Cold Weather Gear - Need Advice

Stay away from cotton anything on your skin. Layer up with fleece/wool and a good wind/waterproof shell and a good hat. I wear insulated carhart overalls a lot in winter as long as it's cold enough I don't risk them getting them wet with melting snow.

Invest in good boots. For really cold conditions look into getting a pair of bunny boots. Even if you get your feet wet they'll keep them from freezing.

Never allow yourself to work up a sweat in cold weather, so you have to pace yourself. Getting sweaty means getting damp and moisture conducts heat 20x faster than air. You might be warm while your exerting yourself but as soon as you stop, you'll get chilled to the bone.

My cut off point for working outside is around -25F with no wind. Some years ago I ordered a beaver trappers hat and full mitts from a trappers wife in the interior. Best investment I ever made for working outside in winter up here. The mitts have little pockets inside them to slip in chemical heaters, hang around my neck and are large enough I can slide my hands inside with my work gloves on to get them warmed up. I can plop right down in a snow drift and take a nap. 🙂

Lots of other little tricks I've learned from old timers along the way like keeping your gloves inside your jacket when you take them off so when you go to put them back on they're nice n toasty.

Is it dry cold or wet cold?

In college there was a Siberian living down the hall. I brought him home for Thanksgiving as is proper for the holiday. On the Cape, it was in the 30's, blowing off the ocean with some rain / sleet. He could not put on enough layers to get warm. He did just fine in the middle of Maine all winter long though.

> Stay away from cotton anything on your skin. Layer up with fleece/wool and a good wind/waterproof shell and a good hat. I wear insulated carhart overalls a lot in winter as long as it's cold enough I don't risk them getting them wet with melting snow.
>
> Invest in good boots. For really cold conditions look into getting a pair of bunny boots. Even if you get your feet wet they'll keep them from freezing.
>
> Never allow yourself to work up a sweat in cold weather, so you have to pace yourself. Getting sweaty means getting damp and moisture conducts heat 20x faster than air. You might be warm while your exerting yourself but as soon as you stop, you'll get chilled to the bone.
>
> My cut off point for working outside is around -25F with no wind. Some years ago I ordered a beaver trappers hat and full mitts from a trappers wife in the interior. Best investment I ever made for working outside in winter up here. The mitts have little pockets inside them to slip in chemical heaters, hang around my neck and are large enough I can slide my hands inside with my work gloves on to get them warmed up. I can plop right down in a snow drift and take a nap. 🙂
>
> Lots of other little tricks I've learned from old timers along the way like keeping your gloves inside your jacket when you take them off so when you go to put them back on they're nice n toasty.

Excellent advice regarding moisture management. For wind, your shell will be the key. Gore-tex is expensive for a really good reason, it works like noting else. I've worn it skiing for years and sold a ton of it.
If there is a ski shop in your area, they can give you good advice about layering. Then check out sierra trading post for some good deals.
Friends don't let friends wear cotton.

Check this out:

AERIS

This was invented here in my home county. Two of my sisters worked for them developing the prototypes (patterns and how to sow them). I know one of the main guys. I haven't tried it but I'm sure it works real well.

My favorite gear is my wool underwear and outer shirt from www.minus33.com I have two of these shirts: White Mountain Sportsman Shirt

Not to forget the socks, either. Not a single drop of cotton ever touches my skin.

Yes - that shirt cost me $96. It is worth every penny. The merino wool also appears to be the least itchy and least "allergenic," based on the fact that normal ragg wool makes my wife choke and enter a type of anaphalactic shock.

All winter long I'll run in just this shirt and a pair of carhart bib pants. Over coats only get me dangerously sweaty.

This is the best coat I've ever purchased for surveying:
Cabela's Versalon
I didn't even use the liner. I was in the same temperature you describe. VERY rugged material, VERY bright, and VERY warm. Plenty of pockets. I paid around $90 for mine on sale.
I also wear the same socks I'd wear during the summer. I found thicker socks or wearing two pair at once restricted blood flow and made my toes cold. Wearing one pair of my regular socks was just right. But then again the winter is my favorite time of the year to survey.

Okay, then that was a huge problem since my base layer was indeed cotton!! I'll stay away from it from now on as it did get damp from any minor perspiration during periods of exertion.

That looks like what I may be looking for, thanks!!

I think I'll ask for one from the wife for Christmas if that's all you have to wear up there.

I really believe those who work in consistently cold weather have it far easier than those of us who may experience a 40-60 degree temperature change over the course of the day. Dressing in layers helps but packing around everything is a giant pain. What is needed at 7:00 a.m. is radically different than what is needed at 2:00 p.m. and then you start putting some of it back on by 3:00 p.m. Sweat is your enemy.

If you call, tell Dale I sent you. I probably should get a set also but I'm trying to stay out of the cold these days. With cold weather gear like this what you going to say "It's to cold to work today".

As the mountaineers say: "Cold feet? Put on a hat." Stopping the heat loss out of your top is important. I live in Interior Alaska, so I'll just share what I do here.

Working bottom to top.

Boots
If very cold: bunny boots (mil spec vapor barrier boots). There's no replacement.
Else: warm and light. No heavy-@rse boots. What's the point of that. I avoid leather for winter boots as you just constantly battle moisture and maintenance.

Wool socks, always.

Wool/poly blend longhandles.
Poly or light wool pants. No jeans or cotton carhartt pants, ever. Why walk around in a cotton wick?

Silk or poly long undershirt. Poly half-zip shirt. Poly vest. Poly sweater over that.
Beware the windproof stuff, as it doesn't breathe, so you make your choices...

For the outerwear, I do Refrigiwear bib overalls and an Army-issue Arctic parka. Neck gaiter or scarf. Gator balaclava. Mad bomber rabbit fut hat. Skin-tight smartwool glove liners (can use a pencil, lighter, knife) under high loft gloves.

And most important: Eat enough!!! Your metabolic furnace is your friend. Keep stoking that baby and stay moving and you won't get cold. Eat lots of cheese and jerky. Stay hydrated. Enjoy the cold!

One more thing: always be wearing a small pack that you can stuff some clothes in. That way you can layer up and down.

Why cotton is bad in cold climate?

> Stay away from cotton anything on your skin.

Aloha, Willi:

Seen melting snow three times in my entire life. Yet to see them falling from the sky...maybe one day!

Why cotton is bad in cold climate? I am very curious now!!

Mahalo!

Why cotton is bad in cold climate?

Cotton absorbs moisture. If you wear cotton and get wet... well you are putting yourself in a dangerous position (hypothermia) even at moderate temperatures.

Various synthetics and wool naturally wick the moisture away. Wool is also naturally anitmicrobial and retains insulation capabilites when saturated with moisture.

In my opinion no finer base layer can be had than merino wool. It is is not scratchy or itchy like ragg wool. I wear it happily in cold or hot weather.

The merino is far more comfortable on those long hot walks in August... if you know what I mean.

I would suggest researching the following brands of merino:
Minus33 (as previously recommended), IBEX, FirstLite, and KUIU

How is the sizing on that Sportsman's shirt?

True to size, snug, loose enough for field work?

Base layer
Polypropylene or thin wool (merino or smart wool)
Polypropylene is cheaper and does the trick. It stinks to high heaven if you are working in remote areas for long periods of time. Not unusual to have to wash it twice to get the smell out. A thin high tech wool layer is awesome, but incredibly expensive.

Mid layer
Pile fleece or wool again. I actually use fleece full zip tights under my carharts working in the far north. Good ventilation and temperature control.

If Really cold, throw on a wool logger shirt over fleece. Your body movement actually cause they layers to rub against each other causing heat. REALLY staticky though.

Outer layer
Windproof work gear. For surveyors, cotton actually works as an outer layer. In dry conditions it doesn't matter, and in cold wet conditions, it will ice up (ice is actually a very good insulator). Nice gore text is great, but depending on your work, carharts could work just as well.

Tricks and specialties
Bunny boots are awesome, but take good care of them. Sticks and stuff can poke right through. If steel toes are required where you are, make sure your boots are very roomy. Wiggly toes are warm toes. Kodak, and Baffin boots are good names as well.

Cheap poly-pro liner gloves, and get used to doing everything with them. These then go into fleece inside a wind layer. Mitts are warmer than lobster claws, are warmer than gloves. Epoxy a pencil eraser to the index finger of your dominant hand for survey button pushing.

Keep spare gloves around and swap regularly.

Blood flow equals warmth. If you are operating an insrument on a rise, at a plant site in -45 degrees, stop every 30-40 minutes and jog around the plant site. This may seem silly, but it is more comfortable and safer than slowly freezing. Production comes second to survival.

Eat lots of fat. Working a 10-12 hour day in -20c will burn 2200 calories by heating up the air you breath. Snack lots.

Cover your head. Toques, balaclava or helmet liners, put it on and keep it on. Keeping your head warm keeps your body warm. The same rule applies to the back of your neck.

Cover your breath. He fog you are exhaling is lost heat. In extreme conditions, a scarf or balaclava minimizes this loss.

Finally, clean dry footware for the truck. Cold weather guys know the incredible pain after hopping in the truck for a long drive, after a day in the cold. Your body has stopped moving, so your feet are no longer being kept warm, and the heater blowing in your boots are just causing the cold to retreat deeper into the boot.

The coldest day I have worked was in Saskatchewan. With wind chill, it was hovering around -100c. At that temperature, rubber boots crack, chocolate bars shatter, and your beard will freeze to the balaclava. Two guys on the team soiled themselves to get away and one other ended up with a cold in his spine after his camelback froze underneath his mid layer.

I wear the combination of heavy weight poly propylene underwear under ultra light gortex rain pants, under carhart pants. I wore this combo when I got out of college because it's all I had. I found it to be very warm/durable and it is less bulky than other clothing. The carharts protect that expensive gortex too. I still wear this today. I work in temps down to about -10f.

Don't do this...

Christmas Story

I have a 50 inch chest, and the XXL shirt is ideal for fieldwork for me.

So, if say they were sized generous, as if they expect guys will be layering and actually working, unlike ski clothing.