso as well. Stay away from anything with cotton in it (never dries once it's wet) and start with a sweat-wicking, breathable, light weight thermal layer. You can then add more thermal layers like wool or fleece, and a wind/water resistant/proof outer layer as necessary.

Wearing a few lighter layers of clothing works a lot better than just one heavy, bulky one because it allows you adjust your temperature more incrementally in response to changing weather and/or levels of exertion.
 
Are they quiet?

I've tried nylon (Parachute pants... :footinmou ) But your not going to sneak up on anything fuzzy with the racket they make!
 
Hotrod said:
Are they quiet?
Click to expand...

They actually are very quiet. It's not anything like the smooth shiny track or basketball warm-ups. The particular nylon these are made off is pretty soft (but still durable :) ) Now that I think about it, my canvas Carhartt's make quite a bit more noise than these do. Hope some of this helps....
 
it does... gotta be aware of whats out there before a brain can have a point of reference! :D
 
REI has all kinds of outdoor gear and clothing that you can check out. It ranges from basic, no-frills stuff to high-tech Himalayan expedition gear. There are also several FAQ/tutorials on all manner of outdoor fun that would probably give you lots of great stuff to think about.

www.rei.com

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Lea...=8000&langId=-1&categoryId=Learn&stat=side_28



Here are 2 "how-to" pages pertaining to outdoor clothing:

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Lea...ryId=Camping&url=rei/learn/camp/cllayersf.jsp

http://www.rei.com/online/store/Lea...oryId=Camping&url=rei/learn/camp/bkclothf.jsp

Enjoy... :D
 
The key is always remember 3 layers the one next to your skin is meant to wick away the water move it out form the skin. the second is your insulating layr meant to lock in your bodies warmth and holdit there. The 3rd one is the shell meant to protect you from water and wind. A lot guys swear by the older material like wool and such they are very good but with all the high tec stuff out there your can carry 3 laters and make a very versitial system. It is hard to swap up and down in layers when using the older stuff and the weight is more as well so it greatly depends on your activity. If you are in an icefishing shanty either will do but for activities where the level of activity varies you are better of putting together a system.
 
You can usually find pretty good deals on close-outs, 2nds, and just plain sales at these places:

http://www.rei.com/outlet/index.html

http://www.sierratradingpost.com

http://www.campmor.com/


You can probably find many more discount places if you google it or go ebay, but these have historically been the main places I've wasted my money (before I got into mountain biking....and then road biking....and now knives.... :eek: :D ) I've got way too many hobbies :D
 
I hear ya trout... I spend way to much on tools and gadgets...

3 layers... I can do that! Havent ever tried 3 layers of pants... but its not uncommon for me to layer 3 sweatshirts in the winter... with a cheep windbreaker on top. Doesnt help if your sweating though!

Any chance yall could go through what you wear in the different cold ranges? (Flip flops, t-shirt, and jeans/shorts anytime its above 70!)
 
If you don't like the sound traditional wind pants make, try out a set of Gore-tex windstopper fleece pants. I have a windstopper fleece jacket and it is as silent as silent gets. Makes a great second layer or an outer layer in mild conditions. It is synthetic and sheds water easily. Check it out and you won't be sorry.

kev
 
It seems like alot of it is what it is what your are use to I was out in the cold all day with my cattle in some cold wet weather wearing polyester pants and a carhart coat with a bdu shirt under but I felt fine but here in iowa the weather changes all the time so we just learn to take what ever mother nature gives us.You tell me that we really need to have on just the right clothing,I have seen alot of calves comeing in the snow and below 32 degrees and they are wet and just came from inside their warm moms and they just get right up and are nurse their moms and are all right.I have been out in the cold so much over the years that the heat gets to me worse than any cold.If it really gets bad then there is fire and warmer clothing it is just something you get use to.I also trap in the winter and can tell you that layers are were it is all about I were alot of layers and take off what I have to not to sweat because sweat will frezze next to your skin and kill you. If you do not get up a sweat and do not run your energy down so that you do not make the needed heat you can survive alot of cold.
 
Well,if you are fairly slim,you can find alot of inexpensive foreign suplus sold by places like cheaper than dirt etc.I saw often advertise new German wool miliatry pants,shirts for peanuts.Do some internet searches.I've evn seen really cheap brand new official US issue Gortex parkas go incredibly cheap on ebay for sizes small,medium and sometimes large sizes.If you look around,you can get high quality gear pretty cheap.
 
You might want to watch a show that's going to be on FitTV, (a channel associated with The Discovery Channel) on the 24th they are airing a show called Peak Performance:COLD, that I have seen and it covers what it takes to remain warm in harsh cold climates, clothing and so forth, with a lot of in lab and field experiments.

Feb 24 at 10pm Eastern, re-airing at 1:00am Eastern on the 25th.

They are also airing on the 23, Peak Performance:HOT same show just dealing with desert survival. same times.

Here is the schedule link:

http://fittv.discovery.com/schedule/weekly.jsp?dd=21&mm=2&yyyy=2005&channel=FIT&hhmm=2030
 
It's expensive, but my outer layers are all Filson. (www.filson.com) Their Wool mackinaw pants and coats keep me warm consistently in sub-zero temps. And a lifetime warranty to boot. I use the three layer principle as well. Layering is just as important, but you need a durable, warm outer layer as well. I used Gore-tex for a while when it came out, but was always getting holes and tears in it, and it has no insulating properties... that said, it's very good in rain, which I don't have to deal with much (mostly snow here), but you have to baby it a lot.

cheers,
Rob
 
Hotrod said:
Hey guys...

Jeans dont cut it... neither do dress khakis! So... what kind of pants are used in "Cold weather" (I'm in the south!)

I realize that wind chill is a big deal, cotton sweat shirts dont work when the wind is blowing, neither do wool sweaters, without some sort of wind breaker. How do you stay comfortable enough to function, or survive the night when its raining and the wind is blowing?

Thanks guys... dumb question, but something I've been pondering! :D
Click to expand...
Read up on some of the Bushcrafting sites...
They do not like synthetics very much, because if you start a fire, every little ember that lands on your parka will burn a hole in it!!!
In a survival situation, that is NOT what you need...Fire is GOOD! And you will not have a nice stove to use. Waxed cotten seems to be popular. As is wool(which seems to be naturally fire retardant.
 
Usually when I layer I don't make it a habbit to have the insulating layer and the shell layer as the same it prevents you from having the flexability to adjust for levels of warmth and activity. If you are using Goretex there are 2 things to remeber buy the goretex to suit the activity. My alpine suit is totally reinforced knees, butt and seems. My rain suit is just a simple layer packable and made to shed water. The second thing to rememer is it needs to be taken care of. Like any tool if you want it to take care of you, you have to take care of it. I have heard many stories about how the Goretex started leaking and that buying rain paints and such for 1/10 the price would have them last just as long. I would think those people might not have read the instructions on the item they bought.
Goretex is a thermal material its properties are renewed by heat the seems are sealed by heat so to take care of it eveyonce in a while put it in a dryer or take a damp towel and put you Iron on full lay the towel on the garment and run over it with the iron.
Any time you buy a piece of gear it (a) never hurts to research it and (B) never hurts to read the user information.
 
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