The ONE Big Mistake That's Making You Colder

Layering is an important part of anyone's winter gear kit. But Layering is about more than just putting on more clothes to stay warm. It's about managing moisture during high activity winter pursuits. Not only do you need to have the right gear, but understand how it works to keep you dry and warm.

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[plutonium]

in the Marines, we embrace a concept we affectionately refer to as being 'comfortably cold.' which, essentially means wearing one layer less than what would you probably describe as comfortable. especially once you start moving, especially under heavy loads, that extra layer may quite literally kill you - either from heat stroke while hiking or hypothermia once you stop.

[tigerrx]

As a Caribbean-born and raised immigrant who moved to the Northeast, I’ve been doing it wrong for 18 years - cotton all over. It’s about time I follow my fellow coworkers who ski and know how to dress in winter.

[esverker]

I'm from Minnesota and went to college with a lot of international students from tropical locales. Local advice was always: 1. Layer, don't suffocate 2. A scarf does more than you think it will 3. Drop your biggest dime on good boots and socks. Your chest will survive some cold and your hands can be stuffed in your pockets or armpits. Your footsies have no line of defense.

[SquiddyHiggenbottom]

If a time machine ever gets invented, I'm taking this video back to show my mom, so she would understand that making 7-year-old me wear so much heavy winter clothing that I was always sweating profusely in sub-freezing temps was, in fact, suboptimal.

[ValCronin]

You didn't mention the other big key in winter dressing--tucking in your base layer. It makes ALL of the difference in keeping freezing air away from your sweaty skin!

[Bazzookie]

Having grown up in Michigan I always found the best way to keep warm and not be miserable was to simply self regulate the heat you end up building up. When I’d reach the point where I knew I would begin to sweat soon I’d simply open up my jacket, and honestly once you get that hot the freezing air actually feels quite nice.

[gobdeep]

“Be bold, start cold.” Something that I can share with my scouts to keep their mind set on the winter hiking ahead. Great video and I’m going to pass this along to my two troops. ❤

[rossyoung]

Merino wool has proven to be a great base layer material from my experience; excellent breathability and wicking properties and is antimicrobial which removes odours. My base layer is an 80% merino wool and 20% polymer blend and has been serving me well for months.

[Louisthefur]

A workout t shirt. A zip up hoody. A dickeys lumberjack jacket. Good at -30 Celsius. I live in Alberta Canada. This is my winter set up. It works every time.

[Adidaspgh]

The one thing not mentioned in this video that I assume some would want to know is if you are sleeping overnight in sub freezing temps ALWAYS change your base layer at bed time. Wash your soiled base layer and repeat. The oils/sweat you rub in to the base layers will make you sleep cold. Clean dry base will make you sleep 1000x better in your bag.

[draftplus]

Sweat management and intelligent layering is critical. I had this traumatically etched in my psyche. I hiked up a NH White and was fine with a thermal shirt and a windbreaker on my top half. Other layers were in my backpack. At the summit I wanted those layers quickly. Within the short time of digging out my layers, my core temp dropped to dangerous. I put my layers on with great difficulty, already shaking uncontrollably. I couldn't get warm even with everything on. Another hiker lit a camp stove and threw sticks on it to get a small fire going (very illegal). That fire and that hiker saved my life. I never knew how fast hypothermia takes affect.

[tammyt]

The importance of the shell shocked me once. Almost twenty years ago I bought this wonderful cape and immediately treated it with Scotch Guard. Come winter, we finally had some bad weather so I threw my new/treated cape on over a sweater. It was nice. Imaging my surprise when I later found out I'd been happily tromping around with a wind chill of roughly -3*F!

[bracket]

Originally from the Northeast US and always running naturally cold, my advice about layering is to move to a location that doesn't need layering. It's worked flawlessly for me!

[doggwoggle]

Another thing to keep in mind is to wear a shell that’s roomy enough for the layers underneath. Overly compressed clothes won’t work as intended.

[bulkyboi]

Great takes! I served in the Norwegian military up north in the country where the sun only shows itself for 20mins in the winter, and all said in the video aligns with what i learned from that year!

[tfrtrouble]

A tip I learned from some swiss cross country skiers on a recent trip is if you are doing something really strenuous (like cross country skiing) where you can't avoid sweating, bring a change of base layer for any longer breaks or even for the second half of the day. As soon as we got into our lunch camp, they stripped off to change tops (Finland, -20 celcius). I thought they were crazy getting undressed in such weather but while I was shivering by the fire 20 mins into the lunchbreak, they were toasty warm.

[sunbornvistoso]

This guy summarizing in minutes what takes years to understand about outdoor adventuring. Great content, highly underrated channel!

[langofarias]

For a Brazilian travelling to the Yukon in winter, you have no idea how useful this video was!

[ieism]

After about a decade of ski touring, a few tips.
-Aclima woolnet first layer, keeps you much drier and somehow not cold. No smell, but looks strange.
-Adjust your midlayer for your activety layer and temperature, not the other layers.
-A goretex onesie hardshell is significantly warmer than pants and jacket.
-A down vest packs really small and cab be worn just on breaks, buy slightly big so you could wear it over your shell. You do not want to take off your shell on a windy mountain top.
-Buy a shell with lots of zippers. I stick my arms out of the zip pits when going uphill, it keeps your torso out of the wind and cools you down. I dont have to take of my backpack or stop to do this. Hardshell pants need ventilation zippers too.

On the coldest days in Norway i wear Aclima woolnet, thin grid fleece onesie, Montane Axis Alpha Down Jacket, Norrona down halfpants, Sweet Protection Crusader flightsuit. I lose the down layer only when i go uphill.