Winter Gear

H.O.T.A.S.

Well boys and girls the summer is gone (not that we had much) and it's going to be getting cold so what's everybody getting to tackle the bitter cold of the Irish winter? Any rain gear or overcoats? Personally I've acquired a Flecktarn winter parka and a new shemagh as well as some other bits and bobs. Is anyone thinking of getting an entirely new loadout?

Hivemind187

H.O.T.A.S. wrote:

Well boys and girls the summer is gone (not that we had much) and it's going to be getting cold so what's everybody getting to tackle the bitter cold of the Irish winter? Any rain gear or overcoats? Personally I've acquired a Flecktarn winter parka and a new shemagh as well as some other bits and bobs. Is anyone thinking of getting an entirely new loadout?

Thermal undies. I cannot reccomend these highly enough. Long Johns or, if you can afford them, the wintersports thermal layers you can pick up in the sports shops these days.

Cold weather survival (or comfort in our case) is based on layers. each layer should trap air which will be warmed naturally by the body and provide a layer of siulation aganinst the cold, and more importantly the wind (which is the real bastard).

Starting with your thermal long johns and a vest/longsleeve shirt (polo neck), you then put another layer over that like a t-shirt or another long sleeve, then a heavy insulated layer (a duvet coat or similar) then your windproof/camo jacket. Do the same with your lower body building layers of insulation and covering in a windproof/water proof outer cover.

Neglected areas are the head, hands and feet usually. A regular thin sock with a wooly or thermal one over it makes a decent layer for the feet and will prevent you getting frostbite or a chill. If you wear leather gloves remember that they wont be that warm and will be a little stiff, try a pair of magic gloves or thinsulate under the leather layer.

You lose between 30% and 80% of your body heat through the top of your head (like a chimney) depending on your set up so you need something on it. I can personally attest to the use of the thin ski-mask type thinsulate layer, with a scarf wrapped round your mug and neck covered again by another ballaclava or thinsulate wooly hat.

This was learned while surviving the bitter cold nights of November on a building site in Clontarf without heat, light, shelter or running water.

kdouglas

nice post hivemind, probably go for a few more layers under my camo gear alright, picked up some spray-on waterproofing in bfsl the other day, haven't tried it yet, but according to derek it works very well

H.O.T.A.S.

Agree with Hivemind on the Thermals, the Bargain Basement in Arnotts do them around this time for €2.50 a piece not to bad aswell and a far cheaper alternative to Lowe Alpines Dry Flow gear (although it's soooooo good and warm)

Hivemind187

To be honest, for daytime stuff, unless you are going to be doing very little moving or its snowing the thermal undies under civvies is about what you need, but if you are going to be sitting in a bush waiting for the off, it can get bitterly cold and horribly uncomfortable.

Their is a downside though. all the extra bulk will reduce mobility and if you start running around like an eejit you'll heat up a lot faster and start to sweat. Damp kit in freezing temperatures is bad news when you are out for a long time but at a skirmish I would worry more about dehydration.

Fluids are important regardless of the conditions, so a water flask etc is going to be important.

CrazyRabbit

Water can be your worst enemy if it's cold out. If you're wet, it's going to be very hard to keep warm.

I would suggest waterproofing your clothing to help in this area. A small can of Scotchguard (tm) costs about €6-7 and will last you a while. In a well ventilated area, cover the entire front of the clothing evenly, wait 20 mins and then do the back. Wait for 60-90 mins for it to dry then repeat. A 3rd coating will help it last longer.

Hivemind187

Good point about the waterproofing CR.

Another thing to point out, because I know some of you think you are hard as nails. If you are going to sit in a hedgerow in thin clothes and you are caught in a cross wind (i.e. a breeze or wind that leeches the heat from your body) there is a chance that you will begin to experience hypothermia (mild forms anyway).

The first thing you will notice is you will feel cold and start to lose feeling in your fingers and toes. Next your hands and feet as the blood retreats further into the body. Chances are you wont be out in it long enough to do you any significant harm but it will reduce your reflexes and reaction times considerably.

If you feel yourself starting to shiver that is your body attempting to warm you up by expending nervous energy. At this point its good to get some warm liquids and shelter.

Any further than this and you could start running into problems as you will stop feeling cold and it becomes difficult to gauge your condition.

If you are worried (or just as a matter of being prepared) you can pick up the foil heat blankets in Tesco now for next to nothing. Should you get really bad sitting wrapped in one of these in your car or the safe zone out of the cold with a mug of tea will sort you out in about ten minutes.

bullets

If you can get actual Combat fatigues! it would be great.
Combats I wore in the past had about about 3 seperate layers
of material and were strong and long wearing. Things you
buy from surplus stores and modern issue seem to be light single layered
material used for drilling or day to day use and I would not
classify them as battledress. Even though things may have changed
the last few years.

An old Army trick was to wear a pair or womens tights
on under combat gear which would keep you warm even
if you got wet. a 2nd pair with the crotch and feet cut out would
make a thermal top. Head goes through the crotch area and hands
go down the legs. It may sound daft/funny and you may laugh at it
but it works! and years ago a poor soldier may not have had fancy
modern materials to wear.
(Tights were also used to buff army boots to
get a mirror shine and to store parade boots to keep the dust off)
or........you could wear long johns but they would not be effective when wet.


I've been using under-armor cold gear for years
(I use the heat gear when fencing or when I expect to be hot)
http://www.underarmour.com

(Have some on me now) And have gone out in a snow storm
to test them! They are excellent. Catabury rugbytek and some other
brands now try and emulate/clone the under armor stuff. I have tried
all of them but the underarmor is the best (and most expensive)

They do Tactical Stuff/Gloves/Headgear/Underwear and Tops
and they even have Camo patterns.

The medium size looks like something from Mork and Mindy its
TINY TINY TINY but stretches out and goes on like a 2nd skin.
I got the black ninja like top with a turtle collar. It kinda reminds
me of a star trek uniform.

~B

Hivemind187

The point about the tights is a good one, I had forgot about it.

Basically the weave on a pair of nylons is the same as a string vest (anyone who ever owned one will testafy that those are warm) only much much finer. It traps warm air molecules in a thin layer close to the skin and acts as a barrier to the cold. why else do you think girls can stand in the wind wearing a miniskirt in October?

Its a cheap alternative to the higher end kit but it wont wick moisture and unless you are a little ... ahem ... it wont be all that comfortable. It does work in a fix though.

The only drawback is explaining to the missues why all her tights have holes in them and are chest shaped

Hivemind187

Actually it sucks that our winters rarely get cold enough to get a good snow fall. I would really enjoy a 24-48 hour game in the big white.

All sorts of interesting things happen. Firstly, bright white gear become the absolute business as camo. Your batteries and gas start to act funny so thinking up solutions to those problems adds another factor. Winter weather is hard at the best of times but doubly so when you have a number of objectives.

I know it would be a little too dangerous to be done in reality (people freeze to death at night in May and September) but it would be fun. Even if only for a few hours and a few publicity shots