Staying Warm, Below Freezing
It’s no secret that Texans can be big wimps about the cold. So this winter when we were in Colorado and temps plummeted to well below freezing (some mornings we woke up to 5°F) I was extremely grateful that we were prepared. The essential gear to keep warm for me included:
First layer: long underwear
Second layer: long-sleeved shirt and pants
Third layer: wool sweater (I get too hot with multiple pants layers, but that’s just me)
Fourth layer: long coat, scarf, hat, gloves (or for my kiddo, the snowsuit, hat and gloves)
One thing I wish I had had was the neck gator. The scarf could only do so much and was unhelpful at best during wind gusts. Below is a review of some of the gear I used to keep myself warm, where I purchased it recently, and how it performed:
REI:
SmartWool long underwear: It worked so well, it was almost too hot even at those freezing temps. The fabric quality is great, and it is comfortable to wear. My skin is slightly allergic to wool, so I noticed some itchiness by the end of the day, but it didn’t bother me enough to shed it.
Northface down coat: I will never go without a full-length down coat again. I love this thing. It’s comfortable, it’s warm, and it looks cool. (I have a similar one in black to the one in the link.)
Merrell insulated waterproof hiking boots: In a word - fantastic. Super grippy on the snow, and didn’t fall on the ice. The boots were lighter than some others I tried on in-store. The insulation was great and kept my feet nice and toasty, even without foot warmers. They were completely waterproof, even when trekking up and down mountains carrying a kiddo in about a foot of snow. I ended up wearing the boots all day and had some soreness around the ankle where the boot top hit as well as my feet. But I credit the soreness to increasing how much I walked on those days, and the fact that I was wearing ankle socks. My only negative was that the shoelaces wouldn’t stay tied with a single knot, but once I double-knotted we were good to go.
Gauntlet gloves: performed amazingly in the 5-17°F temps that we were in. Normally my fingers get really cold if they are not in mittens, but these had my hands sweating. I loved the gauntlet length around the wrists and how you could cinch them down to prevent snow/cold air from penetrating your skin. I generally find gloves to be cumbersome to wear when trying to handle zippers, phones, etc., but there was no way I was taking the gloves off for more than was absolutely necessary to help my kiddo.
Costco:
32 Degrees long underwear: Since the temps were as cold as they were outside, these performed as I expected. They kept me snug inside the cabin against drafts but were not great for extended periods of time outdoors. However, since the fabric is synthetic, I had no itchiness. The fabric is significantly thinner than the SmartWool, so they felt more comfortable to wear underneath jeans and other pants.
We did buy a bunch of stuff for my kiddo to keep her warm, but the one piece that won out against all the fancy and expensive REI gear was a snowsuit from Walmart. That piece kept her warm and toasty while being waterproof and keeping the snow out relatively well. Since she spent a lot of time crawling around in the snow, some snow did sneak into her arm and leg openings, but was otherwise good to go.
Hope this helps, and stay safe out there!
