I may be at a tech. school around dec. or jan. , Any cold weather clothes tips for a warm weather guy. Layers / polar gear / ski pants / dog sled /chains on the rental car , Russian fur hat ? Give me an idea. HK San diego. Thanks
Studded ATB tires. That’s the ticket.
I have survived most of my life in a 50 - 110 degree range , where water stays liquid. I don’t know how to deal with cold weather, do I need overshoes & an Elmer fud hat, will I be hunting “wabbits”.
Are you riding or just walking around? This would make a big diff. regarding clothing recommendations.
It sounds like two of us will have a 5 mile or under rental car trip to the class ,two weeks / all day, then back to the hotel . So I am guessing we are in a hanger / Class. ? Some walking I guess, I don’t know the weather there. ?
Boots, jeans, thermal underwear, a couple of shirts, a sweatshirt, a heavy overcoat, big gloves and hat should do ya.
If you like to run in the winter, sheet metal screws in the outsole of your shoes can do wonders for ice traction.
How about breathing, I hear North Dakota people say, its an ordeal to walk out to the car. I am guessing it won’t -20 in my location?
Breathing is not an issue at all if the body and head is decently protected. I was (a few years ago) from NorCal; now I am near Chicago.
Basically, if clothing is completely adequate, it doesn’t get painful until about 10-15 deg. F below freezing, or unless it is very windy. However, that is for easy walking or running. If you will outside for hours working on planes or something, then you WILL be suffering.
I spent 6 years in Champaign (about 2 hours north of Carbondale) before coming out to San Diego this summer.
In the winter, it is not the snow that gets you, but the wind. So for the winter months I had a good ski jacket (Columbia), one of those two layer jackets. A good fleece layer with a windbreaker outer shell. Under the jacket I usually had a long sleeve shirt or light-weight sweater. A good ski cap is also necessary (one that you can pull down over your ears). You should also get a pair of gloves that are fairly wind resistant.
There probably will not be too much snow, so most of the time I walked around in hiking shoes/boots. Make sure they are big enough to put an extra pair of socks on if the temp really drops. Also I would invest in a pair of long-underwear, however most of the time jeans will be okay.
If you plan to do any running or riding, a pair of windproof tights are a must.
Have fun in the mid-west.
Jeromy
I thank you for the detailed info. , Its about what I was guessing .
Good , I think we will manage, I was worried, but snow and rain will be lite. The wind maybe the worst of it, by the others posts.
I used to live about an hour and a half south of SIU. Weather isn’t too bad there, and they don’t get all that much snow. A good coat, gloves, and hat should take care of school-related functions. Layers are good- you’ll be going from cold outside to at times too-warm inside.
Outdoor exercise- the key it to stay dry. The temptation will be there to overdress when you’re heading out the door, but once you’re a mile or two in, you’ll warm up and you don’t want to be sweating because you’re wearing too much.
I have some base layer / wick moisture away ,bike clothes I think will work. I should be indoors 70% of the time. I do need long underwear just as a back- up.
Thanks
I live a couple of hours north of Carbondale. You’ll like the area for biking, lots of hills as the campus is near the edge of shawnee forest. C-dale is biker friendly for the most part. Winters 20’s for lows and mid 30’s to low 40’s for high temp. If a storm rolls through you might get a bit of snow or ice but melts quickly.
Nice, I am feeling more prepared already, I think a big (German / Swedish heritage) looking guy will fit right in. You think ,I would be use to cold.
Don’t let them freak you out to much. Illinois weather is pretty random. It can get very cold, and we can get a lot of snow, but we don’t always.
Yesterday and today I got to ride my bike. (70 and 65 degrees respectively.)
It doesn’t really get that cold until January.
Don’t forget to pack little bit warmer socks, though.
Jeromy, buddy,
how’s SoCal treating you? Training with the pros now? Winter in Illinois, finally a topic we can chime in on, eh? Tell you what though, East German winters are even worse, we’re already having snow over here.
Anyway, back to Helitech’s question. For normal commuting: decent boots, gloves, headwear. For running/riding: windproof tights are nice, adequate crotch protection (from cold, that is) highly recommended, otherwise wind protection. Jeromy is right, snow is not necessarily the issue, wind will really hurt you
Have a good one, Jan Vervoorst
By spring you’ll be amazed at how warm 40 feels. The wind is what kills you as you can be outside for a while at below zero temps if it isn’t windy at all.
Hey, I didn’t know you were on this board. SoCal is pretty sweet, I get to watch everyone zip by me while I get used to the hills again.
Right now I have shut down the biking while I get ready for my first maraton this Jan. Then I have six months until Vineman (first IM). I am trying to get Steve to come out and do Vineman with me.
It is going to be really wierd not having snow and cold for the first time.
Stay warm over there.
Jeromy
If I read your post correctly, you will be sitting or standing around an unheated hangar for 8 hours a day. Get some long underwear and wool socks. polypro or silk will work well, and they are not bulky. If it is a class, you will need some extra duds to keep warm, since I assume you will not be moving around all that much. You would be surprised at how cold 40 is if you are just standing, it is not bad at all if you are runing around though.
I don’t know much about running when it is cold, rely on the others for that.