Warm Clothing Tips1

The human body basically acts like a furnace, producing heat through chemical reactions and activity. This heat can be lost in five ways: Conduction (contact with cold objects), Convection (from wind), Evaporation of moisture from the skin, Radiation (waves of energy that can be reflected by some materials), and Respiration (breathing). The two most critical keys to staying warm outdoors are to insulate to keep heat near your body and to keep moisture away from your skin to prevent heat loss from conduction. Layering It’s important to have a variety of clothing layers available to you on outdoor trips. This allows you to add or shed layers as the temperature changes and/or as your activity level changes, which in turn allows you to avoid excessive sweating. When you increase your physical activity and begin to sweat, you lose heat in three ways: through evaporation of the sweat, through conduction (wet clothing conducts heat away from you nearly eight times faster than dry clothing), and through respiration (the hot air you exhale carries heat away). Also, you lose a lot of water through sweating since cold air is also very dry air. This can easily lead to a bad combination of dehydration and hypothermia. Just remember: Active winter sports require a CONSTANT process of adjusting your clothing layers to regulate your body temperature. Clothing Materials Cotton clothing loses its insulating ability when wet and should be strictly avoided for outdoor/cold weather use. The following materials are the best for cold weather:

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Wool: Wool can absorb a fair amount of moisture without conducting heat away because the water 'disappears' into the fiber spaces. Wool can also be woven into very tight weaves that are quite wind resistant. Another advantage of wool is that it is relatively inexpensive if purchased at surplus and discount stores, such as Andy and Bax, Goodwill, and Value Village . Pile or fleece fabrics: These are spun synthetic fabrics with similar insulating ability as wool. The advantages are that they hold much less water and dry much more quickly. One disadvantage of pile and fleece is that they have very poor wind resistance, so a wind shell on top is almost always required.

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Polypropylene: This is a synthetic, plastic-based fiber often used for the layer of clothing which is directly next to the skin. Polypropylene and other similar products (like REI’s M.T.S. fabrics, Patagonia ’s Capilene, and many others) actually use body heat to move moisture away from the skin.

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Polarguard, Hollofil, Quallofil and others: These are synthetic insulating fibers which are primarily used in sleeping bags and outer garments like parkas. They work well because they do not absorb water and dry quickly.

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12 Tips to Help You Choose Warm Clothes2 1. Dress in layers. The more layers, the better. Dressing in layers of clothing does several things for you: 

Layers fill up the space between you and your winter coat with insulation. An undershirt, a shirt, and a sweater each represent one layer. Your winter coat is yet another layer. The more layers of insulation, the better.

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Layers tend to trap air better. If you have only an overcoat on, the warm air next to your body tends to leak out of the top and bottom of the overcoat as you make body movements. Layers help to hold this air in.

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Layers allow you to regulate your body temperature more accurately. If you get too warm, you can always open up a layer -- starting with opening up the top of your overcoat and progressively opening up more and more layers as you get warmer and warmer.

2. Favor natural materials. In my opinion, there is nothing warmer and lighter than a down overcoat. If you can, buy one that is rated to a certain temperature such as 20 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. 3. Don't get over-sold on synthetic materials. Synthetic materials often come highly recommended. Before you buy synthetic materials, however, be aware of the following: 

Wool will keep you warm even when it is wet. I know of no synthetic material that will do this.

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Natural materials tend to breathe better. This can be critical when you start to work up a little bit of a sweat and need to evaporate this sweat so that you don't become cold later when you are a little less active.

One exception is the value synthetics add as wind-breaking materials. It sometimes makes sense, for example, to have a pair of wool gloves (perhaps with leather palms for wear) covered by larger-than-your size mittens that have a nylon shell. This will keep your hands very warm. 4. Be aware that you lose more heat through your head than any other body part. This can be very deceptive. Your head never feels cold. Why? Because your body sends more heat to your head than any other body part to protect it. Keeping your brain warm is so critical that your body will sacrifice any other body part before it will let the brain get cold. Just because your head does not feel cold does not mean you are not losing heat off the top of your head. Remember this forever! You will not feel yourself losing heat off the top of your head, but you are! The reason your feet and hands are cold is because you are losing heat in the head area. Why? Because hands and feet are low priority and your head is top priority. This is the body's system for rationing its limited heat supply. Because your head is given top priority when it comes to heat supply, it never feels cold even though it is in fact a giant heat dissipation module. Remember! Your head leaks heat. Plug the leak. If you will prioritize keeping your head warm, you will have won half the battle in keeping your body warm. 2

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5. The dumber your head-gear looks, the warmer it is. I was recently shopping at L.L. Beans. A man was looking at a bombardier hat with a leather cover and a sheepskin lining. A woman who appeared to be his wife said to him, "Forget it! You're not wearing it!" Grimly, he put it back. He had just barely started to look. The hat would have gone well with the character Jim Carey played in the film Dumb and Dumber. As dumb as it looks, it is also very warm. Yes, head-gear that dramatically alters your appearance is incredibly warm. The converse is also true. Cool-looking winter hats are just that -- a little too cool temperature-wise. Why do you think those Russian women wear those big fur hats when it's 20 below zero? Because fur is incredibly warm, that's why. 6. Keep your feet warm. Your feet are in contact with the cold ground. You should wear well-insulated boots. Again, favor natural materials. Wear wool socks if you can find them and layer them if necessary. Sheep skin boots can also be quite warm. 7. Keep your neck warm. A scarf around the neck or a jacket that zips up to your neck will do. There are 2 important reasons for covering your neck:  You want to leave as little skin exposed as possible. This is the obvious reason.  A less obvious reason is that you want to seal the top of your jacket so that air does not leak out of the body of your jacket. You lose a lot of heat when the top of your jacket is basically an open hole surrounding your neck. If you were a boat, you'd sink. Patch up the leaks wherever you can. Be sure to buy a jacket that has velcro seals on the cuffs of the sleeves so that you get a tight seal against the cold around your wrists. 8. Prioritize! Decide in advance which body parts you wish to keep warmest. This was taught to me by a lady from Norway. She says that keeping your priorities straight will help keep you warmer. Some body parts are more important than others.      

First, you want to keep your torso warm. Second, your want to keep your head warm. Third, you want to keep your feet warm. Fourth, you want to keep your neck warm. Fifth, you want to keep your hands warm. Sixth, you want to keep your legs warm.

By focusing on what is most important first, you are likely to stay warmer. Why? Because ignoring a very important priority area, such as the head, will make you cold very quickly. 9. Make sure you don't sweat. If you get too warm, you sweat. This is very bad. If you sweat, you get wet. If you get wet, you get cold. How do you avoid sweating? Make sure you peel off your layers as you start to get warm. A very fast way to cool off is to open up your jacket. Another is to take off your hat. Anything that helps you to radiate heat will help you to cool down. Taking off your mittens turns your fingers into radiator prongs radiating heat. Taking your hat off turns your head into one giant radiator prong radiating heat. The key is to stay on top of it. At the first sign of excessive warmth, start opening things up. Usually this happens when you are doing something that causes you to exert yourself, such as climbing a hill.

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10. Keep your face warm by keeping the rest of your body warm. Yes, you can cover your face with a scarf or a face mask. Do so if it is cold enough and you have to. However, I find covering my face to be uncomfortable. I prefer to employ another tactic. I like to keep the rest of my body so warm that I can afford to lose warmth through my face. Think of it as a bank account. Warmth you preserve with other parts of your body can be spent on your face. Call this tactic saving face if you need an easy mnemonic. 11. Wear long underwear. Besides providing an extra layer, long underwear saves your legs if all you are wearing are blue jeans. 12. Buy a good winter coat. I've saved the best suggestion for last. Here are some of the features you want in a winter coat: 

Make sure it features down insulation. In spite of commercial advertising to the contrary, there is nothing warmer than down -- in my opinion.

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Make sure it is rated. My coat is from L.L. Beans. It is rated to 20 degrees below zero (fahrenheit). It is quite warm. You can do even better than this at a mountaineering store if you need to.

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Note that the ratings on coats are generally geared towards moderate activity. If you are planning on standing around gazing at the stars through your telescope, you may need to buy something that is even warmer.

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Make sure it has a hood. This is important because it represents yet another layer. You should wear both a hat and a hood if it is very cold. Ideally the hood will stick out in front of your face just like the hoods of Antarctic explorers you see in National Geographic. This traps air near your face. The fur lining that lines the hood is a further air trap. A natural fur can provide a further benefit; it reflects heat back to your face. Unfortunately for warmth, the fur on my hood is cotton and acrylic.

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Make sure that all openings on the jacket seal. This includes the top of the jacket and the sleeves. There should be a pull string that lets you adjust the waist so that you don't lose air out of the bottom.

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Buy a coat that is long enough. I special ordered mine in a long size. The racks in the store did not carry one that was long enough to suit me.

Ideally, I want a winter coat to extend far down on my thighs and the sleeves to reach down to my hands. Conclusion How you feel about wintertime is largely dependent on how good a job you do of keeping yourself warm. It's a modest ambition -- wanting to stay warm. But it is very important to your wintertime morale.

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Hypothermia (cold related conditions) Several factors, like body weight, acclimatization, wind, temperature, wet conditions and durationof exposure all have an influence to man’s tolerance to cold. What are the symptoms and signs? Several phases can be distinguished: • Shivering • Slurred speech • Sleepyness • Unconsciousness • Irregular heart beat • Death First aid treatment: • Remove patient from area if possible • Remove wet clothing • Shield patient against the wind • Cover patient with blankets. • Body heat my be used to warm a patient (this is particularly effective with children) • Try to keep the patient awake • Give warm drinks if the patient is conscious • Re assure the patient • In the absence of vital signs CPR should be performed In severe cases frost bite may occur especially on the fingers, toes, nose, ears and lips. First aid treatment: • Do not open blisters • Do not rub or massage as this damages the skin • Gradually warm the affected area (can be very painful) • Keep the exposed parts dry and cover with dressing if needed. Tip: Never get caught unawares when venturing into the cold. Be prepared and keep yourself warm and dry. As published in May 2010 E-zine, newsletter of Gauteng 4x4 Off Road Adventure Club, written by: Joke Wandrag Head of Training /Accredited Assessor and Moderator South African First Aid League Accredited with DOL & HWSETA [email protected] / www.firstaidleague.co.za

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