Under shirt, underwear, spandex thermal tops and bottoms(think under armor), wool or heated socks, insulated Thorogood boots, t-shirt, heated vest, work pants, work jacket, warm beanie, thinsulate leather or fleece gloves that I may have a hand warmer in.
With that I can work all day in Midwestern winter and compromise very little range of motion. Hand dexterity does take a tanking with the thinsulate gloves but they are warm enough to keep my fingers feeling things.
I often am outside for hours and then inside for hours; taking off the gloves, hat, jacket, and vest keeps me from overheating inside. The real game changer for me was the heated vest and the spandex thermals. I was working outside in the 30s and didn’t need a jacket with the vest on low.
Unfortunately I have frequent periods where I’m not moving around or exerting myself up on scaffolding or lifts where the wind-chill is a dick. It gets into the single digits easily and my gear keeps me comfortable. There are also those days where you start off at 5am in the 20s and then it is in the 50s by the afternoon, so effective layering that can be shed is important.
I prefer to be warm and miserable than cold and miserable.
But as other have said, layers trap warm air better than 1 thick layer. This is the theory behind double glazed windows. Also why multiple thin blankets warm more than one thick one.
So long Johns, vest/light t, long sleeves T-shirt, sweater, and coat. Strip down or keep on as desired.
I used to have to walk 6km home late at night in -30 c or colder I would wear 2 pairs of socks with PJ pants under my jeans with a sweater and jacket. Also tight boxer briefs will keep your junk warm . I found loose ones would cause my junk to get really cold .
If it’s really cold I’ll do 3-4 layers. Typically for my legs I’ll do Long John’s, then a pair of sweats, then my jeans.
For my torso I’ll also use a Long John shirt, then a long sleeve sweatshirt, then a hoodie, then a Carhartt jacket. Also, always take a few extra pairs of socks, if you’re feet get wet from sweat, they’ll get very cold as soon as you slow down or take a break.
Electric heated clothing is pretty great. USB heated clothes can only accept 10 watts a piece which isnt alot of but its suprisingly enough to keep you warm. Very energy efficent. They make more powerful electric jackets that run on power tool batteries too which are considerably more powerful. The limit to heated clothing is obviously how big a battery you can carry with you but even a 10 watt usb heated clothing has incredible amounts of CLO units (the scientific unit of measurement for the amount of insulation a particular piece of clothing provides
Layers are super important, thermal underwear (pants and shirt) will go miles in keeping you warm. Same with putting on multiple layers of pants, shirts, and jackets. Certain materials are better than others but at the end of the day every piece of clothing you manage to stack is added insulation regardless of material. Plastic synthetic materials beat most natural plant fibers in insulative property. The only natural fibers that really come close is wool.
Wool stuff is generally very good at keeping you warm but it can have a bit of a texture, requires some care when washing, sheds quite a bit, and it has a certain smell you have to adapt to or try really hard to wash out.
If your job just involves a lot of standing like a traffic signaller then you can probably get away with wearing a double puffy blanket as a cloak which will also help tons. I love my double puffy its great.
If you are dealing with fuck-you levels of cold well below freezing it may be worth getting a snowmobile suit, I’ve heard those are incredibly insulating.
Read this article by lowtechmagazine its full of really good info on keeping yourself warm.
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