Photo: Sierra in minus forty six windchill, yesterday. She takes her yard guarding very seriously, no matter what the temps.Short of being a Norwegian Elkhound, it takes a bit of experimenting to learn to dress for the different winter temps and conditions.
Each year I try and often reject new gear. Following is my tried and true list. I keep this for myself, but it might help someone else to review it for one's own use.
Winter Dress Rules:
One: Layering. Do not dress too warmly for activities requiring you to move around a lot, e.g. hooking up/running dogs; cleaning the dog lot; xc skiing, etc. When you take off with dogs the last thing you need is a sweaty underlayer. Better to be a bit cold in the hookup and have a jacket on the sled.
For standing still, add more layers, but be careful on the feet. We only wear one pair of socks
(wool/wool blend) in almost any conditions. We do use chemical foot warmers in very cold weather. Too tight layering of socks will make your feet colder. If in extreme temps (e.g. minus thirty/forty) possibly wear two pairs of socks and boot large enough to accomodate them.
If going for a long run, take extra wool socks in a pocket.
2. Cotton is rotten (as the backpackers say). Never wear cotton in a winter environment, period, anywhere, including underwear. Sweating makes it wet and it does NOT dry. There are new types of layering materials for underwear that we've been trying, more later.
Materials to consider, polypro, fleece, wool, bamboo, Under Armour materials, etc.
3. Wear adjustable outer layers, e.g. removable neckwarmer, glove layers, outer jacket, hat layers, boot layers.
4. Be able to move! There are technical types of gear that allow maximum warmth and breathability and still afford flexibility in movement. Seven top layers, for example, make it very difficult to move around.
5. Experiment before you go on a big trip, try out your gear, break in your boots, etc.
That said, we'll give our favorites in the next post.
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