Winter is on its way, and with it comes cold weather. For many it is tempting to deal with winter in the same way as the bear, by holing up and wait out winter in your house until spring comes around. With proper knowledge there’s no need to hibernate, a few simple rules is all you need to know to stay warm in cold weather. Even in extreme cold, it is still possible to stay active and enjoy the outdoors as long as you know what you are doing.
Staying warm in very cold weather is all about insulation. Many people mistakenly assume that means putting on as heavy clothing as possible to keep the cold out. In fact, the secret to staying warm is not in keeping the cold out, but keeping the heat in.
No matter what you are doing or where you are going, it will be your own body heat that keeps you warm. Staying warm in very cold conditions is all about preserving that heat as long as possible. The very best way to do this is to do what the polar animals do, create a pocket of warm air around your body. The fur of the polar fox does exactly that, the many different layers of their coat trap air around their body, air which is warmed by their body heat. As we have no fur we have to create the same effect using clothing.
When dressing for very cold weather, think layers. Many layers of thin clothing is much better against the cold than few thick garments. The reason is as you have probably guessed, the layers of clothing trap air between them that serves as insulation. If you dress properly, it is amazing how little clothing will keep you warm even in the most extreme cold.
Avoid tight clothing when dressing for the cold, loose fitting garments are much more effective in creating the insulation you want. Typically, a short sleeve undershirt, long thermal underwear, a light long sleeve sweater, a baggy pair of jeans and a windproof loose fitting jacket will keep you nice and warm in most conditions. If you are going to be active, even less clothing is required. Keep in mind though that you should always cover your head, and wear gloves or mittens. A massive amount of body heat is lost from the top of the head, and something as simple as making sure you wear a hat will make it a lot easier to stay warm.
For the best protection against cold weather, the innermost layer should be made of soft spun wool. Not only does wool fabrics have a lot of air pockets, but wool also has the very beneficial property of absorbing a lot of water before it feels wet. In extreme cold,water is your worst enemy, and having a wool layer absorb the humidity around your body will make a huge difference.
Many people like to cover the lower part of their face with a scarf in the cold. This might give some relief in moderately cold weather, but in extreme cold you should be careful about covering you moth and nose. The moisture in your breath will be trapped in the scarf, and over time the humidity could lead to serious frost bite in the face. It is always better to cover your face with a fat based ointment, such as Vaseline, which will protect exposed skin against cold air.
There’s an old saying stating that as long as long as your feet stay warm, the rest of your body will stay warm. Making sure you have proper shoes is very important, but just as important is wearing the right socks. It is far better to wear just a thin pair of socks and leave ample room around your foot inside your shoes, than to cram a heavy pair or even two pair of socks into your boots. If you stuff your boots, there will be very little room for air around your foot, and you will get very cold. Walking in the snow with shoes that are too small or that are filled with too many pairs of socks will feel like your walking barefoot. Without insulating air between your boot and your foot, the boots will actually draw heat out of your body as they themselves are cooled down by the snow.
These tips will keep you warm in most normal winter weather for most outdoor activities, but if you want to spend a lot of time outside in very cold weather, there are still a few things you can do that will help you stay warm longer. If you plan on camping or sleeping outside in the winter, these tips will be invaluable.
When staying outside for several days, one of the most surprising, but effective things you should do is go to the bathroom often. The waste your body produces holds body temperature until it is eliminated, meaning you are using precious body heat to warm up a lot of crap quite literally. Taking actions as soon as nature calls will actually be a big help in staying warm when the weather gets very cold.
Even though it is not tempting, you should wash yourself every morning when camping in extreme cold. Sweat and dirt on your body makes it harder to stay warm. A quick and easy way to take a wilderness bath in the winter is to just rub yourself with handfuls of snow. In addition to cleaning your body, it will stimulate blood flow to the skin which will help you stay warm. It’s important that you dry yourself completely with a towel before getting dressed though. Water and cold weather is a terrible combination.
Never use soap, or shave in the morning. This will scrape the natural fat from your skin and make the skin a lot more prone to frostbite.
If you get wet, get out of your wet clothes immediately. You should always have a dry change of clothes available, and even if you don’t you still need to get out of your wet clothes. If you can start a fire, that is a great way for drying clothes, but if you can’t, make camp. Wring out your clothes as much as possible and get in your sleeping bag without any clothes. Once you have regained your body heat you can put moist to slightly wet clothes in the sleeping bag with you. Spread the clothes out over your body and let your body heat dry the clothes. If you use this method your clothes will be dry the next morning. On use this method if your clothes are wet from water, trying to dry kerosene or spirit leaks out of your clothes this way will damage your skin and give you burns.
If you follow these simple rules, you will be able to brave the cold without discomfort. Even after a full day of skiing or two weeks camping you should still be warm and snug. So there’s no excuse to keep inside this winter. Remember; There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!
