What are your best cold weather tips?

[Kevin108]

Having spent most of my life playing and working outside, I understand being outdoors in the cold:

Dress in layers. Have something light and waterproof over something warm over something you can peel down to when you get inside.

Bring a good pair of gloves for yourself and an extra pair for your helper or significant other.

Merino wool socks ftmfw. Wear multiple pairs if needed.

Don't dress like Randy from A Christmas Story, dress like Shaun White the snowboarder. Be comfortable and able to move.

I'd throw in sufficient firewood, a Buddy Heater to warm up your bedding before you hop in, and sleeping on top of any clothes you want to put on the next day.

What are your best tips for overlanding, hiking, and camping when it's freezing or below?

 

[Rangervinny]

Stay home where it's warm lol

#TRD #Rav4

 

[Kevin108]

Not a bad plan, but many of us would miss out on months of potential adventure!

 

[Rene Daniel]

I always suggest:
layers, change socks more often than you think you need to. Sleep on your clothes for the next day. A vehicle engine is a handy way to warm up a metal water bottle to warm up your sleeping system. Bring your Signifanct other to keep you warm. Or your fuzzy copilots. And never underestimate how much a simple windbreaker can do to prevent heat loss due to wind chill

 

[dblack]

Being -22°F here right now, I find this timely. [emoji846]

Winter front on your vehicle. I have a small canvas tarp that goes under the hood in front of the radiator. Helps the engine get and stay up to temperature.

Watch your temp gauges closely. If something freezes off it’ll heat up in a hurry.

 

[britz]

I always go with extra sets of gloves, but I'm a big fan of a two layer glove system of thinner mechanic's type or thin wool gloves that still allow dexterity for shackles and blocks, but overmitts and gloves for shoveling, that quickly slip on and off. Too many times I see folks with ski gloves and they rip them off try to wrench or set up block and tackle only to have frozen digits. Even in a pinch, a set of nitrile medical gloves keeps the icy wetness off.

 

[BobA]

Coffee, lots of coffee

 

[Anak]

Several years back I took a winter trip to help some friends get some interior finishing work done on a barn/shop. Taking my work truck from SoCal to within a couple of hours of the Canadian border meant that I needed to put some research into this topic. Here are a couple of things I learned that would probably be applicable here:

Carrying a couple of bags of sand for traction only is useful if you can get dry sand, and the sand from my local Home Depot is not dry sand. I had two solid lumps of "sand". Might as well have been a couple of bags of cured cement. Fortunately I never wound up needing them.

Sub-freezing windshield wiper fluid cannot be purchased in the state of Kalifornia, it is not just a SoCal air quality board limitation. In Auburn they solve this problem by stocking bottles of denatured alcohol right next to the inadequate windshield wiper fluid. But if you cross into Nevada you can get the good stuff all day long, and it is cheap. So I brought back a bit extra for future needs.

Beyond those two lessons, don't expect much performance out of anything battery operated. My cordless tools all seemed dead, even when fully charged. And the wrong kind of air hoses snap in funny places when they are really cold.

 

[vegasjeepguy]

Nothing cuts off a trip quicker or makes it more miserable than being with someone who is cold. No matter how prepared you are for the cold, there is a very good chance whoever you are with is probably less prepared. Of course there is the exception, but as rule, people like us are generally more prepared because we ask these kinds of questions and plan for the possibilities. I like what was said above about bringing an extra set of gloves for a friend and would take that even further. Bringing an extra set of what you have (jacket, socks, long underwear, neck gater, etc.) not only gives you a back up, but something to give someone else who was not as prepared.

 

[Kevin108]

I like what was said above about bringing an extra set of gloves for a friend and would take that even further. Bringing an extra set of what you have (jacket, socks, long underwear, neck gater, etc.) not only gives you a back up, but something to give someone else who was not as prepared.

I just used the brief example above, but what you suggest is exactly what I did when taking my wife out last fall. I made sure she knew what the temperatures were going to be, but I made sure looked at what she planned on bringing. I didn't say a thing, but I packed an extra set of everything warm I was bringing. She spent the weekend in my gloves, wool socks, heavy fleece jacket. She wore her fuzzy pajama bottoms under her jeans. Instead of being confined to her sleeping bag and the camp fire, she was able to get out and do whatever she wanted, and those extra few pieces of warm clothes saved the trip for us both.

 

[JDGreens]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this but besides extra socks, gloves and layering up. I feel it is important to have foot-wear that will work for driving your rig comfortably and also proper foot wear for winter weather. Since in the winter I do snow removal for 10-12 clients, Having the proper boots for sub-zero temps makes all the difference in the world if you have to be out in it for hours at a time. Once your feet get too cold your finished.

 

[Kevin108]

My wife bought me some badass neoprene/kevlar gloves. That lets them be thin enough to work in while still being warm. They're thin enough to be used inside of some warm fuzzy gloves, which is awesome.

Wool socks and Mickey boots will keep your feet warm no matter what.

 

[TerryD]

Don't go out in the cold! I don't know if its my blood pressure meds or being in my 30s but I just can't deal with the cold like I used to. If my feet ever get cold, I'm DONE for. I'll be cold all day regardless. I passed on getting in a heated pool the other day because it wasn't warm enough, opted for the hot tub instead...

 

[Tinker]

Merino wool for any layer touching skin. Can be pricey but it's a worthy investment. Insulates even when wet, won't stink for weeks of use, quick drying, etc.

Fleece lined polypro's if you're going mega cold!

Air activated warmers. I always carry a set of 2: hand, foot, mini/toe. If everything else fails they make for a cheap backup.

Make sure all water containers aren't topped up! Just in case they freeze up, last thing you need is soaked gear to go with your lack of water. Also, random note, the more pure the water, the more it will resist forming ice crystals & freezing solid.

 

[billum v2.0]

Technical gear (and its accompanying pricetag) is fine and dandy. I have my share.

But when it's COLD (not just cold), I take direction from folks who have to work in it all day long. Power linesmen, Ranchers, etc. They don't look like adventurers, but they know warm. These make every cold weather trip, just in case it gets COLD.

http://www.carhartt.com/products/Duck-Coverall-Quilt-Lined-X01?s_kwcid=google!pla!932569675!4759558!A_X01_BRN_REG_34!356845965724&cid=google_pla_A_X01_BRN_REG_34&lsft=s_kwcid:google!pla!932569675!4759558!A_X01_BRN_REG_34!356845965724&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjviYtN2x2AIVWJ7ACh2qVQAuEAYYBSABEgLHGfD_BwE

 

[MOAK]

We've done the Colorado Plateau in early April and experienced near single digit temps nearly every night for about 2 weeks. Of course we clothe ourselves in layers and have all the other necessary cold weather gear, including a Mr Buddy tent heater. The little one is plenty sufficient enough to bring our 7x15 basecamp tent up to a respectful 45 to 50 degrees when it is 10 degrees outside. The first time our H20 system froze up we went without coffee, tea or a hot breakfast the next morning. We learned quickly to bring a couple of gallons into the tent at night so we had water to cook with in the AM. We also mounted a thermometer on the trailer so we know what the temps are.

 

[Cort]

Boil water and pour into a nalgene. Keep it in your sleeping bag or inner parka pocket to keep you warm for hours.

Store your water bottles upside down so if they do freeze it’s on the bottom.

I like liner gloves with over mitts, my hands get cold with just gloves.

Oven bags on your feet the socks over those will keep everything dry of sweat and toasty warm.

 

[trfkcop]

Hey Cort, the upside down water bottle tip is simply genius!!

 

[Kent R]

Good article and links for cold weather.
https://www.overlandbound.com/5-tips-for-surviving-outdoors-in-the-cold/