Attire for freezing conditions!

[Nicholas Lindan]

I've just been out in -4 weather ...

I take it that is -4C (25F), the current temperature in Cardiff?

 

[perkeleellinen]

It must be -4C because -20C is extremely rare indeed here.

 

[frotog]

There's a company called psolar that makes balaclavas with a weird little mouthpiece doo-hickey attached to it (makes you look sort of like Darth Vader). The doo-hickey is actually a small heat-exchanger, heating your inhalation significantly helps the body retain heat in cold weather. First saw cops in Chicago using these. Works amazingly well.

 

[George Nova Scotia]

Don't forget to protect your camera as well. Not so much from the cold but from condensation when you come back to the warm moist house. I always carried some zip lock bags to wrap everything up tight before coming in from the cold.

 

[phaedrus]

Austrian Army surplus winter boots (double layer of leather with some insulation in between, heavy but effective), cross-country skiing undies under normal outer wear (just add layers!) and winter cycling gloves of varying size, insulation and number of finger pockets (the warmest ones are "Live long and prosper" only). This winter, I'm trying out snowshoes for the first time, tired of getting stuck in snowdrifts.

 

[2F/2F]

In winter weather (though I must admit that 5 F is the coldest I have been out shooting in, in Roanoke, VA) I wore two pants thermals and a pair of Dickies on the legs, then put on cotton tube socks over the bottoms of the thermals, followed by wool socks. Then, fuzzy lined winter boots (nothing special, $30 at a sporting goods store, but they work great). On the upper body, a short-sleeved undershirt followed by a thermal, followed by another t-shirt, followed by a light, but lined, windbreaker-type jacket (my USN work jacket). A small, light scarf (again, USN issue) around the back of the neck and tucked into the jacket. Then a parka with thumb holes, and a pair of thin cotton gloves followed by a snug-fitting pair of hair-lined leather gloves. Finally, a wool knit cap arranged to cover the tops of the ears. It helped in general, but especially for those times when the hood of the parka needed to be pushed back because it was in my way. Most of the shooting could be done with the leather gloves, but when I had to change a lens or fiddle with some small doodad, I took them off for a minute while and was still prevented from losing my fingers by the cotton gloves. I am by no means a winter living expert, but it worked very well and unobtrusively for me. I was not cold, and it was not hard to move about. You can see part of the "crazy getup," as I call it, being from L.A., here: (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

 

[patrickjames]

I can't really add any advice about clothing that hasn't already been said, but the gloves I use are mountain biking gloves. They fit snugly so I maintain my dexterity and they are reasonably warm, although I would recommend a pair of mittens over them. An added plus is that they are made to maintain grip so handling the camera is easier and they have padding in the palm, so picking up your freezing tripod isn't quite as painful.

 

[benjiboy]

Don't forget to buy one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...aps&hvadid=36867105531&ref=pd_sl_3yai9f2ls8_b

 

[Mark Fisher]

If you want to photograph in the insane cold, you really need a "system" I use glove liners so I can actually manipulate the camera. Over that goes wool mittens. Over that I have some overmitts. I've photographed in -15F and my hands were fine.

 

[sly]

Benji - we're not ALL boys!

 

[Doc W]

I've just been out in -4 weather and I feel like my hands are about to shatter. What do people wear when out in extreme weather conditions? My body was warm, having four layers on but my toes were frozen and couldn't find any gloves to take out. Always thought it'd be difficult to manipulate the camera with gloves on. What tips are there for staying warm in freezing weather? Any specialist gloves/socks/boots I can buy?! Maybe this should be in an extreme sports forum not APUG!

-4 C is not that cold in the great scheme of things so you really don't need any specialist clothing. Having said that, I live in Canada and it may be that what we consider normal winter clothing is "special" for you.

In my opinion, the most important factor in staying warm, other than layers on the body, is very thick soles on the boots. In cold weather, I wear heavy outdoor workboots with very thick soles. In extremely cold weather (below -20C), I wear snowmobile boots (very tall boots, lined and sort of "stuffed"). When standing around in the cold setting up and adjusting a view camera, the more your feet are separated from the cold ground, the warmer you will stay. Buy them slightly bigger than you need so you can accomodate two pairs of thick wool socks.

For the hands, I have two choices: either heavy mittens with a "cap" which opens up into a fingerless glove, or, for really cold weather, a large pair of mittens with a pair of thin gloves inside. I take off the mitten to adjust the camera and the glove is thin enough to feel to the knobs but thick enough to keep my hand from getting cold too quicly.

If it is very cold or windy, or if I am going to be out for any length of time, I wear overpants (the kind construction workers wear outdoors in winter). I also wear a t-shirt, a long-sleeved shirt, a hoodie and a heavy wool pea jacket. This is all topped off with a substantial wool hat (toque) which covers the ears.

I look a bit rough around the edges in all this but I am toasty warm when shooting outdoors, up to about -15C. My outfit will keep me warm even in -30C or more, but only if I am moving, not standing around adjusting a view camera.

None of this is really special (not here anyway) and is not very expensive. You can get really expensive down-filled ski clothing which will also do the trick, but I am just too cheap, and having lived in a very cold climate my whole life, I know how to stay warm without spending tons of money.

 

[Curt]

Electric windows; in a truck that is; sit inside out of the cold and shoot from there; or get a camper on the back and shoot out of the windows.

 

[benjiboy]

Benji - we're not ALL boys!

The mind boggles at what the female version would look like

 

[bblhed]

My advice is get waterproof boots and ditch anything that is made of Cotton, that is a great material for Summer, but Cotton has no application in winter. For socks, I use Smartwool socks, they are a wool and synthetic blend that has all the benefits of wool that stays warm even when wet, they wick moisture like a synthetic, and they don't turn rock hard after you wash them the first time. As for gloves, you want something that is waterproof because you will be taking them on and off to operate your camera and if they get wet inside they will be useless when you put them back on.

Wicking long underwear like Underarmor is really great as a base layer as well. A wool cap, or even better if you can get one and you aren't opposed to such things, a fur lined hat is even better, it may not be popular, but nothing keeps you warm like fur. You might also look into wool or synthetic hiking pants.

I do a lot of winter hiking in the snow and these tips are tried and true.

 

[Martin Aislabie]

None of this is really special (not here anyway) and is not very expensive. You can get really expensive down-filled ski clothing which will also do the trick, but I am just too cheap, and having lived in a very cold climate my whole life, I know how to stay warm without spending tons of money.

Decent cold weather gear in Canada is cheap and readily available

In the UK its always vastly more expensive and usually inferior

Most people in the UK have no idea what cold weather really feels like - we get excited when the temperature drops below freezing

Martin

 

[hpulley]

Yes, my Coventry made MINI's computer bings and displays a snowflake whenever the temperature drops to 3C which is every morning 6 months of the year when I pull it out of the garage! LOL

 

[jp80874]

Thank you for this thread. I just ordered some black silk liner gloves as a first step in improving my comfort level, both for hiking with the dogs and photographing. Someone must like the idea. I noticed REI was out of stock.

I am curious about the snorkel mentioned earlier to avoid fog on ground glass under the dark cloth. What have people used for a snorkel and how successful has it been? Where or how does it go outside the dark cloth? I do take a while under the cloth, way more time than holding my breath, and a workable solution would be great.

John Powers

 

[mike c]

Have not used a snorkel for any thing more than skin diving,but was wondering if after a long period of breathing through it if the cold dry air would not give you a sore throat or worse.

Mike

 

[Vaughn]

For pants I have a pair of surplus Swiss officers wool overpants. Use to have a pair of German army wool overpants that were even heavier (double knees), but outgrew them. Coldest I dealt with is -8C. I only had one wool mitten, so I put the other hand in my pocket and occasionally swithched which hand wore the mitten -- worked fine. And always a wool stocking cap.

 

[benjiboy]

In really cold weather I'm glad I'm the Worlds worst landscape photographer, and stay at home until the weather gets warmer.

 

[hpulley]

With my old mechanical cameras I can wear full gloves and still operate them which is nice. My EOS cameras with little buttons, not so easily so I usually use liners.

 

[Martin Aislabie]

Thank you for this thread. I just ordered some black silk liner gloves as a first step in improving my comfort level, both for hiking with the dogs and photographing. Someone must like the idea. I noticed REI was out of stock.

I am curious about the snorkel mentioned earlier to avoid fog on ground glass under the dark cloth. What have people used for a snorkel and how successful has it been? Where or how does it go outside the dark cloth? I do take a while under the cloth, way more time than holding my breath, and a workable solution would be great.

John Powers

A snorkel is only a partial solution.

I find general perspiration from hiking with my 5x4 to be an almost equal problem - of course after you have been stopped a while and cooled down waiting for the light to be right, then the perspiration problem disappears.

Martin

 

[jeroldharter]

Does anyone know what this Arctic Armor stuff is like?
Any good?

Yes. On advice from another forum member, I bought the bibs, jacket, and gloves from red Rock Outfitters in Minnesota. I think that they are used most for ice fishing and snowmobiling, activities which are similar to large format photography in the cold. We have not had too cold a winter yet, but I wore them first while doing the driveway with a snowblower when the temp was ~7 degrees F ( -14C). I wore only synthetic long underwear bottoms, same on top plus a T-shirt. I was way overmatched for the weather. Those things are warm. They don't breathe well so you would get sweaty with strenuous activity but they are amazing.

They don't look like much in that they are not bulky like down, they are relatively light weight. Sewing quality is good. The gloves look like regular gloves but they kept my hands warm (with no liners) while pushing the metal bar of a snow blower for 2 hours. In fact, my hands were sweating some and I had to dry the gloves.

So the bad thing about Arctic Armor is that you need real cold to use them. I would say below 0F ( -18C). But they work in extreme cold.

 

[Q.G.]

[...]
So the bad thing about Arctic Armor is that you need real cold to use them. I would say below 0F ( -18C). But they work in extreme cold.

Thanks for the review.
So i'll probably look for something less warm and more 'breathing' for hereabouts.

 

[daleeman]

I picked up some great socks that have really helped keep my feet warm. One extra benefit of is the seam over the toes is the best I have of all my boot socks.

I picked these up at a Red Wing boot shop. I could only find them online here Dead Link Removed

Happy Toes.