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Field dressing key to keeping warm outdoors

By Jeff Strout
Bangor Daily News Bangor, ME
January 29, 2007

Dressing for winter comfort really is an individual matter. What's good for me may not be so great for you. After all, we're all a little different, aren't we?

One major factor in trying to stay warm (but not too warm) is our level of exertion. If we're sitting around on an ice cake drowning smelts for example, we're going to want something between us and that frozen slab -- insulation of some sort. Then we're going to want a few warm layers of clothing all around to ward off the cold and keep our body heat from escaping.

On the other hand (or cheek, as it were) the more you move around, the less you'll have to wear to stay warm. Generally speaking, the more you move, the more heat your body will produce. Managing that heat, then, becomes the challenge in dressing for colder temperatures.

Managing moisture

We all produce perspiration during exercise. Depending on our metabolism and fitness levels, our bodies produce varying amounts from a little to moderate amounts to lots of it. It's our body's way of regulating its temperature through evaporative cooling.

But moisture can be your enemy in the cold. If your clothing becomes saturated, it can lose its insulation value and act to chill you.

In warm summer temperatures, cotton garments get damp and will cool you for long periods of time. In colder temperatures, however, you shouldn't seek that property. You want clothing that helps to move the moisture away from your body to the outside layer of clothing, where it will evaporate quickly -- enter synthetics or wool.

Next to your skin it's important to have a material that will pull moisture away and disburse it. This inner layer of polyester, for example, will move perspiration from the skin into the next clothing layer, your insulation layer. That piece (or pieces) should not absorb the moisture or lose their insulation value while it moves the vapor droplets away from your body. Likewise, the outer clothing layer should do the same, while affording protection from the elements.

What's your activity level?

Your choice of insulation and outer layers, should be made with an eye to what you'll be doing. You wouldn't want, for example, to don a heavy down parka with the fur trim if you're planning a lively snowshoe walk or cross country ski outing. Instead pick a light, synthetic base layer. Top it with something synthetic or wool, mid- weight and wind resistant.

Once you get moving, you'll get warmer, so start off as lightly insulated as you think you can stand it. (You can always carry another layer and put it on if you're too cold.) I sometimes wear a light- to mid-weight pair of fleece pants and a pair of nylon wind pants over them to keep them from getting snow-covered and wet.

Save down-filled garments for the time when you stop to rest or finish your activity. Otherwise the down will get damp from perspiration and lose its ability to insulate.

Don't forget your head. A baseball cap may be stylish, but it won't provide much warmth. A fleece cap you can pull down over your ears is a good all-around choice. There are styles that open on top to allow you to vent excess heat. Depending on the outside temperature, you may be able to get by with a fleece headband or nothing at all while you're exerting yourself. But you'll need something to put on after you stop.

A balaclava is great for keeping your cheeks and chin warm while closing the gap between your ears and lower neck areas. Some are light enough to provide adequate warmth and still allow you to put a fleece hat over the top. I've seen snowmobilers use them under their helmets on colder days.

Hands on

Keeping your hands comfortable is sometimes a challenge. Water is your enemy here as well as on your feet. The extremities are sacrificial when the body starts into survival mode, pulling circulation in to the core area. I prefer to wear a light wool liner sock on my feet and a polypropylene liner glove on my hands.

A Smartwool mid- to heavyweight sock that fits comfortably inside insulated boots is a good combination for me. Make sure you have wiggle room in your boot before tightening the laces. If your foot feels crammed in your boot, try a lighter weight sock. Depending on your boot's insulation level and your activity level, you may not need a heavy sock.

The polypro gloves come in handy when you must remove your outer mittens or gloves to perform a task, say tie your boot laces or zip up your parka. As you get warmer during your outing, they often are enough by themselves to keep your hands warm. When you stop to rest, pull on your outer, insulated mitts or gloves.

If you plan on being outside for the day, it's good to take along an extra pair of socks and gloves, as well as a spare fleece. Sometimes just taking off a damp layer and replacing it with a dry one makes all the difference in staying warm while you stop to rest or have lunch.

A closer look

Let's take a closer look at some specific clothing items you might wear on a chilly day. Say the thermometer reads around 12 degrees and a steady breeze takes the chill factor close to zero.

Such was the case last weekend during a stroll along Kenduskeag Stream, Valley Avenue and back up through the woods in Bangor.

For this I've enlisted the assistance of my wife, Kathy, who is a part-time L.L. Bean employee. As such, she "has learned a lot about appropriate and available apparel" for all activities. We are both Bean Outlet shoppers -- have been for a while, even before she began work at the call center here.

We thought it might be fun and informative to share our attire choices for our outing. For this day we tried to wear what we thought would work best for the two hours or so we would be out walking. Do you absolutely need each and every one of these items? Of course not -- the theme, as always, is layering: and with the idea of wicking, warmth and wind block.

Here are Kathy's choices (which pretty much echoed mine, save for the outer parka -- a North Face XCR with fleece liner and mitts).

Starting at the bottom:

On top:

This combination was a bit warm, Kathy said. "I needed to eliminate either the vest or a layer of long underwear -- although they did wick as promised!" Another good choice would have been L.L. Bean's Storm Chaser three-in-one jacket (like the Weather Channel). This jacket has a nylon shell and a mid-weight polyester fleece liner. It works great to seal out wind, wet and cold.

On the feet:

Kathy wore heavyweight Smart Wool socks ("my new favorite find at the L.L. Bean Outlet," she says), with a pair of "Wildcat Boots" from Bean. Her assessment? Perfect! Also probably quite appropriate would have been Bean's boots, "Snow Sneakers." These boots have suede and mesh uppers which repel water and PrimaLoft insulation for warmth.

For the hands:

Kathy's choice was to wear gloves: "OK, I ended up with two different gloves, both for the same hand! One was a Polartec fleece and the other was a Thinsulate insulated fleece. My hands became warm in each!"

For the head:

A fleece hat by Perigee and basic wool scarf that came in handy for the face/mouth/nose on this windy day, for Kathy. A balaclava may have been in order. I picked a fleece hat from Outdoor Research. It has a chin strap and ear flaps and kept me toasty.

GoreTex L.L. Bean mitts and poly liners kept my hands more than warm. I was able to remove the mitts after a while and use only the poly liners. They provided the dexterity I needed to snap some pictures with the camera or unscrew the water bottle top, yet not totally expose my hands to the elements.

Jeff Strout's column on outdoor recreation is published each Saturday. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.


The more you move, the more heat your body will produce.
The more you move, the more heat your body will produce.
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