Where's All This Global Warming They Keep Talking About?

Gearing Up For The Big Chill by Eric Power

If you live just about anywhere in the United States, it's probably safe to say that you've noticed a colder-than-typical winter this year. Climates throughout the Midwest and the East have been bitterly cold, and characteristically warmer locales such as the South and Southwest have experienced a very unusual cold snap that has left them reeling in utter confusion, with some locations getting snow and ice for the first time in decades. Southwestern Ohio received a substantial brunt of the Polar Vortex, punishing us with subzero temperatures, even harsher windchill and dumping more snow on our heads than we've seen in quite a few years.

Obviously, it's vitally important to have a good winter coat in this type of climate.The effects of extremely cold temperatures on bare skin is nothing to scoff at; obviously, frostbite and exposure can seriously maim you and left untreated, it will kill you. I'll spare you the shock photos; if you're interested, Google it and you will be treated to a spectacularly gruesome display of frostbite images. Here in Ohio, the weather can swing rapidly and drastically from one extreme to the other in a matter of 24 hours. Of course, the popular saying, “If you don't like the weather in Ohio, just wait 20 minutes”, is amazingly close to accurate! A few weeks ago we had temperatures in the double digit negatives, with windchill dropping even lower, nearly -30 below zero. A few days later, it was darn near 40°!

When The Weather Goes South Before You Do

Being the prepper that I am, I have always had a good set of winter clothing and gear JUST IN CASE. In fact my wife has threatened me with intervention for this crippling disorder which has apparently afflicted me for most of my life...my coat fetish. I admit it—I love coats. I can't explain it. Don't ask. It's gotten even worse since she and I met because now, along with my daughter, I have her three boys to feed my addiction!  Oh the sickness! But I digress. The point is, you need to have a nice set of cold weather gear when the mercury races to the bottom; with the recent weather as of late, my perspective has clearly been proven accurate.

Now, sure, you can buy all of the coats, gloves, hats, ear-warmers, wool socks, and ski masks that you can afford, but how do you know if it will get the job done when it comes down to it?? It's a question that I have asked myself many times, so I took the opportunity recently to put on all my accessories, step out into the frozen, windblown wasteland of Southwestern Ohio, and put this stuff (and myself) to the torture test.

The Get-Up

Yes the Christmas tree was still
up in mid-January!

CPO-style Jacket

As I said, my set is impressive, at least in volume if nothing else. First I decided to just wear my regular everyday clothing underneath to see how well the outer layers insulated me from the wind and cold. So a pair of jeans and a typical t-shirt with normal socks and non-thermal underwear. Next, I put on my insulated bib overalls and my winter work boots from Carolina Boots. These are truly awesome boots, by the way; my last pair of Carolinas lasted me for almost 7 years. If it had not been for the tops eventually falling apart, I believe the soles would have lasted me another 15 years! They were tough-as-nails boots and I really put them through the wringer. Next, I put on a lighter flannel jacket, commonly referred to as a CPO jacket. They are usually flannel with a plaid pattern and insulated fairly well for a lighter jacket. Over the CPO I wore my Rocky winter coat. This coat is phenomenal. I don’t often wear it because it has just not been cold enough. I typically sweat and feel uncomfortable if I wear this coat in temperatures above 20º F. Now that I've finished protecting my core, I concentrated on my extremities and other cold weather accessories. I wrapped a scarf around my neck, put on a pair of thick, fingerless gloves with attached, mitten-style finger covers, a burglar-style ski mask, earwarmers, and a Thinsulate winter toboggan. Finally, I pulled up the hood on my Rocky Coat and tied it tightly. I was as ready as I was ever going to be for the tundra that awaited me just outside my door.

Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland...From Hell

My plan at this point was to walk around my neighborhood block, which is quite a bit larger than the typical block. I would hazard a guess and say that it's at least a half-mile around, and it's on a somewhat steep slope, which makes it harder to walk in the snow and ice. I checked the temperature right before I left; it read -11 F with a windchill of around -25 below zero. Perfect. As I started my walk, the first problem presented itself fairly quickly. Within 2 minutes, my glasses had completely fogged up due to my scarf and the condensation FROZE right to my lenses! Try as I might, I could not get them cleaned again without warming them up or scratching the lens. I put them in my pocket and continued onward. For the first leg of the hike, I felt terrific, blindness notwithstanding. My core was warm, and my extremities felt fine. During the second leg of my trip, it became a bit tougher, due to the fact that this leg was entirely uphill. It was at the tail end of this leg that I began to sense the cold penetrating my gloves, particularly near the wrist/lower palm. I examined my left glove(which is the hand that seemed to be considerably colder) and discovered that the rag-wool material had developed some “holes”; the weave had come loose, so that it looked sort of like a net. This was letting the cold wind blow onto the unprotected skin. By the third leg of this grueling trek, my face was starting to become numb, as the ski mask was not really up to the task it was made to do. My other hand was also starting to feel rather cold, and I had just started to feel a slight chill in my toes, having neither wool nor multiple socks on my feet. I believe that with a good pair of winter socks or a couple of regular pairs on, this could be easily remedied. At any rate, it was not unbearable, so it would be a few miles before I would feel uncomfortable.

The Aftermath

Where's Ralphie when you really need him?

The last stretch of this misadventure through the frost-bound Hell was really the worst. I thought it would be the most easygoing due to the downhill portion of my block; however, it was the slope that made it the most treacherous! Well, the slope combined with the ice, of course. Nobody had gotten the opportunity to clear the ice from the sidewalk so it looked like a long Slip 'n Slide from the Planet Hoth. I thank GOD, truly, that I never fell on my butt; I'm not sure how I managed that feat, but I succeeded. I trudged up my driveway and porch stairs, and walked into my nice warm house. I had endured the snow, the ice, and the bitter cold and wind for about thirty minutes. I paused long enough for my wife to take a picture of the aftermath, stripped out of my winter apparel, and went to stand on the heating vent!

Lessons Learned

Balaclava

SO what did I learn? Well, firstly, layers are KEY. Actually I already knew that, but I really found out just how true it is with this experiment. Because of the layers on my core, my head and my legs, I never felt even slightly uncomfortable, even in the bitter wind. The places where I didn't layer clothing, namely my hands, my face, and my feet, either started to feel the cold at some point during the walk, or were seriously affected by the cold almost from the get-go. Also, my glasses were a major issue. My prescription is fairly major-league and walking without them was nearly like walking blind. I think a pair of anti-fog ski goggles should do the trick; I'll be adding some of those to my ensemble shortly! Third, ski masks (at least mine, anyway) SUCK. Maybe wearing two of them would be better, but that just seems like it would be uncomfortable. An alternative seemed to be the best option. I typed in ski mask at Amazon and after a little browsing found this little item - it's called a balaclava.. I'd be willing to bet that when paired together with a set of ski goggles, this would provide superior full face protection from the elements, and also prevent your eye-wear from fogging up at a crucial moment. Finally, the gloves didn't fare as well as I had hoped. I'm not really a gloves kind of guy. I feel restricted in them and I like my fingers being free to do the things that fingers do. That’s why I prefer these mitten-style gloves; I have the option of using my fingers without feeling like they were swaddled in foam. I guess I could layer with a thin set of gloves and then put the fingerless gloves over the top of them. But, like the ski masks, that would be a tad uncomfortable, especially for someone who isn't wild about gloves anyway. Another nice alternative would be to use a hand-warmer tucked into the palm of your glove to add some heat to your hands. So I went back to Amazon for a bit of research. As it turns out, a nice pair of gloves are expensive! In addition, I'm not finding gloves that are rated for 0° F and actually live up to that promise in the review section. So, I'll continue my research and in the meantime keep using my Ragwool mitten-styles. If I do happen to find a suitable pair, I'll update you in a later post..

So, as you're tolerating the remainder of this snowy, icy season of frigid misery called winter, always remember: Layers are your friend! You really don't have to own high-end gear to stay warm; layering is the ultimate equalizer when it comes to cold temperatures. Finally, remember to keep some extra clothes and/or a warm blanket in your car somewhere. It's all too easy to become stranded in your vehicle during a blizzard, which recently happened to hundreds upon hundreds of motorists down in Atlanta, Georgia; there was a real danger of many of them freezing to death right in their own cars!  So make sure you stay ahead of the game; be prepared, stay safe, and God bless.