Outdoor Dress for Success
Dressing right for outdoor activities can make or break your experience – it can be the single most important factor on how enjoyable an experience is, and sometimes whether you come back safely or not.
Things to think about:
1. Regulate your body temperature
- Ways of heat loss:
Conductive
Convective
Radiant
Evaporative
- Trap your body heat:
Clothing should insulate you from environment
Trap body heat in layers of “dead space”
2. The Layering Principle
- Factors
Activity level – high or low
Clothing layers – number and type of layers
Staying dry
Minimize wetness – can lose heat 25 times faster
Clothing needs to protect your inside as well as out
Ventilation
- Layers
Inner (underwear – long or regular)
Keeps skin dry and comfortable
Wear clothes that “wick away” moisture (polypropylene and polyester)
Middle (Shirts, turtlenecks, pants, sweaters)
Provides some insulation and protection from elements
Good materials – fleece and wool
Outer (heavy wool sweater or fleece jacket or pants, vest, down, Polarguard or Primaloft)
Provides insulation
Wear at beginning or end of activities
Shell (rain or wind pants and jacket)
Protects from wind, rain, snow, and sun
Should be windproof or at least water resistant
Best is waterproof and breathable (Gore-tex or other)
Head (wool or synthetic in winter, ball cap or other shade in summer)
Reduce heat loss
Sun and rain protection
Hands
Gloves – good for dexterity, not good for warmth
Mittens – just the opposite
Best to have combination – mittens over gloves
Think about shell layer (stay drier)
Feet
Inner layer – lightweight, synthetic liner sock
Outer layer – medium to heavy wool, wool/nylon blend
2 layers help prevent blisters, add cushion, and keep feet drier
For a PDF version click here.
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