Best way to keep warm in freezing cold weather

Herbsman

What's the best thing to do? I find that no matter how many or how few layers I wear, my chest ends up really sweaty and thus cold. This happens whether I wear merino or plastic layers. Other than buying newspapers to stuff underneath the clothes, or making sure you don't go out for too long, is there any way to avoid this?

maddog 2

I find any more than one base layer and breathability suffers. Hence, my advice would be to find a jacket that enables you to run just the one base. The Gore windstopper jackets come in various thicknesses and are pretty good. Other than that, just get the best, most breathable jacket you can afford.

Another option - which I admit may not be practical but there you go - is to carry a spare base with you and swap it for the one you're wearing at the cafe stop. I do that on really long rides as the original base inevitably gets damp and clammy. A nice dry one makes a big difference from the cafe stop to home.

Also, you could try a base with a zip, to aid air flow.

danowat

Like you mention, quickest way to get cold is to start sweating.

Best to start out cold, and wear clothing that has vents and/or zips to enable you to modify airflow as and when you need it, I find I have to unzip going up inclines, even in sub-zero temps, to stop me sweating.

I wear a single breathable base layer and a full zip windproof jacket, worked for me down to -6C

sungod

try a mesh base layer, as long as the next layers wick+breath well it'll keep your skin dryer and there'll be much less contact chilling due to the low density of the mesh

for around zero i use a brynje mesh and a jacket, once i'm moving it's plenty, they're designed for cross country skiing i think, i've never felt wet in it

http://www.brynje-shop.com/super-thermo ... hirt-p6948

if it gets really cold then a windproof shell over the top and/or thin extra layer over the base

ilm_zero7

emigrate !

Herbsman

maddog 2 wrote:

I find any more than one base layer and breathability suffers. Hence, my advice would be to find a jacket that enables you to run just the one base. The Gore windstopper jackets come in various thicknesses and are pretty good. Other than that, just get the best, most breathable jacket you can afford.

Another option - which I admit may not be practical but there you go - is to carry a spare base with you and swap it for the one you're wearing at the cafe stop. I do that on really long rides as the original base inevitably gets damp and clammy. A nice dry one makes a big difference from the cafe stop to home.

Also, you could try a base with a zip, to aid air flow.

I was wearing just one base layer with a Windtex long sleeved jersey on Sunday. It's not the most breathable jersey, but it's club kit. I didn't think I'd sweat much because I was very cold when I left the house, but there you go.

I felt it too cold to even consider unzipping... I don't think I even realised how sweaty I was until much later on in the ride.

I won't go into the details about how badly I suffered after running out of energy 20 miles from home, being able to push only the easiest gear, my upper body being so freezing cold and wet that I wanted to climb inside a supermatket freezer to warm up, and almost calling an ambulance after going dizzy and feeling like I was going to pass out (oops I just did) but I'll go with your suggestion of carrying the spare base layer just in case the ride lasts longer than expected (the above jersey is usually fine for 5 hour rides in cold weather but this one - not by my choice - ended up lasting about six hours, and it was colder than usual). Will keep it in a plastic bag to keep it dry.

If that fails, emergency newspaper purchase.

Herbsman

sungod wrote:

try a mesh base layer, as long as the next layers wick+breath well it'll keep your skin dryer and there'll be much less contact chilling due to the low density of the mesh

for around zero i use a brynje mesh and a jacket, once i'm moving it's plenty, they're designed for cross country skiing i think, i've never felt wet in it

http://www.brynje-shop.com/super-thermo ... hirt-p6948

if it gets really cold then a windproof shell over the top and/or thin extra layer over the base

Will try a mesh base layer, cheers. Contact chilling was the main problem yesterday - I kept pulling the merino away from my chest for temporary relief.

amaferanga

Presumably much of the sweat build up happened when you were working hard up hills (or maybe on the flat as well) so you should have undone the zip on your jersey just a little then to let a bit of air in. Then you wouldn't have had the build up of moisture on your chest and when things got easier again you should have done the zip back up again. As you discovered, once you do get wet from sweat there's no way you can start unzipping your jersey when it's as cold as it was at the weekend.

If you've already tried several different baselayers including merino then I doubt you'll find a baselayer now that does much better so you need to be a bit smarter

Ron Stuart

This could help.... http://burgauvilla.com/

Some winter/spring/autumn pics... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3 ... 08e17e5b70
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1 ... ed0e427dcb

Also gym/spin/swim and take some spare dry gloves for the cafe stop if you can't get away.

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