1. Cold Weather Clothing and Equipment
Prepared for CAP ESSE
- M. Bennett

2. Topics Cold Weather Clothing Getting Some Sleep Why do you stay warm
What do you need to stay warm
Fabric Structures
Common Materials
The Layer Principle
Getting Some Sleep
Adequate Shelter
Clothing and Gear
Sleeping Bag and Ground Pads

3. Cold Wx Clothing – Why Do You Need to Stay Warm?
Positive Mental Attitude
Being cold sucks.
Prevent Hypothermia
Maintain core body heat (98.6!)
Stay dry
Prevent Frostbite
Frozen fingers can’t start fires
Frozen feet hurt to walk

4. Cold Wx Clothing – What Do You Need to Stay Warm?
Head and Neck
How much body heat is lost from the head and neck?
Knit caps
Ear muffs
Scarves
Face Masks
Hands
Gloves
Mittens
Core Body
Thermal layers to trap body heat
Barriers against water and wind
Feet
Socks
Sock Liners
Proper Boots

5. Cold Wx Clothing – Fabric Structures
Two primary structures for cold weather fabrics
Woven Fabrics
Tight structure using parallel yarns to increase density
Good for resisting wind; bad as a thermal insulator
Knit Fabrics
Loose structure utilizing loops for stretch
Good as a thermal insulator; bad at resisting wind

6. Cold Wx Clothing – Fabric Structures
Woven Fabrics
Repetitive over/under pattern
Yarns are pulled tight during weaving, so finished fabric has little stretch
Very little space between yarns = good protection against the elements

7. Cold Wx Clothing – Fabric Structures
Knit Fabrics
Rows of intersecting loops going across a fabric horizontally
Yarns are loose, and finished fabric can stretch easily
Millions of small air pockets in loops = good thermal insulator

8. Cold Wx Clothing – Common Materials
Synthetic Fabrics
Polypropylene Fleece
Gortex
Nylon/Polyester/Elastane Blends (Under Armor®)
Natural Fabrics
Silk
Cotton
Wool
Down
Hydrophilic or Hydrophobic?
Primary Use?

9. Cold Wx Clothing – The Layer Principle
Many light layers are better than one heavy layer
Use only as many layers as needed to stay warm
Prevents sweating under one heavy layer
Each layer traps pockets of warm air to insulate you against the cold

10. Cold Wx Clothing – The Layer Principle
Black vertical lines represent an individual layer of cold wx clothing.
1: Base Layer (Thermal)
2: Polypropylene Fleece (Thermal)
3: BDU’s (Protective)
4: Heavy Jacket/Pants (Protective) 4 3 2 1

11. Getting Some Sleep – Adequate Shelter
The level of shelter necessary to allow for adequate sleep will vary with changing weather conditions.
Tarp/Poncho Shelters
Natural Shelters
Snow Caves/Igloos

12. Getting Some Sleep – Clothing and Gear
How should you prepare your gear and excess clothing for the night?
Take off your boots
Remove belts and small items from pockets
Wet or icy clothing/equipment should be left outside to freeze
Unworn shirts or socks should be in the sleeping bag with you.
Circulation is good.
Freeze articles overnight to break up the ice in the morning.

13. Getting Some Sleep – Sleeping Bags and Ground Pads
Most sleeping bags work by trapping heat in small air pockets
Compressing the sleeping bag material reduces heat conservation
Ground pads provide an extra layer of insulation between your body heat and the frozen ground

14. Questions?