Dress to kill - in winter

Coming back from the depths of the cold

Having grown up in Canada, it seemed like common sense to figure out how to dress for winter. A lot of layers and coats. But not only until I started doing a lot more winter activities with friends and really thinking about how to stay warm did I actually "learn" of a "correct" way to dress for winter.

Meeting people from everywhere else in the world has made me realize even more how little we know about how to survive the blasting cold - afterall, Canada is notorious for being cold. In Korea, the winter of 2012 - 2013 has been the coldest in a long time, reaching to the depths of -20 Celsius, temperatures this Canadian boy is no stranger to. Seeing people that look like the Michelin man all  bundled up and still cold has inclined me to share with you a few tricks I picked up on how to dress for winter.

Sections are broken down into:
1) Layers
2) Materials
3) Application (how to apply layering to day-to-day activities)
4) Body Physiology in Cold Weather.

Left to right: Base, mid-layer, outer mid-layer.
Before our back-country trip in winter.

1) UNDERSTAND: LAYERS

Layering is a very important concept. This idea pretty much encompasses how you should dress. Essentially, what you want to do is create a micro-climate between your skin and your outer layers. To do this, you want the body to heat up the air between your skin and the outer-shell, warming your mid layers to create an insulation. It's this insulation that keeps you warm and to do this effectively, we should layer accordingly.

Base Layer: This is practically your underwear. The layer that touches your skin. What we should understand is wet = death. Your body perspires without you knowing, so you want to draw that wetness away from your body. You want clothing that draws sweat away from your body to the surface for the sweat to evaporate without soaking your clothes. It's the way the clothing is designed. I'll save you the details, but the idea works on "osmosis" - liquids want to saturate areas with more surface, bringing the sweat up to the top.

Pretty much any modern sports t-shirt, polyester or any type of new-aged blend material would work. Most sports stores or outdoor stores will sell base layers.

Merino Wool mid layer.
Photo courtesy of: mec.ca

Mid Layers: This is your insulation. This layer is very important to creating "dead air space" This part goes over your base layer. Keeping in mind wet = death, we want materials that will not saturate with sweat from the base layer, and continue to keep you warm even when wet. Here is where materials get a little more important.

My favourite is Merino Wool because of its many attributes. It doesn't soak up sweat, it wicks, it keeps you warm even when wet (doesn't saturate), it's light, and it's natural.

Polyester comes in second. It's a synthetic material and it's not bad. It doesn't soak up sweat that much, it keeps you relatively warm when wet.

Fleece is on my list, but I don't own much. Not that it's bad, it just gets really static-y in dry winter days. Polyester and fleece are similar.

Outer mid-layer: This layer is not completely necessary. Typically I would wear an outer-mid layer when it's really cold out, for me about -15 Celsius. What I normally do is wear another merino wool layer. Or my favourite would be my goose down jacket.

Goose down can be considered a mid layer or outer mid layer. It can come as a jacket or a vest. Goose down is explained more in detail under the "materials" section. Things you should know about is "loft" and "powerfill."

Outer shell with Goretex membrane
Photo courtesy of: mec.ca

The biggest downside is that it's completely useless when wet. Like incredibly absolutely useless. So be sure you can get dry fast if you sweat on your down jacket.  Just recently a few companies have started coating each feather in a water-proof membrane before injecting it into the coat. This way the down will stay loft even when wet.

Outer layer (shell): This layer is to protect your warm. All the warm air you've heated up in the mid-layers needs to stay between this layer and your skin. This can be a wind breaker, a rain jacket, or what have you. The most popular material these days is a jacket with Goretex membrane. Each brand or company has their own version of Goretex.

Goretex, or more generically called "waterproof breathables", allows your perspiration to evaporate while keeping out rain or wetness. Remember, wet = death. You want a layer that can allow evaporation of your sweat.

Able to hang out in the cold because of proper layering!

Putting it together
Remember wet = death. You want your layers to draw sweat away from your body and allow it to evaporate. The base layer is important for that. The mid layers allow "dead air space" to warm up while the shell keeps in that warmed-up-air.

2) MATERIALS
I spoke briefly about materials earlier. Here is an more in depth look at a few of them.

Cotton: I would stay away. Things like jeans, denim, or any other heavy cotton made material would be pretty useless. It collects water and saturates very easily. It gets heavy when wet and takes a long time to dry.

Pro: It can keep dead airspace. Con: Soaks up a lot of wetness, takes long to dry, wet when heavy. Stay away!

Goretex: As explained before, it's a waterproof breathable. Goretex is a brand name that first successfully commercially marketed their waterproof breathable membrane. Each company, ie The North Face, would have their own version. And each company would claim that their water poof breathable membrane is the best.

Pro: Waterproof and breathable. Cons: Finding the "best" membrane as there as so many on the market

Merino wool: My favourite mid-layer. Pro: Doesn't saturate with sweat and wicks it away. And it stays warm even when wet. Also it doesn't keep your body odour. Cons: None I can think of

Polyester/fleece I categorized these in the same thing. Pro: They're similar to merino wool except they're synthetic. Cons: They create a lot of static electricity (first world problems... )

Powerfill down quality. Photo courtesy of: www.tmasc.ca

Goose Down: Is a very important insulation material to know. Most jacket that's worth buying would be insulated with some down. Practically all winter sleeping bags are filled with goose down. What you need to know is "loft" and "powerfill". In fact down is so good, here is a whole webpage dedicated to understanding more. Click here

• Loft: Is how much dead airspace the down is. The crappier quality the less loft. To gauge how good the loft should be, check the "powerfill". The "loftier" something is, the better in retaining warmth (remember, dead air space)

• Powerfill: This is dictated by a number for quality control. A typical "powerfill" number would be about 500. This is decent loft and quality. I wouldn't buy anything less - and if it's un-marked, it's probably less than 500. Companies want to sell high quality and would label it. 800+ is superb. It will also be the most expensive.

Remember, although it can wick a bit, Goose Down when wet is practically useless. Keep good care of keeping the down dry.

Hyperloft: This is a synthetic version of goose down. It's about equivalent of 500 powerfill goose down.  Also, to note, hyperloft isn't usually made for clothes, but more for gloves, sleeping bag and sometimes jackets.

Pro: it can get wet and keep you dry. Cons: Heavier than down, doesn't pack down as much either.

3) APPLICATION

Now w understand the basics of layering, I'll tell you how I typically layer myself. Obviously different occasions call for different things. If you're more laid back city slicker or more of an outdoor enthusiast, the layering basics still apply.

A night out: On a typical night out clubbing, perhaps, this will be a balance of 3 things: 1)how good you want to look vs. 2) how warm you want to be vs. 3) how hot you'll be in the club.

I've been out in -20 degree nights clubbing in Seoul. Layering is ridiculous and there's no way around it - especially if you're hopping around. That night, I opted for sweating a bit more in the club and being a bit warmer outside.

Base layer: Thin long johns. Thin v-neck top (some new-aged material)
Mid layer: Jean pants. 2 merino wool sweaters. The outer-mid layer is more of a merino wool jacket.
Shell: Wool pea coat
Scarf: Acrylic, although I wish I had a wool scarf.

In the club, I definitely stripped down to my base layers... except for my pants. Was I sweating in the club? No - until I started dancing. Was I cold outside? Yes - but not as much I would've been. I think it was a good balance.

It's a delicate balance for a winter night out from extreme hots to extreme cold and how good you want to look..

In nature: This is where it gets easier. Mainly because you don't have to "look good." If you're hiking around or skiing, the idea is the same. Dress as if it's 10 degrees warmer because you'll be working with an increased heart rate. Once you stop to rest, put on an extra layer; keep in that warmth you built up!

Climbing in -5 Celsius in the sun.
East face of Insubong. In the shade by the afternoon. 

While on the move
Base layer: Expedition weight long johns. Wicking layer
Mid layer: None
Shell: Goretex jacket.

While resting
Base layer : Same as above
Mid layer: Merino sweater, down jacket
Shell: Goretex jacket

Notice I add my mid layers while resting. However, in the picture above, I ended up putting on my mid-layers halfway through the climb as the sun wrapped around the mountain and we had no more warmth.

For skiing, I just wear my expedition weight long johns under my insulated snow pants.

Back country snow shoeing, I wear base layer while on the move and then add my down jacket and shell while resting. For legs, expedition weight long johns with insulated snow pants.

4) BODY PHYSIOLOGY IN COLD WEATHER
Disclaimer: This information is for reference only. This is based on personal research and experience. I am no physician and information presented here may not be entirely accurate! DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!

Having the disclaimer out of the way... this is what I've come to understand about the body in cold weather.

Working hard building a chair from snow.
Body in base layer.
Legs in long johns and insulated snow pants

Why fingers and toes get cold first: When it comes to survival, your body automatically diverts all the blood to your core to keep the important organs functioning to the very last second. It's a back-up system that we can't do anything about.

When this happens, we all have felt the effects of what happens to the other parts of your body, mainly your toes and fingers; they get cold. The blood vessels and capillaries start to close off into the most extremities of your body. This is to keep your vital organs warm and alive. So your toes and fingers will always be the first things to get cold.

To reverse these effects you have pretty much one option, but several ways to achieve it; this is to increase your core temperature

Naturally, the body will shiver to try and increase energy usage to keep you warm. To add to that, you can increase your heart rate by doing jumping jacks, hopping on the spot, or that gets your blood pumping. My favourite is to flex all my muscles at once really really tight and then let go. And then do it again.This will increase the blood flow and warm your body up.

Alternatively, you can drink something warm or have an external source of heat.

But the idea is to amp up the core temperature. But it needs to be done slowly.

Alcohol: consumption may allow you to feel the effects of your body warming up, but it's not entirely accurate. Alcohol increases the blood flow to your finger and toes by opening up the capillaries and blood vessels. The very same vessels that closed off to keep your core temperature warm. This will warm up your fingers and toes but it also draws blood away from your core, and actually decreases your overall body temperature.

This can have very dangerous and fatal outcomes. So be wary about drinking alcohol to warm up the body. It could be a mental boost in survival capacities, but in the end, it makes you colder.

Wearing a hat: This cannot be expressed enough. We understand that hot air rises. Guess what happens in the body? Hot air rises too! And it comes out from your head! Wearing a toque or hat of some sort will dramatically increase your body temperature. It's so simple, yet so many people don't wear something on their head!

First aid: There is way too much to cover. Common sense - call emergency medical services if unsure!
If you're to remember anything: really bad sign is uncontrollable shivering and even worse when the shivering stops.

I would strongly suggest taking a first aid course. It wouldn't hurt.