What are the emergency cold weather clothes you carry?

[Danehunter]

-> 100 weight light fleece balaclava for sleeping but also for unexpectedly cold days.

-> Eddie Bauer "Down Sweater" light puffy for under my GTX camo hunting parka & over my wool sweater and 200 weight fleece vest(also to sleep in if weather is too cold for my 20 F. Western Mountaineering down bag).

-> spare fleece liners for my GTX glove shells

-> "sleeping only" polyester long johns can be worn over my regular long johns if necessary. GTX camo hunting pants always worn.

If these clothes can't keep me warm enough I'm obviously heading to the vehicle to avoid hypothermia. As a former ski patroller I'm well acquainted with it in folks I've hauled off the mountain in a rescue toboggan.

Eric B.

 

[Sflutes]

I love hoods, my mild winter setup is something like Grid Fleece hoody (PCU level 2)+ Merino Hoody (first lite Chama) + windshirt hoody (PCU level 4), I have a very similar Nunatak hoody (but vest) for stopping and I'm working on sewing a larger static puffy out of USGI liners for real cold.

The other bit of thermo regulation I don't hear about too much is sleeves, I find I do much more temp control by pushing my sleeves up then by using pit zips (which I seldom have anyway), so having cuffs and sleeves that can't be pushed up easily is a bit of a non-starter.

A note on pants, you can find some surplus pants that are very similar to the Filson Whipcords, I sold my filsons because I could buy several pairs of the surplus pants for the resale price. I'm actually wearing them right now, I sewed cordura knees and larger pockets on them, something I could never bring myself to do to my Filsons. They are perhaps not as common as the thicker european wool pants often talked about, they are "Trousers, Men's wool serge"

 

[Danehunter]

Sflutes, I used to have some 1960s West German army heavy wool pants with waterproof lining behind the knees.

I bought them one size larger and shrunk them down in hot washer water and hot dryer settings until they fit. Very good for Pennsylvania deer hunting with "polar" grade polyester long johns. Very wind resistant.

But they don't compare with my Duluth Trading fleece lined nylon cargo pants for warmth and light weight as well as water resistance.

Eric B.

 

[Ndfarmer]

I love my Kuiu 145 merino wool beanie and 145 neck gater. Also a pair of wool gloves. They are small light and fit perfectly in chest pockets.

 

[Troutslayer2]

Patagonia military synthetic down puffball pants that have full zips on the legs. They have kept me warm in some really bad conditions.

 

[BallisticsGuy]

None at all. I hasn't gotten cold enough here to justify that, ever.

 

[Danehunter]

Troutslayer, I know about Patagucci "pufball" (Micropuff, Nanopuff) clothing but not that they made it for the military. What do they look like? What branch of the military is issued this clothing?

Eric B.

 

[Troutslayer2]

Troutslayer, I know about Patagucci "pufball" (Micropuff, Nanopuff) clothing but not that they made it for the military. What do they look like? What branch of the military is issued this clothing?

Eric B.

If you search around for Patagonia MARS you will find some on EBay and maybe from military surplus places. They are OD green. They made a whole bunch stuff for the military and I am not sure what branch. The pants are oversized and easy to put on overtop of what you are wearing. I sometimes break them out if I am on a frozen mountaintop glassing or waiting for animals to come out at last light. I also keep them in my boat in case anyone goes overboard in cold weather.

 

[Hand Skills]

I love hoods, my mild winter setup is something like Grid Fleece hoody (PCU level 2)+ Merino Hoody (first lite Chama) + windshirt hoody (PCU level 4), I have a very similar Nunatak hoody (but vest) for stopping and I'm working on sewing a larger static puffy out of USGI liners for real cold.

The other bit of thermo regulation I don't hear about too much is sleeves, I find I do much more temp control by pushing my sleeves up then by using pit zips (which I seldom have anyway), so having cuffs and sleeves that can't be pushed up easily is a bit of a non-starter.

A note on pants, you can find some surplus pants that are very similar to the Filson Whipcords, I sold my filsons because I could buy several pairs of the surplus pants for the resale price. I'm actually wearing them right now, I sewed cordura knees and larger pockets on them, something I could never bring myself to do to my Filsons. They are perhaps not as common as the thicker european wool pants often talked about, they are "Trousers, Men's wool serge"

100% yes. 'Hood life' has an entirely different meaning up here in Canada I think.

Milsurp wool FTW.

Merino long underwear has changed my life as well.

 

[birdiemc]

I live in south texas, what's emergency cold weather gear?

 

[tmmcampbell]

Fire starter and the knowledge to use it. I also dress in layers. Cabelas long johns, Fleece pants and shirt, and gortex outer shell. Sometimes with insulated pants and a outer coat depending on how cold or how much sitting I plan on. If sitting in cold I also have a seat I take to keep the bottom warm.

 

[Danehunter]

tm,
Yeah, I always carry a closed cell foam sit pad, summer and winter. It only takes one hurting, cold, wet *** to make you get a pad.

Eric B.

 

[tmmcampbell]

Old soft azzes around the world agree.

 

[cgarb]

I live in south texas, what's emergency cold weather gear?

It's the stuff you southerners put on when it's 60 degrees out...lol. Maryland is not anything like Minnesota, but we get a good mix of weather here. When we were in Florida in the fall time people there were wearing sweatshirts and pants. We had on t-shirts and shorts.