Winter Weather Clothing

[Hoey]

A Vest, a few t shirts, and a long sleeve, maybe even a cut sleeve thermal top?

You want to keep your arms as loose as possible...

Beer helps too... except for those ppl who tell you beer thins your blood and blah, blah, blah...

[tumpsi]

technical underwear & goretex shell jacket & pants with medium high goretex trekking shoes = victory

[Timko]

I wear really thin silk under layers. They're super light, don't restrict movement, do a good job keeping heat in and wick moisture away from the body. I wear a thin one with a teeshirt down to 50, then a light sweatshirt down to 40. Then, I switch to a heavier under-armor shirt, t-shirt, and either a vest or my light windproof jacket. Once I'm down to 25, then I start breaking out the heavier parka type clothing. Playing in 10 degrees with 2 feet of snow is fun! Too bad I don't get that anymore since leaving Iowa .

I add some silk long underwear for most anything under 30 to keep the legs warm.

[domromer]

I like wearing fleece or down vests when I play golf. They keep you nice and warm without binding and you don't tend to over heat in them. I play a lot of games in the winter when it;s 10f and my down vests keep me comfortable.

[Jaysus]

What I do as it gets colder is just add thin layers. I use mainly cotton cuz it breathes. Start with the cotton thermal underwear from walmart for a couple of bucks. that with jeans and a T-shirt works pretty good if you keep moving. Throw a long sleeve cotton shirt over that. Then the thin hoodie very low bulk and it will keep you warm. For socks I use ultra thin cotton dress socks with normal cotton athletic socks over top. Keepe you warm without over stuffing your shoes and cutting off circulation. 2 Main don'ts in cold weather: Don't dress so warm that you sweat when you're moving, once you stop you will be chilled to the bone. Don't wear tight clothing that will restrict blood flow. It helps to have upper layers that button or zip so you can adjust by opening them up if you get too warm. Also eat a lot and get really fat.

re: cotton - I pretty much recommend the opposite of that.

Wear wool, or silk, or tech gear.. they breathe and wick away moisture, as opposed to absorbing it like cotton does.

[tim]

I live in VA now and spent some time discing up in MA a few years back -- but moved to both places from the balmy winters of TX, so I know how you feel.

I've found that it's really important to try things on before you buy them (rather than getting a good deal online) because some great brands and products in your size may still restrict your throwing motion. How different layers act against one another has a huge effect on throwing (i.e. two layers with rough texture create friction that results in poor movement; a slick layer next to a rougher layer still has great movement).

For the lower body:
knee-high soccer socks to help keep the legs warm. Boxer-brief underarmor to keep the important bits from freezing. Waterproof/windproof athletic pants (the windproof is key here.

For the upper body:
An initial layer of long-sleeved underarmor is incredibly helpful. This will also help keep you from freezing even if you sweat, since it will wick the moisture away from your body. Top that with A long sleeved shirt of some kind (for this, I don't care about the fabric -- it can be acrylic/polyester/wool/cotton/fleece). For the third layer, most days a vest is good enough -- people have given plenty of good reasons above. If it's really cold, a windproof, waterproof jacket (probably a size larger than you normally wear, to allow extra movement) is a great help.

Beyond that, on really cold days, a fleece neck-warmer (just a loop of fleece fabric, serves the same purpose as a scarf, but doesnt' fall off) -- can also be used like a headband to keep your ears warm -- is awesome. A good hat can help, but make sure you can turn your head naturally while wearing it -- some hats seem to restrict head movement.

Finally, wear big, windproof, waterproof mittens, and put a hand warmer in each one -- or at least for your throwing hand. Mittens are much easier to take on/off than gloves, and they allow one hand warmer to warm your whole hand and keep your fingers nimble for throwing. This is the most essential piece of winter gear I know of -- it doesn't matter how warm the rest of you is if your hand can't feel the disc.

I lost my mittens at the end of last season, and am in search of another pair for winter, so if anyone sees any great deals online, please send the link my way. Thanks. And best of luck staying warm this winter.

[garublador]

re: cotton - I pretty much recommend the opposite of that.

Wear wool, or silk, or tech gear.. they breathe and wick away moisture, as opposed to absorbing it like cotton does.

Normally I'd agree, but I'm not sure it's a big deal at the temperatures he's talking about. It makes a really big deal when you're talking about strenuous activities in really cold weather (snowboarding and whatnot), though.

[JR]

What I do as it gets colder is just add thin layers. I use mainly cotton cuz it breathes. Start with the cotton thermal underwear from walmart for a couple of bucks. that with jeans and a T-shirt works pretty good if you keep moving. Throw a long sleeve cotton shirt over that. Then the thin hoodie very low bulk and it will keep you warm. For socks I use ultra thin cotton dress socks with normal cotton athletic socks over top. Keepe you warm without over stuffing your shoes and cutting off circulation. 2 Main don'ts in cold weather: Don't dress so warm that you sweat when you're moving, once you stop you will be chilled to the bone. Don't wear tight clothing that will restrict blood flow. It helps to have upper layers that button or zip so you can adjust by opening them up if you get too warm. Also eat a lot and get really fat.

re: cotton - I pretty much recommend the opposite of that.

Wear wool, or silk, or tech gear.. they breathe and wick away moisture, as opposed to absorbing it like cotton does.

Agreed.

I tried a runner's technical undershirt that wicks moisture like mad and a heavy acrylic shirt for warmth. No go no moisture wicking at all from the acrylic shirt despite my mountaineering jacket being extremely breathing. The acrylic shirt was wet on the inside and dry on the outside and only because I was testing it for a short while. It did leave a lot of moisture in the running shirt that's regularly the driest piece of clothing I've ever used. Seemed to dry quickly once I put on a wool shirt with large openings between the thread. Just leaving to test this combo.

Edit: The wool shirt was way too warm for 47F and I was soaked pretty soon. It does breathe some but not enough for this temp. Will have to see what happens in colder weather or not using anything on it. Switched to a vest that also wasn't breathing enough except near the arm openings.

[TLapham]

Under Armor TeeShirt, SmartWool Long Sleeve Shirt, then Cloudveil vest is the best setup, IMO.

[chunk]

yesterday was ~ 47f when i was doing field practice and i wore sneakers, thin wool socks, jeans, wicking acrylic short sleeve shirt, and a 200 weight fleece top and i was plenty warm even with the wind blowing > 25 mph.

all the advice up top is good and just to echo what as already been said, wear layers and stay away from cotton.

[RustyP]

One of the joys of living in Texas...the most I ever have to wear in winter is a pair of thermal pants or longsleeve shirt under my usual uniform (soccer shorts + short sleeve dry-fit polo). Toss a couple of handwarmers in my pockets, maybe grab a pair of ear muffs, and I'm ready to face the harshest of southern winter days

[Jesse B 707]

ear muffs

[RustyP]

ear muffs

I've got sensitive ears

[Jesse B 707]

beanie= ear muffs=

[RustyP]

beanie= ear muffs=

well....

ahh I got nothing. Ear muffs are a little ghey.

point goes to Jesse