| Winter sports and activities can be a lot of | | | | the face. |
| fun. It's a splendid time of the year when it | | | | |
| seems like you are enveloped by the pristine | | | | Put your hands in gloves |
| whiteness of the snow. But it is also a | | | | |
| hazardous time of the year for the outdoor | | | | Mittens are considered warmer than gloves as |
| adventurer. One has to keep warm to keep safe | | | | the fingers can keep each other warm rather |
| and enjoy this time of the year. The essence | | | | than being isolated in the glove's fingers. |
| of staying warm in the winter is having the | | | | You can apply the layering principle here as |
| proper clothing layers and knowing how to use | | | | well by using an inner mitten and an outer |
| them effectively. Here are some tips. | | | | shell. However, gloves are essential too, |
| | | | especially the water proof variety, as |
| Dress in layers | | | | various winter activities require a certain |
| | | | amount of dexterity, which mittens can't |
| Our body loses heat through conduction, | | | | provide. |
| convection, evaporation, radiation and | | | | |
| perspiration. As activity levels increase so | | | | Layer your feet with socks |
| does the heat produced in our body and | | | | |
| vice-versa. Thus it becomes important to | | | | Wear multiple layers of socks starting with |
| insulate our body to keep warm and this is | | | | thin polypropylene liner socks, which will |
| done by the layering technique. When we wear | | | | keep the feet dry, followed by one or two |
| our clothes in layers, we ensure that there | | | | layers of wool or wool/nylon blend socks. The |
| is enough dead air space, (defined as any | | | | outer layer of socks needs to be big enough |
| enclosed unit of air that is small enough so | | | | to accommodate the inner layers. |
| that natural convection currents would not | | | | |
| arise in it), which can be shed off layer by | | | | Wear a Waterproof outer layer |
| layer, to balance the heat levels of your | | | | |
| body. So while you need to dress warmly, you | | | | While it would be ideal to have a waterproof |
| also need to dress in layers so that you can | | | | outer layer, it is essential to make your |
| be ready for temperature changes of the body. | | | | outer most layer of clothing windproof and at |
| | | | least water resistant. Also the garment needs |
| As the old adage goes, if your toes are cold, | | | | to be able to be ventilated. So sometimes |
| put on a hat .. | | | | it's a trade off between how much |
| | | | 'waterproofness' is desired and the ability |
| You can lose up to 70% of your body heat from | | | | to ventilate. Ventilation is important |
| your head, so hats are essential for any | | | | because a completely waterproof item will |
| winter activity. You may even need to get a | | | | keep the water that is moving through your |
| face mask if you are at risk from high wind | | | | other layers trapped, adding to weight and |
| conditions and susceptible to frost bite of | | | | causing some heat loss. |