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Clothing recommendations for cold weather caching


trza

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It's starting to get chilly outside, and I've only been geocaching for 6 months. As such, my hiking clothes have all been chosen for the hot, humid Maryland summer.

 

Can anybody recommend some good hiking pants that will carry me through the winter season? Here is a list of my priorities:

 

1) Cold weather protection. I'm pretty "warm blooded," but it's starting to get chilly out there. I'd like something comfortable to about 30-40 degrees.

 

2) Durability. Who hasn't snagged some clothes while out on a caching expedition?

 

3) Value. I don't mind spending money if it's a good investment, but I don't have unlimited funds, either.

 

If it helps I have no plans to go caching in 34 degree rain, or during "extreme weather."

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

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It's starting to get chilly outside, and I've only been geocaching for 6 months. As such, my hiking clothes have all been chosen for the hot, humid Maryland summer.

 

 

Well, I've only been caching since August, but I've been hiking in Maryland, in all weathers, for about 30 years (and in PA for years before that; my father started taking me hiking when I was about 6).

I also do outdoor agility trials in all weather.

 

For dry cold weather, you don't need fancy or expensive "hiking pants"; blue jeans are just as good as in the summer, you just need to put layers UNDER them; thermal underwear, or tights and then thermals for really cold weather. Flannel-lined jeans are useful.

Same for the top - you want layers so that as you heat up and cool down as your activity level varies, you can adjust.

 

If you're concerned about beating the clothes up, go to your local thrift store or buy them on eBay. I trash clothes going out with the dogs, so I refuse to spend more than $10 on a pair of jeans.

 

SOCKS, however, I will invest in; you can't go wrong with Smartwool.

 

For WET cold weather (far too common around here), just add a lightweight waterproof layer on top... or wear wool.

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Layers - nothing really fancy is required (thermax long-johns). If you are moving you won't get that cold, just keep your head and hands covered and get a decent pair of boots with wool socks. 30-40 is nothing - go stomping around at -15 or lower with a strong wind - that's when the fun begins.

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I live in Wisconsin so I know what cold is. Those of you asking about special clothing for 30-40F weather make me chuckle :rolleyes:

 

At around 40 I put on pants and shoes instead of shorts and sandals. OK, I do that at around 55-60F. At 30-40F I wear jeans and tennis shoes, t shirt and flannel zippered shirt.

 

Just wear whatever number of layers you need, but if it is dry don't bother with any special clothes. Not needed. I rarely wear any more than that unless it is windy in which case I cover my face and ears when temps drop below 25ish. Beyond that I just heat up while walking and have to take stuff off.

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I normally wear the same lightweight nylon hiking pants that I wear in the summer. A number of companies make them including Ex-Officio, Columbia, North Face, LL Bean, Mountain Hardware. When it gets down around freezing I add a synthetic underlayer like UnderArmor, Thermax, Terramar or Duofold. That's pretty much all I need until temps get in the single digits (F). Then I have a pair of thick wool army pants I wear.

 

For dry cold weather, you don't need fancy or expensive "hiking pants"; blue jeans are just as good as in the summer, you just need to put layers UNDER them; thermal underwear, or tights and then thermals for really cold weather. Flannel-lined jeans are useful.

 

Very bad advice. DO NOT WEAR COTTON anything in the winter. The same features that make cotton so comfortable in the warm weather can kill you in the winter. Even if the weather is dry you can fall in a stream and you never know when a sudden change in the weather can occur. Stick with wool or synthetics in the winter.

Edited by briansnat
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Layers are the key to beating the cold. Wear whats comfortable. Contrary to brians advice, I've lived in the Rockies most of my life and have often mixed cotton shirts and jeans in the layers. When it gets to single digits and below, I trade the jeans for heavy wool army surplus pants.

 

Feet, hands and head are the toughest to keep warm. I wear a wool toque when the temps get below freezing.

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I repeat all those above who swear by layers. Unlike Brian, I don't own many items that are made of nylon, other than my wind breaker. I'm pretty cottony. I try not to fall in any streams during the winter, so I'm pretty set. I keep a small duffle full of clothes in the Jeep so I can change if anything gets wet.

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Wear whats comfortable. Contrary to brians advice, I've lived in the Rockies most of my life and have often mixed cotton shirts and jeans in the layers.

 

I'm sure you do. That doesn't make it a good idea. Here is a little information about the dangers of wearing cotton in the winter. Actually it doesn't have to be winter. Most cases of hypothermia happen in the warmer months. All you need are temps in the 60's, some wet clothing and a little breeze.

 

A graph showing that you are better off naked than with wet cotton.

 

From Vail Mountain Rescue

 

From backcountry.net

 

Cibola SAR

 

From the AMC

 

US Army (see page 5)

 

Backpacking.net

 

There is a lot more...

Edited by briansnat
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Well, I (Vinny) am a real man, and, a real man at that (and thus a lot of my concepts of manhood have been derived from watching old John Wayne films and Steven Segal flicks), and thusly, I believe that wearing ANY clothing to protect myself during the cold and snow season is wimpy and even downright wussy, and by gosh, even downright un-American, as it is a sign of sure weakness to me. Thus, once the outside air temperature (OAT) falls consistently below 25 degrees F (which usually happens by early December in this neck of the woods), I insist on wearing NO clothing at all when I am outdoors, and rather, I do all my caching during such weather completely stark naked until at least late March at end of winter. In fact, I prefer to do all my winter caching naked in below minus 5 degree F temperatures and when there is at least 2 feet of snow cover on the ground. And, no, no shoes or boots, nor gloves either, as that is a SURE and CERTAIN sign of weakness and poor moral fiber! Please do not mistake this for the philosophy of the nudist movement, nor for the nudity of Nudecacher, where they deliberately choose to engage in nudity as a matter of freedom of choice and to break some of society's taboos about seeing naked bodies. No, in my case, this is good old old-fashiooned patriotism and Spartanism, and I cache nude in winter only because wearing clothing would be a sign of weakness and such wearing of clothing could rapidly lead to decay of my inner moral fiber, at which point I might engage in immoral behavior such as watching MTV or VH1 channel, and then all would be lost.

 

 

 

 

I think. . .

 

 

 

 

 

:ph34r::anicute::anicute::(

 

 

 

 

:huh::):(:huh:

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Very bad advice. DO NOT WEAR COTTON anything in the winter. The same features that make cotton so comfortable in the warm weather can kill you in the winter. Even if the weather is dry you can fall in a stream and you never know when a sudden change in the weather can occur. Stick with wool or synthetics in the winter.

 

Excellent advice. I teach OKPIK (Cold Weather Camping) to Boy Scouts and their adult leaders. Wool retains most of it's warming properties even when wet, so do many of the man made materials. Cotton does not wick well and retains moisture, even body sweat. It has almost zero warming properties when wet. NEVER EVER EVER wear cotton socks in the cold.

 

Jeans are probably the worst thing to wear in winter. If you have ever seen the scout pants (way too expensive) they are made of synthetics that dry very quickly when wet. Similar cargo type pants can be had cheaper at Old Navy and the like.

 

Layers the most important thing. Loose, allowing some air between (the best insulator). Keep in mind that you always want to be able to "vent", meaning unzip or allow heat/moisture to escape if you get to warm. And, it goes without saying, you need a hat and gloves. Most of your heat is lost through your head and your arms and legs work like radiator fins in the cold.

 

I could get into more, but this would be way too long.

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In Maine, we like flannel-lined jeans or a Carhartt insulated jumpsuit.

 

In Maryland, even in the dead of winter, unless you're a construction worker in wet weather, a Carhatt suit will result in drowning in sweat. :anicute:

 

It doesn't usually get below about 20 here, and winter days in the 40 to 50 degree range are common.

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Well I went out this morning for a couple of tough hiking caches and it was around 45-50 degrees in the woods. T-shirt, light canvas jacket/blaze orange vest/cap. Got back to the car after 2+ hours of stomping and I took off my coat and looked at my reflection in the car window - I was steaming and my cotton T-shirt was dripping wet from sweat.

 

What's my point, well if it was colder and I had decided to stop for a bit I would have quickly cooled down and having a soaked shirt - could have quickly led to hypothermia. When I go hunting (late season) in January I always dress with many layers and keep them open while I am moving. I made the mistake before and the shivers and shakes set in pretty quick once you stop.

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Very bad advice. DO NOT WEAR COTTON anything in the winter. The same features that make cotton so comfortable in the warm weather can kill you in the winter.

 

Hasn't killed me yet, even when I've gotten soaked. The OP was very clear that s/he doesn't intend to go out in extreme weather.

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Hasn't killed me yet, even when I've gotten soaked. The OP was very clear that s/he doesn't intend to go out in extreme weather.

 

I will add, however, that I should have specified that when wearing jeans in layers, they should be loose-fitting.

 

I think you also missed the part where I advised wearing WOOL for wet weather. :anicute:

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Very bad advice. DO NOT WEAR COTTON anything in the winter. The same features that make cotton so comfortable in the warm weather can kill you in the winter.

 

Hasn't killed me yet, even when I've gotten soaked. The OP was very clear that s/he doesn't intend to go out in extreme weather.

 

It doesn't need to be extreme weather. This is a common misconception that costs lives every year. Most hypothermia cases occur in the summer, spring and fall. If the temps are below about 65 degrees and you get wet you can die if not properly attired. You don't even have to be out in the rain, or fall in a stream. Sweat can do it.

 

A few years ago I had a friend fall out of a canoe on a cool, breezy summer day. He was wearing jeans and a cotton sweatshirt and once we had him on land he began shivering uncontrollably (an early sign of hypothermia). We had him take his clothes off until we could get him to warmth. Within a few minutes after getting the wet clothes off, he warmed up enough to stop shivering even though he was naked.

Edited by briansnat
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I think this whole 'don't wear cotton thing' is a case of people talking past each other trying to make a point.

 

If I may be so bold, I will step in and say this:

 

If you are wet, expectly or unexpectedly whether from snow, rain, falling in water or something else, you will appreciate having not worn cotton. If you are wearing cotton and you start shivering uncontrollably, you are better off naked than continuing to wear it.

 

Having said that if you don't intend to be anywhere near water in cold weather and you aren't straying further from civilization than you could crawl to with a broken leg, it really doesn't matter what you wear as you aren't going to be exposed to anything long enough for it to be lethal.

 

If you will stray farther from civilization than you can crawl to with a broken leg, carry a cell phone.

 

If the cell phone won't work in that area then start looking into specialized gear and other preparedness measures.

 

Now, what gear do I recomend for cool to cold weather in *dry* conditions? Jeans, tshirt and flannel zipper front overshirt. Gloves and hat too if cold enough to be warranted. If you will be stopping to rest for periods of time then thermal underwear is nice, but if you plan to keep moving it makes things too hot too fast.

 

Just my 2 cents. Keep in mind I value quick, easy and light over heavily supplied, well thought out and overprepared and heavy. Others prioritize things differently.

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COTTON CAN KILL YOU

 

I spend a lot of time in the backcountry, Winter and Summer, and treat the cold with all due respect.

 

Layers of wool or synthetic fabrics work the best. Polartec with a wind breaker does wonders. I'll carry extra clothes for emergencies that may happen during the course of events.

 

And as said earlier it doesn't have to be winter to die of Hypothermia, about 4 years ago we brought out a family of four that died in a sudden rainstorm in August. Their shorts and hoodies were not enough to keep them alive.

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Having said that if you don't intend to be anywhere near water in cold weather and you aren't straying further from civilization than you could crawl to with a broken leg, it really doesn't matter what you wear as you aren't going to be exposed to anything long enough for it to be lethal.

 

 

Exactly. Especially if you're not wearing cotton NEXT TO THE SKIN in cold weather, and have put on a waterproof or wool outer layer if the weather's wet.

 

I worked for nearly four years on a job which required being out in the woods & fields EVERY DAY for 1-4 hours, regardless of weather, and never wore anything but jeans... with appropriate under and over layers.

That includes, btw, being out in the absolute worst of Maryland weather, namely torrents of pouring rain with temps hovering at 34-35 degrees. Wool next to the skin on top, wool socks, wool cap with a baseball cap over it, thermals, jeans, and Frogg Toggs over all worked just fine.

 

And the OP already specified the intent to be sane enough to STAY HOME in such weather. B)

 

I don't think Maryland HAS any caches that would take you "further from civilization than you could crawl with a broken leg"... although I'm sure somebody will find a cache to post that contradicts me. B)

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And as said earlier it doesn't have to be winter to die of Hypothermia, about 4 years ago we brought out a family of four that died in a sudden rainstorm in August. Their shorts and hoodies were not enough to keep them alive.

 

Brought them out from where? I don't think we HAVE "backcountry" in Maryland - certainly not like you have in Colorado! B)

 

Oh, and to give you context for "it's starting to get chilly" - the temps lately have been in the 50-to-70 degree range during the day, maybe down to 40 at night. Today, however, it was in the low 80s and at midnight it's 59 degrees.

Edited by cimawr
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I've noticed that even when not raining, I've often been shivering cold when my cotton shirt sweated up from the hiking workout. I always sweat when I hike. Brian and others are right about no cotton.

 

Wondering though if cotton shirt with a polypro undershirt would be OK? Ditto with jeans?

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I'd like to thank everybody for their comments. Even the snide ones about Maryland not getting cold were helpful. :laughing:

 

My geoclothing was almost exclusively cotton, so I had to obtain some synthetics. I picked up a Columbia activeweight long sleeve t-shirt, a polyesther short sleeved t-shirt, and some Terramax silk(ish) long johns to go under my hiking pants. I'll take the advice and get some wool socks - I like my feet too much to lose them to frostbite.

 

Seems like the l/s tee, a s/s tee, sweatshirt, 200 wt fleece and a windbreaker/rain coat will be sufficient top layers if I move around and the rain coat should keep me from getting snagged by branches and stickers.

 

For the pants, I might want to pick up a pair of microfleece to go under the hiking pants in the heart of winter, maybe some of those water resistant shell pants in case I get caught in some precipitation. I'll see how I hold up this winter and make that decision later.

 

The hat and gloves are covered.

 

Once again, thanks for the advice.

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Ditto on wearing cotton-- temps in the sixties can be a problem when it gets wet. We teach our search team members to avoid it. CoolMax has been one of the greatest things ever invented.

 

Here in Texas, we seldom hit the twenties, but we wear polypropylene layers next to the skin, CoolMax shirts, synthetic BDU's, and Polarfleece when we're out on searches. I keep a set of packable waterproof rainpants/coat in my pack. I switch to a hat with earflaps when winter comes. I always wear double socks, even in summer-- a polypro liner with a heavier hiking sock over (keeps me from getting blisters and wicks moisture.) I can remember one overnight training where I had to strip off some of my layers to wrap up my bloodhound, because she began shivering uncontrollably. I usually make sure my outer layers are loose enough that they will wrap around her, if needed.

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