# Is it safe to walk for 5 minutes in single-digit cold? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 15, 2009, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432 "2009-01-15T15:05:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/41 "2009-01-15T21:05:13Z")
**Hazle** hasn’t checked in for over two hours. Maybe someone oughta go out and check behind the snowbanks, or something, ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/42 "2009-01-15T21:19:01Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > **Hazle** hasn’t checked in for over two hours. > Maybe someone oughta go out and check behind the snowbanks, or something, Send out the Mounties! ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/43 "2009-01-15T21:24:24Z")
At freezing, I put a 1 minute limit for barefoot in the snow. At 0F, that’s down to 10 seconds. Shoes are for wimps. ---
**Author:** ![myskepticsight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@myskepticsight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/myskepticsight)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/44 "2009-01-15T21:41:07Z")
No snow around here, so look for Hazel instead on the sidewalks of downtown frozen into a ball. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/45 "2009-01-15T22:55:13Z")
Hooray! I’m back and I didn’t get cold one single bit! Shodan, thank you for kindly referring to my intense anal-ness as my ability to “plan ahead.” I’ll try not to bug you guys with what I should have for dinner tonight! Thanks for playing! ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/46 "2009-01-15T22:56:26Z")
> [@myskepticsight](#): > > No snow around here, so look for Hazel instead on the sidewalks of downtown frozen into a ball. Nah, I would’ve ducked into the Mayfair for a drink or two for fortification or stopped by the Flamingo for a coupla frames! ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/47 "2009-01-15T23:14:10Z")
after all the prep. did things go well on the job front? ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/48 "2009-01-15T23:19:50Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > I will probably have to wait about 5 minutes for the train and then I have a 5 minute walk when I get downtown. I was under the impression that Metro was cutting back the number of trains a day. Possibly making wait time longer. ETA: I see that you would have already encountered any problems that existed. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/49 "2009-01-15T23:29:29Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Nah, I would’ve ducked into the Mayfair for a drink or two for fortification or stopped by the Flamingo for a coupla frames! You see! After that, you wouldn’t have had any problems with rolling in the snow 🙂 (I bet that would really have impressed the interviewer 😃 ) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/50 "2009-01-16T02:17:18Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Hooray! I’m back and I didn’t get cold one single bit! > > Shodan, thank you for kindly referring to my intense anal-ness as my ability to “plan ahead.” > > I’ll try not to bug you guys with what I should have for dinner tonight! So, _did_ you get hit by falling chunks of CO[sub]2[/sub]? ---
**Author:** ![Vox\_Imperatoris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Vox\_Imperatoris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vox_Imperatoris)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/51 "2009-01-16T02:54:55Z")
The good part about living in Alabama: I haven’t worn a jacket once this year. Valete, Vox Imperatoris ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/52 "2009-01-16T03:23:20Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > after all the prep. did things go well on the job front? Fantastic interview! There are three of us vying for the same position. I will find out Monday. The living space I will get to inhabit is beyond belief. Anyway, that’s all for now. No jinxy winxy! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/53 "2009-01-16T03:27:51Z")
All through my high school years I had an early morning paper route. Up at 5am or earlier to deliver about 100 newspapers 24/7/365. On foot. In Wisconsin. Took about an hour on average. Sundays a bit longer. In the entire four years I only had help three times. One parent driving the car, one delivering the papers, and me in the back seat pointing out my customers in between throwing up into a bucket. That left a whole lotta winter mornings out in the snow and cold and crusty snow. Quite a few with temperatures below -30_F. Add in some sustained winds during storms and we’re talking -60 to -80_F wind chill. I knew where all the wind breaks (fences, big building walls, parked trucks) were located ahead of time. Piece of cake. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/54 "2009-01-16T03:29:19Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > @ **Worm** > Agreed. I had never tried it before coming here, but it is absolutely invigorating. Not to mention the freedom. I wish the onsen would allow customers to take beer in with them. That would be fantastic (and a recipe for disaster, I’m sure). Another good place to play the gaijin card. What? Beer’s not allowed? But you have a rotenburo! It’s practically a requirement! Of course, by the time they get around to saying something, you’re on your third beer, so mission accomplished. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/55 "2009-01-16T04:05:58Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Fantastic interview! But we still don’t know what you had for dinner 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/56 "2009-01-16T04:24:59Z")
> [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](#): > > But we still don’t know what you had for dinner 😉 Took the lazy way out tonight: Gardenburger Riblets, Asian style veggies fresh out of the freezer, Trader Joe’s incredibly dense, tasty low-cal bread…all washed down with some sub-par Chardonnay. The box rocks! …hmm…think I’ll just have another glass, at that! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/57 "2009-01-16T05:17:02Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > No cotton socks, please. Wool if you have them, or some kind of “high-tech” fiber intended to keep your feet warm. Why? I don’t know anyone who wears anything but cotton socks all winter (even [boot socks](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=cotton+boot+socks&btnG=Google+Search&aq=o&oq=) are frequently made of cotton), and none have gotten frostbite from being outside a few minutes single digit cold. Maybe if it was **really** cold or she was going to be outside for a long while, but just a few minutes in temperatures that aren’t below zero? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2009, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432/58 "2009-01-16T10:28:04Z")
Well… I have actual 100% wool socks, and I do wear them. But generally only when I know I’ll be out for extended time periods or it’s below zero. Otherwise, yes, cotton/poly blends. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-safe-to-walk-for-5-minutes-in-single-digit-cold/481432.md?page=2)