Keeping Warm

[The Warthog]

If I were as far north in Canada as you are in the UK, I would be experiencing regular winter days of -40, and the ice wouldn't be gone from the lake until May.

[Vega]

:shock:

[saturn5]

The scary thing is, the UK is roughly on the same latitude range as Canada.... Thank god for the gulf stream cus most of us British would pathetically keel over and dieduring the winter

Matt

You should see the song and dance The BBC makes as soon as England gets 1 inch of snow,"caught in the grip of a winter freeze" exaggerates news reader,Scandinavians must wet themselves at this countries inability to deal with a little snow,and i mean a little because gone are the days of regular falls of a couple of feet of snow that used to fall in the North.

[supernova]

HMM, I spent 2 weeks in Norway a few years ago in winter at -30 and the whole Country was alive because they SORT it.

It reminded me of 1963. 2&3ft Snow drifts :shock:

Snowmen and big snowballs it took 10 people, the whole street, to roll along.

Do it on the cheap thats GB now.

{snowmen saying can you smell carrots,}

[saturn5]

Here is a pic from Stromness 2006 just to show that we do get the odd heavy fall but they dont last like they used to,usually all gone in a week.The other pic is of Kirkwall from 1920 and was just a typical winter scene that would last for weeks if not a couple of months.

[Neon]

Canadian winter is something else. In the UK it tends to be the wind that you notice when stepping out on a cold night. But in Canada it's just cold, like you're in a freezer. Great for snowboarding though

I find some kind of chair and a foot rest works well for keeping me warm, stops the convection of low temperatures I guess. Hat, gloves and a scarf are equally important, but having warm(ish) feet helps a lot.

[James]

I forgot to mention earlier that the best way I've found to keep warm is to take a couple of flasks, one of tea, one of hot soup (remembering to move the balaclava when you take a swig). I also eat fairly steadily during an observing session. Whilst it helps keep me very warm it does of course add to the waistline but that could be regarded as merely adding insulation for later sessions

James

[cygnusx1]

I it does of course add to the waistline but that could be regarded as merely adding insulation for later sessions

James

and ensuring you stay attractive and married to the same woman

[Pauln]

What secrets do you have for keeping warm?

I was out the other night in my usual outdoors gear (camo jacket, Hiking trainers, two pairs of socks, gloves, fleece hat, and jeans) and it was still FREEZING!

My trunk, legs and hands were ok, but my face and especially my feet were ice... any recomendations?

I though maybe the buff I have for my motorcycle would help... but then again it is pretty thin.

I am pretty new to this, but I always wear my buff, round my neck, it seems to seal the gap between my fleece and coat and my face. I love it. Then when it is hot in the summer it goes on my head to protect the bald spot!!!! :shock:

[cygnusx1]

My biggest problem is keeping my toes warm.

After hours aoutside they become almost frost bitten, even tho im wearing thick socks and fur-lined slippers.

Any suggestions?

[The Warthog]

If you have boots with a reasonable dryness factor, and a couple of pair of socks that do not constrict your feet, you need to keep the rest of your body warm so that you can spare blood to warm your feet. If my toes are getting cold on a winter day, I know it's time to put my hood up, because the wool hat just isn't doing it any more. Adding another layer to your torso also helps. Trying to warm your feet directly seldom works, because your body is restricting blood flow to your extremities in order to preserve your core body temperature. Your feet will still feel cold, even with the electric socks.

Also, both smoking tobacco and drinking alcohol will lower your body temperature. Smoking is especially bad, because nicotine reduces blood flow to the skin. I know these things from bitter experience, as I used to smoke, and have directly experienced the extra cold that you feel when smoking.

[iancandler]

My two essentials:

A coconut fiber door mat.. great for keeping your feet of the ground and remains warmer than a lot of other materials.

A fleece blanket.. can be wrapped around the legs, thrown over your shoulders and even over your head and the eyepiece

[michaelmorris]

As many above have stated: Warm boots, two pairs of socks. Quilted overtrousers (Aldi special for only £9.99), lots of layers on top (including a thick body warmer) silk undergloves with fingerless gloves with overmitts and a fleece hat. A reusable hand warmer is always good as well.

Oh, yes, and an observatory helps!!!, It keeps you out of the wind, hence no wind chill. Toasty!!

There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing!

[MikeP]

Just come in - been out since around 5.30pm. Beautiful clear night but ****** cold.

Managed to stay warm courtesy of a big down jacket, hat and gloves. However, despite two pairs of socks and a pair of boots, I was beginning to lose all feeling in my toes. I think next stop for me will be the local ski shop to see what they have by way of insulated footwear.

Mike

[WillEyedOney]

I was out for 30 minutes the other evening in shorts, I am a hardy soul.

[Theinvoker]

Was particularly chill out tonight so went for my "moderate" clothing setup:

T-shirt

Wool Jumper

Down Jacket

2 Pairs of tracksuit bottoms <-- This is a definite winner, from experience in a lot worse conditions, but a pain to run in lol.

Pair of Magnum full leather military boots, 1 pair of thin socks <-- Best boots I've ever used, never get wet, cold and are breathable.

If its gets really cold I also add my:

C95 Gloves

Woolly hat

Jacket hood

Waterproofs

Was minus silly tonight and was out for 5-6 hours and with the aid of the odd hot coffee wasnt cold once. The double trousers really help, people forget you lose a lot of heat from your groinal area lol

[cygnusx1]

Well my wife just picked me up a pr of thermals from Asda, gotta say im warm as a bun.

Thermal longs + tracksuits bottoms, thermal long sleeve shirt and a wooly jacket.

:thumbup:

[cygnusx1]

Well my wife just picked me up a pr of thermals from Asda, gotta say im warm as a bun.

Thermal longs + tracksuits bottoms, thermal long sleeve shirt and a wooly jacket.

Oh, and my beanie of course!

:thumbup:

[Paladin]

Hello

http://www.aldi.co.uk/uk/html/offers/offers_week52thursday07.htm

Just noticed this. There might me something useful here.

Paul

[Paladin]

Hello

http://www.tchibo.co.uk/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/uk/-/GBP/TdUkBrowseCatalog-Start?CategoryName=preview&source=NAVI

Also noticed these. Am I being sad, surfing the net on Christmas day?

Merry Christmas, one & all.

[Casus belli]

I take my insulated all-in one deck suit home with me at the end of every trip. Add gloves and daft hat to the ensemble et volia! A warm if not fashion consious astronomer.

[Talitha]

One of my boots is pictured in the attached image (for size comparison, I also included one of my shoes). The big thing is a bootcover.. more on that later.

My boots are LaCrosse 'Ice Man', made for ice-fishing and rated for -40°F. I wear a women's (US) size 8 and wanted to get a size 10 boot, but they didn't have any women's boots which were rated for that low of a temp, so I got the equivalent size in a man's boot (men's 8 ). The larger size allows me to wear thick woolen socks and still have lots of toe-wiggling air space around my foot.

Even though the boots are rated to -40°F, my feet started to get cold when the temp was about 15°F. I bought a box of air-activated chemical packs and tossed one in each boot before putting them on, but the compression of standing on the pack made it get a bit too hot. So I sewed a pouch on top of a pair of socks and placed the activated heat packet in it, and this worked very good at keeping my feet from getting too cold.

The heat packets worked pretty good till it got down to about 5° or so. Then my feet began to cool down to the point of being uncomfortable enough to end the session. It was usually several hours before that happened though, and I wonder if my metabolism was just slowing down because I was getting tired.

After getting a pair of the bootcovers, I stopped using the heat packets altogether and my feet haven't been cold at all. Is there anything like this available in the UK? They're like sleeping bags for your feet and they're VERY warm. So warm in fact, that they've kept my feet toasty with just woolen house slippers on when it was only 20°F outside.

The soles are flexible vinyl, much like a heavy-duty version of the 'footsies' on childrens' pajamas. The sole will tolerate smooth surfaces like wooden porches or carpeting, but they're not meant to be worn while walking on rough ground. Hunters put them on after walking to their treestand or blind.

The only other warm-foot hint I can think of is to stand on a layer or two of padded carpeting, or a folded blanket or moving pad.. anything to keep the soles of your feet further away from the ground.

If the bootcovers aren't available in the UK, I suppose a pair can be stitched together quite easily using sleeping bag material or something similar. It doesn't have to look good.. it just has to work.

[proflight2000]

if on concrete slabs, get a couple of old newspapers and put them under your feet, paper is a great insulator.