How do you cope with the Cold Weather

[puregeordie]

As the Title. I might be put off just because of this. I just cannot see myself standing outside in the freezing cold looking up and freezing my goolies off:eek:

[Taff]

Hi' when it gets to cold i go into the shed which is'nt to far away from the scope and have a warm by the elec fire.Mark

[SteveP]

I'd been led to believe that all Geordies are tough!. I've seen them at St James' in January without their shirts!

[Ford Prefect]

Keeping warm is essential if you want to enjoy this wonderful hobby. My current get up is

1) thermal socks

2) Snow boots with furry lining

3) thermal trousers and skiing trousers over the top ( quite cheap from any discount outdoor shop)

4) 2 t-shirts, a jumper and a fleece coat

5) Russian style rabbit skin hat with floppy ears

and plenty of hot coffee

Cheers Jon

[moonbeam]

5) Russian style rabbit skin hat with floppy ears.

Cheers Jon

my little boy has these hes only 4 months old sadly i dont think they'll fit me but it looks warm!

im assuming a patio heater is out of the question? had ours 2 years never used it all gassed up and ready to go too.

[jgs001]

I've been struggling with this also. I thought I had it sussed. Have a look at http://stargazerslounge.com/astro-lounge/92390-how-many-layers.html there's all sorts of useful suggestions

[Vega]

There's no such ting as bad weather, only the wrong clothes . This hobby very quickly taught me how to keep warm. There's not many other situations where you're stood still for long periods of time in the dead of night in winter! The best way to keep warm is a hat (essential) and layers... lots of them! (at least 3 or 4). Keeping your head and torso warm is the most important as once your body gets to a certain temperature, it protects its vital organs by keeping the warm blood flowing there. This is why your hands and feet tend to get very cold first. So the more layers you wear the less likey your going to suffer from disfunctional hands. Those gel heater hand warmers come in handy though.

Matt

[russ]

I'm pretty hardy when it comes to the cold, so don't find it a put off. But have to admit this morning was FREEZING. But I had plenty of layers on and felt pretty toasty on the whole but could barely move my fingers. The surgical gloves didn't help and i just can't do anything with the leather gloves on.

I find once i'm going i just don't feel the cold. And normally keep one hand in a pocket keeping an eyepiece warm.

[Macavity]

I always emulated the cold weather style (Jeans and T-Shirt)

of "Pure Geordies" - <Sigh> the young these days [teasing]!

(I do feel the cold more these days)

[Breakintheclouds]

Two words: long johns

[puregeordie]

I'll be honest, I went out for a 3 mile run last night. Felt much better afterwards:D

For about 10 minutes then.... Back indoors!

[skye at night]

I usually put a shirt on instead of just going out in a string vest...

At least i can take that off if I get too warm from breaking the icicles off my extremities.

Steve

[skye at night]

Keeping warm is essential if you want to enjoy this wonderful hobby. My current get up is

1) thermal socks

2) Snow boots with furry lining

3) thermal trousers and skiing trousers over the top ( quite cheap from any discount outdoor shop)

4) 2 t-shirts, a jumper and a fleece coat

5) Russian style rabbit skin hat with floppy ears

and plenty of hot coffee

Cheers Jon

Are you actually stil able to move once you have all that lot on jon?

Steve

[SteveL]

Not if he has had an alcoholic drink or two at the same time

[vegas]

I have a dying tauntaun handy to lightsabre in half and snug into when it becomes too brisk.

[AndyH]

I have a dying tauntaun handy to lightsabre in half and snug into when it becomes too brisk.

Wahahahahahahaha..

Andy.

[alfingido]

I have one of THESE, in black The hood acts as a light shield too! I usually just wear a t shirt underneath ( and jeans!) and a pair of walking boots for warm feet. Loads of pockets for eyepieces too.

Allan

[Ford Prefect]

Not if he has had an alcoholic drink or two at the same time

WHO ME!!!!!

[Ghost66]

i find fingerless gloves handy too. warm and can still change ep's without taking them off

[jarralad]

from another geordie,i just put another t shirt on ,and if it gets to cold might take the shorts off and put jeans on:).

[sgazer]

I only do imaging, so I can manage outdoors just long enough to get everything set up and press GO on the Canon remote controller, then go indoors for 30mins to defrost whilst the camera does its work.

If it's really cold when setting up, I put the gas patio heater on to take the chill off.

[MishMich]

I wear a beanie most of the time, to keep the hair out of my face.

I can't believe we were still wearing shorts only 6 weeks ago!

I have a hooded jacket with a fleece lining from an army surplus store, and when it is cold I pull the hood over the beanie. I also have a Nepalese fleece-lined woolen coat with a hood for when it is really cold. I tend to where a poacher style padded sleeveless jacket most of the winter indoors and out; if I leave the hoodie unzipped, that means plenty of pockets for bits to go in. I tend to wear fleece-line lumberjack shirts through the winter as well. DMs or walking boots with thin hiking socks (DMs are particularly good, as the air-soles act to insulate the feet from the ground. A groundsheet spread out before setting up the scope helps insulate your feet (& knees) from cold damp grass or concrete/paving - it also means things you drop wont get lost in the grass in the dark or fall onto stone. I've not had to pull out the thermal-lined Craghoppers yet - but I have those if necessary.

Army-surplus stores have good stuff for outdoors - not trendy, but who cares in the middle of the night in the dark? I lived without central heating for 25 years, have always had dogs that need regular country walks in all weather, and this year camped through to the end of October means I'm set up for it anyway. My main concern is that if I spend the night out when it is freezing and damp, it affects my chest - and I'm also concerned about the tube icing up last week, how best to handle that (is it OK, does it impair performance, etc.).

The two biggest problem I have found are

1. How to fiddle with knobs and eyepieces and cameras etc. When I was an undergraduate in a flat with no heating needing to wear gloves indoors and still write (before the days of PCs), I used to wear fingerless gloves, and have never been without a pair since - most army surplus stores sell them. I don't see how one could do anything without the fingertips being exposed - but I found it very difficult the other day after being up all night, by 4 a.m. the metal was so cold it was hard to fiddle with, and eventually I had to call it a night at about 5 It would have got light soon anyway). I have found fingerless gloves that have a mitten-piece which folds over the fingers when needed, but not found them very practical; I tend to stick my hands in my coat pockets when not using them.

2. My eyes won't focus properly when I've been out in the cold a long time. Not sure there's any solution to that.

I hate the winter, but would rather it cold and dry than wet an miserable. The only thing I am looking forward to January/February is being outside in the stillness of night. Our back-garden is like being in another world compated to the day. I'm looking forward to seeing how much I can do without catching pneumonia or developing bronchitis.

M.

[MishMich]

sorry - just 'hiking socks', not 'thin hiking socks'

[Breakintheclouds]

I think I might get a pair of these:

Millets Fingerless Mitts with Pouch

fingerless mittens - they're fingerless gloves, but with a mitten-end to pop over the fingertips.

[puregeordie]

When you's lot are up through the night, what do you do for sleep when you have work the next day?