# What kind of clothes provide the best insulation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133 "2010-12-23T00:08:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/21 "2010-12-23T16:36:40Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > .. the best thing you can do is _cover your head_ I love [Gore-Tex winter hats](http://www.amazon.com/Military-Gore-Tex-Watch-Caps-Black/dp/B000IEEEG4). For me, the most challenging thing is keeping my toes and fingers warm. If my toes and fingers are warm, then I am warm. For feet/toes, I recommend _ **big** _ insulated boots and thick socks. If you wear a size 10 shoe, for example, do not buy a size 10 boot. Buy a size 12 or 13. Or heck, even a 14. The idea is that you do not want to compress the socks, which will decrease the R-rating. Even with thick socks, your foot should be able to (slightly) move around inside the boot. For fingers, I recommend \*big \*gloves. With big gloves, you can easily pull your fingers out of the sheaths and make a fist inside the glove, resulting in warmth that is almost as good as a mittens. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/22 "2010-12-23T21:51:01Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > For me, the most challenging thing is keeping my toes and fingers warm. If my toes and fingers are warm, then I am warm. OTOH, if you are warm, your toes and fingers are usually warm. When your body loses heat, the first thing it sacrifices is the outer extremities. The cold starts at the toes and the fingers and creeps inwards. If your body and head are warm enough, most of us can take quite thin gloves and boots before we start to freeze on the fingers and toes. If your feet are cold, put on a hat and a sweater. And if you smoke, stop. Nicotine contracts the capillaries, and your fingers start to freeze a lot quicker. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/23 "2010-12-23T23:12:06Z")
Neoprene gloves! I got a pair last fall. I call them my “magic gloves”. They only work, though, if glove and hand are already warm before you put them on, and wind chills them really fast, so you need another pair of warm gloves that fit over them. But (and this is the magic part) even if you get them totally soaked with water, they re-warm right up. Soggy-wet but warm hands is amazing. I got them at Dick’s Sporting Goods. I don’t know where else you can find them. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/24 "2010-12-24T03:06:33Z")
More heat does not escape from your head than from the rest of your body. That’s already been debunked around here, quite recently. If someone else would like to search for the thread… I can’t find it atm. A nice hat will keep you warmer than lacking a hat, of course. But it’s false to suggest that more heat escapes from your exposed head than from an equivalent amount of exposed skin anywhere else on your body. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/25 "2010-12-24T11:18:33Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > More heat does not escape from your head than from the rest of your body. That’s already been debunked around here, quite recently. If someone else would like to search for the thread… I can’t find it atm. > > A nice hat will keep you warmer than lacking a hat, of course. But it’s false to suggest that more heat escapes from your exposed head than from an equivalent amount of exposed skin anywhere else on your body. Huh. I hope someone does search for the thread. This is one of those pieces of ‘factual’ information I pass on because I’ve always heard it, and it seems logical (what with heat being prone to rising and all), and anecdotally seems factual, seeing as how I always feel _much_ warmer with a hat on. However, it’s not something I _know_ to be true. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/26 "2010-12-24T13:05:26Z")
Are we talking everyday clothes or something for an expedition? For expeditions I’m pretty big on having lining material (i.e. long underwear)–usually [silk](http://www.amazon.com/Terramar-Thermasilk-Jersey-Silk-Crew/dp/B003X577F0/ref=sr_1_2?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1293196017&sr=1-2) or polypro–tops and bottoms. Second on liner gloves, **Quartz**. I use [silk](http://www.amazon.com/Terramar-S491-Thermasilk-Glove-Liner/dp/B002NPBTWS/ref=pd_sbs_sg_5) ones. A side bennie is that for the occasional fine work you can take off the outer glove and still get some protection. Silk or technical long-sleeve tops and bottoms do the same thing for the body. When we were young and dirt poor, we used plain vaseline if we wanted to play in the snow. I’m not sure how psychological it was, but we decided it beat nothing. Not too practical here. To the OP I’d say Technical Gear versus ordinary material, layers, and a windproof outer shell, preferably breathable like GoreTex (obviously technical gear). I’m not sure if that’s warmer than a really good down coat, but it sure is thinner. I’ve hiked in some pretty extreme parts of the world with fairly minimal layered clothing and stayed warm. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/27 "2010-12-24T13:17:32Z")
Interesting twist to the [head/heat loss thing.](http://wildernessmedicinenewsletter.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/heat-loss-through-the-head-and-hypothermia/) You lose about 7% of your body heat through the head _at rest_. When you start to exercise, the loss can go as high as 50% and returns to the baseline 7% as exercise continues. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/28 "2010-12-24T14:52:48Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Interesting twist to the [head/heat loss thing.](http://wildernessmedicinenewsletter.wordpress.com/2007/02/14/heat-loss-through-the-head-and-hypothermia/) Well, my personal experiences are non-scientific and anecdotal, but I have a hard time believing this: > [@](#): > > Beards are great, but they do not keep you any warmer. And bald is beautiful. At 20 (Celcius) below freezing, my cheeks feel a lot warmer if I haven’t shaved for a week than if I shaved the day before (and don’t even mention shaving the same morning, that’s something I would _not_ recommend for a skiing trip in cold weather!). And after doing like Bruce Willis when my scalp thinned out a few years ago, I feel a much stronger need for a hat (preferably a woolen cap) in the wintertime. But hell, whaddaIknow? I’ve just lived my whole life in a climate where the temps routinely hit 20 (Celcius) below zero every winter… ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133/29 "2010-12-24T18:11:26Z")
> [@Chief\_Pedant](#): > > …Second on liner gloves, **Quartz**. I use [silk](http://www.amazon.com/Terramar-S491-Thermasilk-Glove-Liner/dp/B002NPBTWS/ref=pd_sbs_sg_5) ones. A side bennie is that for the occasional fine work you can take off the outer glove and still get some protection… The neoprene gloves I mentioned upthread are pretty good for that. They are fairly thin, so I’ve managed to be able to hold screws and work various tools fairly well with them, plus, being a type of artificial rubber, they give a really good grip. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-clothes-provide-the-best-insulation/565133.md?page=1)