Best Cold Weather Clothing

[Sore Thumbs]

Donna. These are the windstoppers I was talking about. On sale for $20.99. Normally $34.99. 

[gitnby]

22 minutes ago, Sore Thumbs said:

Brother Gitnby! Don't listen to these Infedels.

 

We should invite some of our forum members over for dinner?

[Sore Thumbs]

7 minutes ago, gitnby said:

 

We should invite some of our forum members over for dinner?

For some Fava beans and a nice chianti. 

[Mitch f]

5 minutes ago, Sore Thumbs said:

For some Fava beans and a nice chianti. 

Ok Hannibal ?

[vernon]

This is gonna be WAY controversial but here goes:  

I used to play golf with a guy that worked way high up in the textile industry testing materials and fabrics for literally every manufacturer in the world.  He claims that cotton is the worst for any application - hot, cold it doesn't matter. Polyester is the way to go although, according to him, the blend is extremely important and that spandex and elastane are the CRUCIAL elements.  They are what determine stretch, breathability, comfort and moisture wicking. The more of each, the better.

Now this part is sure to attract plenty of disagreement but again, this guy makes big bucks testing this stuff and providing recommendations throughout the industry AND to the military so I got to believe he knows what he's talking about.  

He said that LAYERING is an absolute waste of time and is one of the least effective methods of all to keep warm!  He pointed out that the military figured this out a long time ago and hasn't trained troops to layer in cold weather in forever.  They say it will cause you to sweat and that it's impossible to vent enough of the body's water vapor and that you will become chilled and likely stay that way eventually leading to hypothermia.  The Ski Patrol and other elements that spend lots of time in the cold apparently agree.

It seems that what they found out was that the age old belief of layering flat doesn't work because the trapped air itself isn't warm and will typically retain moisture.

He said the key is COMPRESSION fit.  Through testing it was determined that compression fit literally traps body heat and prevents it from escaping while the polyester, spandex, elastane blend serves to wick away moisture.  You then add a single "Windstopper" type lined outer garment.  Pretty simple and makes sense I guess - trap body heat and block wind.  Whoolah, warmth.  Now, I retired from the Army Corps of Engineers but I had ZERO experience or time spent in the field.  That being said, I did ask a bunch of my trained killer friends and they all concurred - NEVER layer and NEVER wear cotton.  Fit for compression and block the wind.  Period.  And vent to prevent overheating during times of exertion.

Personally, I HATE compression wear.  It makes me feel even fatter than I already am for one thing!  However, I gotta say, whenever I've followed his advice I've stayed warm without overheating and don't fell like the Michelin Man with twenty layers of stuff weighing me down and bulking me out.  On his recommendation, I purchased a couple of compression tops and a couple of pullovers that are lined with either Gore Windstopper or the industry equivalent.  There's a million different versions out there and as best I can tell they're all pretty much the same thing.  Cabela's and Bass Pro each have their own house versions that work great.  

Bottom line is this method works GREAT.

For bottoms I don't always wear compression but do ALWAYS make sure that I'm wearing pants made of polyester blended with elastane and spandex.  Add my windproof rain pants and life is good!

Having a quarter zip top is really important for the pullover.  It can be zipped up similar to a turtleneck to retain heat and block additional wind or partially unzipped to allow the venting of excess heat during times of exertion or whenever necessary.  Amazingly, on some pretty danged cold days, I can pull the neck of the compression shirt away from my body and literally feel the heat escaping from inside the shirt.

Oh yeah, as for the moisture wicking part he said to NEVER, EVER, NEVER use dryer sheets!  According to him, dryer sheets coat the fabric in silicone rendering it's ability to breath or wick moisture absolutely worthless!  Once dryer sheets are used he said it takes a minimum of five washer and dryer cycles to remove the residue from not only the fabric but the dryer tub!

And that's all I have to say about that.

[Sore Thumbs]

Great info Vernon. Thanks.

[abkeenan]

Great info there Vernon. That being said you are a Jayhawker and I can not, in good faith, fully trust anything you say.

[Pat Magee]

I spend an insane amount of time and money on things to keep me warm in the winter (not bragging, just hate being cold). I run an outdoor ice rink so I am often outside on the coldest of cold days.  I, like most people here have found that a good capilene base layer (Patagonia or Simms) followed by a flannel or merino wool shirt and a warm fleece (Patagonia R4 for me) and down coat (Eddie Bauer First Ascent), with a hard shell (Eddie Bauer First Ascent) on top is hard to beat. I just wear a pair of flannel pajama pants under my snowboarding pants and it keeps my lower half warm plus I don't need to take off 8 things just to take a piss like the bib guys do!  I tape hand warmers to my wrist and throw an adhesive heating back pad on my back and I am darn near sweating in single digits.  A good hat and a buff also go a long way in keeping the dome warm too! My feet are usually the reason I have to go in after awhile but after spending 30 bucks on some wigwam socks, I don't get scared back inside as often.  My boots are from a brand called Forsake and they are sneaker boots and they keep my feet warm and completely dry in just about any condition and they are extremely comfortable.  For gloves, I just buy some cheap neoprene waterproof gloves from Walmart to use near water when my hands need warming and I have some gore-tex mittens I can put on if I really need it. 

I used to use one of those vintage metal handwarmers but haven't been able to find a good one since I lost mine a couple years ago. Anyone use those anymore?

[vernon]

34 minutes ago, abkeenan said:

Great info there Vernon. That being said you are a Jayhawker and I can not, in good faith, fully trust anything you say.

Oh crap!  My bad.  That entire post was intended to be a private message exclusive to MU fans!  Figured I'd make totally inaccurate information sound really believable (you guys would never know the difference) and, consequently, freeze all y'all to death and put you out of your misery!

[Blll]

38 minutes ago, Pat Magee said:

I spend an insane amount of time and money on things to keep me warm in the winter (not bragging, just hate being cold). I run an outdoor ice rink so I am often outside on the coldest of cold days.  I, like most people here have found that a good capilene base layer (Patagonia or Simms) followed by a flannel or merino wool shirt and a warm fleece (Patagonia R4 for me) and down coat (Eddie Bauer First Ascent), with a hard shell (Eddie Bauer First Ascent) on top is hard to beat. I just wear a pair of flannel pajama pants under my snowboarding pants and it keeps my lower half warm plus I don't need to take off 8 things just to take a piss like the bib guys do!  I tape hand warmers to my wrist and throw an adhesive heating back pad on my back and I am darn near sweating in single digits.  A good hat and a buff also go a long way in keeping the dome warm too! My feet are usually the reason I have to go in after awhile but after spending 30 bucks on some wigwam socks, I don't get scared back inside as often.  My boots are from a brand called Forsake and they are sneaker boots and they keep my feet warm and completely dry in just about any condition and they are extremely comfortable.  For gloves, I just buy some cheap neoprene waterproof gloves from Walmart to use near water when my hands need warming and I have some gore-tex mittens I can put on if I really need it. 

I used to use one of those vintage metal handwarmers but haven't been able to find a good one since I lost mine a couple years ago. Anyone use those anymore?

I still have a couple old metal Jon-e hand warmers and they still work great. IMO better than the crush type. My friend has a newer metal one from Zippo and it works quite well too. They can be bought at Walmart. The older Jon-e are still pretty plentiful on ebay. They really excel at warming cold wet hands.