keeping the cold at bay

[alanjgreen]

If you pop back inside for a warm drink (or use a flask) when cold starts to be felt, the warm drink will soon get into your blood and boost you for another hour.

i tend to drink a hot Ribena as I don't want coffee in the middle of the night.

Alan

[Daz69]

I'm surprised that nobody has said this yet, but an old sea fishing tip is to wear a pair of thick ladies tights (colour of your choice of course!). Stockings can be ok but the suspender belt can be awkward so I'm told  

I've worn the tights on many a winters fishing trip either on a boat or pier, and they are really warm. You only need one good pair of socks too, Merino wool socks are good but a good pair can be expensive for what they are. A silk balaclava from my motorcycle days is also in my fishing kit. I tend not to wear gloves but have one of those hand warmers in each jacket pocket. A neck tube is a must, and one made of silk is best, but Go-Outdoors do some some nice ones (avoid the fleece ones) which look thin but are really good.

I suffer with Trigeminal Neuralgia, which is a severe disorder of The trigeminal nerve. This is the fifth cranial nerve and its function is to send pain messages to the brain. When the nerve malfunctions, pain messages are sent at inappropriate times and the pains can be of great severity.  In fact, TN is regarded as the most painful condition that is known in the medical world. The cold or a breeze can trigger a severe attack which I cannot control, so I need to be warm around the neck, face and head. For this I wear one of these thin neck tubes from Go-Outdoors, which is long enough to be pulled up over the top of my head and face if needs be, and on top I wear a Thinsulate wolly hat. 

For my body i just wear a thermal long sleeve base layer, T-shirt and Berghaus fleece, then a hooded wax jacket. For fishing in the winter I'll wear the same but ones that I've dedicated to that purpose, and a fishing coat. 

Use one of those foam garage floor tiles (B&Q £10 for 4 large tiles at the mo) or a wooden platform to get you off the cold floor. Nothing worse than fatigue caused by a cold floor. I use them in my workshop too, brilliant. 

[Mognet]

I'll second the tights idea. I've been doing that for the last few years in the coldest parts of winter to stay warm when out walking. And they've proved an essential for stargazing nights too. They need to be at least 100 denier, and socks will still need to be worn over the top to slow the cold penetration.

[Astralprojection]

From a medical point of view, you lose heat predominantly through limbs and head. Therefore a good pair of shoes, hat and gloves (astrogloves are useful here if not particularly heat preserving) as well as a scarf are a must. A good idea is longjohns under trousers and sever layers of smaller clothing tucked in under a wind and rain proof coat. I realise noone would go stargazing when it's raining but a rain proof coat offers extra wind protection. Make sure everything is tucked in, it ensures heat distribution and preservation. A flask of hot coffee or tea wouldn't go amiss either, warming you up from the inside. And, again, from a medical point of view, sugar! Keeps your energy high and the digestive process produces energy, which based on need would be converted to heat (simply put).

[wimvb]

The problem isn't so much me keeping warm as it is my mount not getting too cold. Will the belt drive work at -20 C?

As for my clothing:

Down to abt -5 C, just a winter coat, gloves and a knit cap. Below that, long underware and extra socks. Some  styrofoam to stand on (piece of carpet may also work). If it gets colder than abt -10 C, I have insulated coveralls that do their job. But at that temperature, I'm more concerned about my gear.

[Dave In Vermont]

Layers, as stated, is very important. And know this: We lose over 80% of our body-heat through our heads. So wearing a very warm hat is best advised. I have a wool-hat from Afghanistan. People may think I'm in the Mujahadeen - but at least I'm warm!

Dave

[Guest]

and still more fantastic suggestions! ive been working a lot over the christmas period so havent had chance really to look into much at the moment. time to have a look and find something soon i think. the scope should be arriving soon i hope. just waiting on FLO to dispatch it then the fun begins

[mikey2000]

Funny old me, I never suffer from cold legs but my feet/toes really feel it. (Maybe I should have been a postman - they all seem to wear shorts around here even in winter)   Thinsulate hat (ear covering) and socks work well (as do the mittens-combined-with-fingerless gloves)

 

A new delight for me is cold/sore kneecaps.  This is only a problem while grovelling to look through a polarscope.  I have some kids foam-rubber playmats that insulate and pad the ground behind the mount quite nicely for that.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Being overweight all my adult life (20-43 yrs old), i never needed to "LAYER UP", Im no longer over weight and i actually do need to layer up on most cold days (observing or not). I feel the cold more so than ever before.

Forget fingerless gloves.......my mother bought me a pair of full fingered soft neoprene(?) gloves for Christmas........not just for astronomy.........but every day use in the wheelchair. Warm,water proof,soft..........

Brilliant.

20 quid from M&S.

[Charic]

...thanks, just reminded me to re-new my Snowbee lightweight neoprene  fishing gloves, that have seen better days! 
The thumb and forefinger are tip-less to allow for delicate tasks without the  removal of the glove, and they have been used in the past for astronomy, their slightly cheaper but still effective.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Neoprene........

Cool in summer,warm in the winter.

[SonnyE]

Having lived in sub-zero climates before, I learned the value of layering, with a substantial outer layer. Jeans, T-shirt, sweat shirt (Hooded), heavy cotton socks, and my boots. One or two pair of thermal underwear.

I don't have to go to that extreme anymore, but I do have my insulated coveralls and jacket to keep me toasty warm when I choose to sit outside. And I wear a hooded sweatshirt or a knit hat on my head.

A friend in Minnesota laughed at me wearing such cold weather gear here in Southern California. But hey, I don't get cold. And I don't always wear it...

[CSM]

We bought pairs of Dunlop Purofort Wellingtons as the farmers round here recommended them for comfort.  Having used them in my observatory I have now bought a second pair just for astronomy and put in thicker soles.  With a second pair of knee-length socks and tucking in waterproofs over my trousers the wellies do a good job of keeping the lower half warm and comfortable.  As for gloves, I also have the Astrogloves but prefer a pair of cycling gloves most times.

[popeye85]

I worked on North sea trawlers for several years ago so luckily warm clothing has never been in short supply!

[stewspark]

On Thursday, December 29, 2016 at 12:25, westmarch said:

Get one of those  hand warmers - you put them in boiling water to recharge and snap them to start the reaction. Put it in your pocket along with your eyepieces, they will not mist up. 

Anyone ever tried the zippo hand warmer, fuelled by lighter fluid and can last for up to 10hrs, check the prices out on-line I think they retail at about 18 quid, I've had mine for years now and it's  an essential part of my fishing kit, will be great for a cold night observing ??

[Guest]

 

44 minutes ago, stewspark said:

Anyone ever tried the zippo hand warmer, fuelled by lighter fluid and can last for up to 10hrs, check the prices out on-line I think they retail at about 18 quid, I've had mine for years now and it's  an essential part of my fishing kit, will be great for a cold night observing ??

I didnt even know those existed. ive just bought a 6 pack of reuseable hand warmers but i might very well look into the zippo. i have no idea how they work but i assume they are safe

[stewspark]

Very safe indeed, lasts for hours ?

[JOC]

I find legs can easily get cold when I'm out at night, let alone sat still at a telescope.  However, I ski and also do some hiking and it is amazing the difference that you get by just stopping the wind (or cold air) getting through fabric to your skin - particularly the legs.  For hiking even a thin £20 set of breathable leggings such as from Trespass or Regatta makes a noticeable difference, for skiing clearly some folks (me!) prefer an insulated salopette (that's what skiers call their leggings) and places like Lidl's are worth looking out for stuff like this - they sometimes advertise a full set of ski gear for £20-£40 depending on age and often separately sell, insulated jackets, salopettes, gloves and warm tube socks.  OK, they are only basic, but they would serve for skiing and I would think might be well worth considering for sitting outside at a telescope.

[Guest]

i went out for an hour the other night with my new clothing set up. i took the advise about not restricting my feet and just had 1 pair of wooly socks. i also tried the tights idea and that worked quite well. my feet started to get cold at the end of the session but my legs also started getting cold so might have been a knock on effect. my legs were to coldest thing at the end(excluding my hands). i think i will need to buy some sort of trousers to replace the jeans layer. a thermal long sleeve t-shirt worked well. my top half was lovely and warm. i tried a balaclava but that didnt last long. i wore my glasses and the warm air was blowing out of the eye hole and steaming up my glasses. along with taking my glasses off and on it quickly became a chore. i am thinking of getting some contacts to correct for my astigmatism so i can get away without wearing glasses.

[JOC]

I have quite severe astigmatism and have contacts which correct for it when I ski, I wear glasses most of the other time though.  I tried taking off my glasses when I was at the telescope and was somewhat surprised that I could see quite well - it might be worth a try if you haven't yet experimented. 

[Roy Challen]

I'm sure layering is good, but I normally just have my longjohns under jeans, a t shirt and my Dutch army parka. It's this coat that does the trick. I can't wear it above freezing - it's just way too hot. Highly recommended if you live somewhere really cold.

[BeerMe]

Some really great advice here.  I need to get my astro wear sorted out so that I'm gonna be toasty as I just can't operate comfortably in any sort of cold.

My biggest problems...firstly my eyes.  When it's very cold my eyes and nose stream like crazy in the slightest wind and streaming eyes looking through an eyepiece isn't a good combination.  Does anyone know of a way to combat this?

Also, my hands!  The bars on my Heritage that I hold to guide it with my left hand can get so cold that my hands have nearly stuck to them when gloveless.  I might go back to what I used to wear when I was digging up gas escapes in the freezing cold for a living - a pair of blue latex gloves under a pair of thin thinsulate gloves.  The latex gloves do a good job of keeping your hands warm through producing oils and sweat, and the latex and thinsulate do a job of stopping the oils and sweat from going cold.  I can operate my scope with gloves on easily so I wouldn't have the problem of taking the gloves off and then having to replace the latex layer  (once it's off, you really don't want to put your hand back in there lol) so it might not be a solution for those that need to use their bare skin to operate some finer knobs or buttons.

[Charic]

......use a towel to mop up  until your tears  freeze up, its the only way?
No really, a towel draped over the head keeps the wind out and  reduces light pollution in my case.

I suffered similar eye  conditions the first night I went out to a dark site testing my first Tele Vue Plössls, which did not help the situation, it became a brief test, uncomfortable, and with the short eye-relief, a bigger issue than I had expected.
I'm sure I would fare better if I carried out that test again, better prepared against the weather and conditions.