What Do You Wear In Really Cold Weather?

[Fifty150]

How cold is it where you are? What works for you? It doesn't have to be expensive in price. I just want to get an idea of what works.

 

[earl]

Supposed to hit around 70F near Christmas, though that's highly unusual here. Generally, though, winter temps here in Kansas are fairly mild. Really cold here would be around 10F to -5F. Have a WWII great coat that is about 10 pounds in weight and so warm I can only wear it when it gets that cold.

 

[Turnip]

For casual occasions at temperatures just below 0C it’s an unlined virgin wool Rymhart Troyer at about 2150g.
Any colder => Lined Rymhart virgin wool Cardigan at about 2350g to replace the Troyer.
Just a long sleeved T-Shirt or similar to go additionally.
Cold and windy => + Rymhart watch cap + Carhartt Chore Coat.
Cold, windy and wet => Replace Chore Coat with a Carhartt Sawtooth parka.

And of course „cold“ is just relative.

Cheers

 

[LizzieMaine]

I live in Maine, a state which once upon a time was inhabitable in winter only by hibernating black bears and masochists. When I say "when I was a kid I walked to school in twenty-below-zero weather" I'm not being a bitter old woman who hates everything younger than she is, I'm telling you the gawdshones'truth. And that's twenty-below-FARENHEIT zero, not that sissy centigrade nonsense.

In those days before puffy polar fleece and moon boots and buses that ran in the center of town, you'd layer up for school in heavy tights, ski pants, a heavy sweater, and a thick coat with a ridiculous pointed hood that made you look like an elf, with a couple of scarfs and heavy knit mittens you got for Christmas from that aunt you never heard from at any other time. You also wore gloves under those mittens because you didn't want your fingers to freeze off. You wrapped your feet in bread bags before putting on heavy wool socks and then green rubber boots, and you carried your shoes to school in a paper bag.

Some of the more well-off kids would come to school in one piece snowmobile suits with the matching boots and gloves. They were usually delivered to school by car, which made you wonder what the point of the whole exhibition was.

It is far less cold here now than it used to be. Where once below-zero nights and mornings were common in January and February, now we might get one or two a year. These days, having gotten used to the reduced blood flow of my increasing physical decrepitude, I get by wearing a wool coat with a sweater under it, a scarf, cotton stockings, and my regular street shoes with rubbers over them. I often find myself shoveling snow outside the theatre without a coat at all, because I'm just too tired to bother putting it on.

 

[Cornelius]

Love that video, thanks for posting it.

I spend a lot of time outdoors in cold weather and have put much thought into this over the years, learning both from research and simple trial & error. My winter wear here in Chicago and the Indiana shores of Lake Michigan depends on a few things:

Will I simply be traveling from one indoor/heated place to another, or will I be outside all day?

Is this a casual day of errands & socializing, or will I be working outdoors? [doing carpentry or film production]


I wear merino base layers and quality merino socks all winter long in any scenario, in various weights &/or layers as the day & tasks dictate.

My general winter coat is a Filson Mackinaw [24 oz. wool], with a wool tube scarf, watch cap, and fingerless gloves [no need to constantly remove them to use keys or my phone]. With proper layers beneath this is good down into quite cold weather, though a sharp winds can cut through the Mackinaw weave; for windy days I’ll sometimes wear a waxed cotton shell over this for that reason.

For dirty labor outside I switch to a Carhartt Detroit jacket. It’s short enough that I can wear a toolbelt without interference, and the fabric is quite durable. I’ve had mine for 12 years, purchased for usd$65 back when this model was still made by Union labor in the USA & sold in suitcoat sizes instead of S/M/L - bought a 42R so that the arms would be long enough & I could layer heavily beneath if need be. Last year the main zipper finally broke; Carhartt mailed me a replacement zip for free & I paid a local seamstress to make the swap.

If temperatures drop into the 20s F (-2 to -7 C), then I’ll wear a Filson Mackinaw vest beneath this (also purchased a decade back for about $65, and also in a suitcoat size no longer made - a 38 this time). A pair of insulated overalls would likely be added in this scenario as well; an off-brand in the Carhartt style, a thriftstore score from many years ago.

An old US Navy “GOB sweater” is my go-to midlayer for working in truly cold weather. Ridiculously warm & durable; I’ve had mine for perhaps 20 winters now? Also have an old surplus wool 5-button sweater for less extreme cold - the option to vent at the neck is crucial for changes in activity level or temperature.

If below 20F [-7c] and I’m to be outside all day, I have a Carhartt “Arctic Extremes” in the no-longer made size of 40-Tall, the same as worn by laborers at McMurdo Station in Antarctica & Canadian oil pipeline workers. Bought mine deadstock-new from a Canadian on eBay. This has basically replaced a baggy old US Air Force N3-B parka I wore for many years in similar weather.


For long social events outdoors, I have a vintage British Civil Defense greatcoat in a very heavy wool. Perfectly trim fit, very formal looking [always get compliments] and remarkably warm. If temperatures will be below 20F, I also have the option of a long sheepskin coat in black, USSR officer surplus. Cost me just $100, and I’d recommend one to anyone here who routinely deals with truly cold winters. In both scenarios I’ll likely be wearing a pair of Muck arctic boots in black.

 

[Turnip]

Thanks to global warming you’ll soon need a dry suit rather than a snow shovel in coastal Maine anyway.

 

[Zombie_61]

I live in the Los Angeles area of southern California, so...yeah. Currently mid-60s (°F) during the day and mid-40s overnight, so a hooded sweatshirt usually does the job if it isn't raining. If it is raining, my M65 field jacket over the sweatshirt usually keeps me dry and warm enough.

 

[tonyb]

When it’s REALLY cold I wear my centrally heated house as much as I can.

I was born in Wisconsin and spent most of my first dozen or so years there. It got RFC there in the winter. I’ve experienced superficial frostbite, not firsthand so much as firstear, and nose. It’s a burning sensation. I was fortunate not to lose any tissue over it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Thanks to global warming you’ll soon need a dry suit rather than a snow shovel in coastal Maine anyway.

Yep, the basement of the theatre where I toil is below sea level. I've suggested we plan on turning into an Aquacade, but the board isn't quite ready to go that far.

 

[belfastboy]

Yep, the basement of the theatre where I toil is below sea level. I've suggested we plan on turning into an Aquacade, but the board isn't quite ready to go that far.

We are set to have the coldest Christmas on record......I keep waiting, hopefully of just a little bit of that global warming......just a touch.

 

[belfastboy]

We are below freezing here today....here on the temperate west coast that is considered cold so I am in my sweats and heavy socks......my indoor attire cuz when it gets this cold.....I just don't go out.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Didn’t y’all have previously unheard of high temps there this past summer, as did Seattle and environs? Like, 108F?

 

[Cornelius]

"Climate Change" is really the better term

 

[Zombie_61]

"Climate Change" is really the better term

I agree. Trouble is, no one in a position of authority asked me.

 

[Turnip]

"Climate Change" is really the better term

You could also name it Dieter or Hildegard, the result remains the same

 

[Fifty150]

The Earth's climate is always changing. We have no realistic expectation that the climate stays the same. The Earth has been warming since The Ice Age. There's no way for people to stop altering the Earth, except by going extinct.

 

[LizzieMaine]

That will, of course, be the ultimate outcome. Not if, when.

 

[Fifty150]

I've always wanted a down jumpsuit. Eddie Bauer stocks them from time to time.

 

[Fifty150]

Interesting, that the girl in Siberia is wearing Columbia brand fleece jacket and snow pants. Of all the clothing that is made worldwide, and what they already have readily available there, they buy some USA label made in some 3rd world country.

 

[Cornelius]

Interesting, that the girl in Siberia is wearing Columbia brand fleece jacket and snow pants. Of all the clothing that is made worldwide, and what they already have readily available there, they buy some USA label made in some 3rd world country.

Well that's simple. No young woman wants to Dress Like Grandma. Or Mom. Exotic international brands like Columbia, North Face, etc. show that she is of a class which can afford exotic international clothing.