(Continued from Part 1.)
Clothing
Protecting ourselves from all of the ways Mother Nature can impact us in the winter starts by wearing clothing. Clothing helps us retain our body heat, protects us from the sun, keeps us dry and allows us to carry our environment with us (yay for pockets!), so selecting and taking care of the right clothing is critical in a winter environment. As everyone knows, layering is the best approach for dressing for cold weather – you have multiple layers of clothing that you can put on and take off as you heat up or cool off – but you need to make sure you have the right layers for the conditions.
Selecting appropriate winter clothing requires an understanding the various materials that are available. There are a lot of different materials, and each has their advantages and disadvantages, but I’ll focus on some of the most common ones. Hopefully I don’t have to tell everyone to avoid cotton, which can absorb and hold onto up to 27 times its weight in water.
- Wool – Wool is one of the original cold-weather materials and has been used for thousands of years. Wool fibers absorb moisture, but are not hollow – water is trapped between fibers, so it dries fast if it gets wet, and wool can absorb and retain up to 30% of its own weight in water without significantly impacting its insulating ability. Wool is also naturally fire-resistant and self-extinguishing if it is exposed to fire and removed. Merino wool is most commonly used for lower-layer garments, as it’s soft, warm, breathable, fire-resistant, temperature-regulating and moisture-wicking. Coarser wool is typically used for outer layers. The potential disadvantages of wool are that it’s typically more expensive than other materials, it can generate static, it can take a long time to dry if it gets soaked and some people find it to be itchy.
- Fleece – Fleece is a manufactured fabric, made from polyester. It’s hydrophobic, holding less than 1% of its weight in water, and retains much of its insulating quality even when wet. It’s machine washable and dries quickly. It is a good alternative for those who are allergic or sensitive to wool. Regular polar fleece is not windproof and does not absorb moisture (although this is often considered a benefit). It is also susceptible to damage from high heat, and is flammable if not treated. Fleece clothing tends to be relatively inexpensive, and can be used at any layer, but depending on the type of fleece it may not be as wind-resistant as wool.
- Nylon – Nylon is a generic name for a family of synthetic polymers and comes in a number of different forms. In general, clothing made of nylon is durable and, depending on the weave, tends to repel water and block wind. Nylon’s biggest disadvantage is that it can melt if exposed to high temperatures. Nylon is generally used for outer layers only. A variation called ‘silnylon’ is nylon that’s been impregnated with silicone to increase its water resistance.
- Polyester – Polyester is durable and stretches, making it hard to tear, and it tends to not easily absorb water, but many people find it unpleasant to wear directly against their skin. One of the biggest drawbacks of polyester is that it does not breathe very well – perspiration and heat are trapped next to the skin. Polyester is usually combined with other fabrics such as cotton to improve its feel and breathability, or drawn into thin fibers and made into a mesh to be used as insulation inside layer of other fabrics.
- Silk – Like wool, silk has been used for clothing for thousands of years. It’s extremely lightweight and works well to regulate body temperature, so it can keep you warm, but it can be expensive. Silk is typically only used for long underwear in winter conditions.
- Down – Down is the soft layer of fine feathers from the breast of a goose or duck that is closest to their skin, and is typically used as insulation between layers of fabrics like nylon. Its high loft provides great insulation, but natural down readily absorbs water and loses its insulating ability, so manufacturers have developed methods for treating down to make it more water-repellent (hydrophobic).
- Thinsulate/Primaloft/etc. – These are synthetic material manufactured to provide efficient and water-resistant insulation for a wide range of clothing. They are usually layered between other materials.
- Gore-Tex/eVent/Omni-Tech/etc. – These are synthetic fabric membranes designed to repel water but allow vapor to exit, allowing them to breathe when you sweat. They are usually layered between other materials.
- Oilcloth – Oilcloth was one of the first ‘manufactured’ materials designed to be water-resistant, and is cotton duck (a dense and heavy cotton canvas) or linen cloth coated in linseed oil. Its disadvantages are that it’s heavy, it takes a long time to dry when it gets wet, tends to crack, and some people don’t like the smell of the oil used to treat it. Oilcloth is primarily used for an outer layer.
- Waxed Cotton – Waxed cotton was originally intended for use in the Scottish sailing industry, and is basically cotton duck that’s been saturated with paraffin-based wax. It was meant as an alternative to oilcloth for clothing, but it doesn’t breathe very well and needs to be re-waxed regularly. Waxed cotton is primarily used for an outer layer.
- Rubber – The original waterproof material. Used by North Sea fishermen for waterproof coats and boots for over a hundred years, but it tends to be heavy and doesn’t breathe very well.
- Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Coated Polyester– This is polyester material that’s been coated with PVC to provide waterproofing. It provides excellent water resistance, but it doesn’t breathe very well.
Continue reading“Cold Weather Considerations – Part 2, by JM”