Winter Tips - Be Prepared!

[hexah]

This thread is for useful tips to help us get through the winter.

To kick off here are some of my Top Tips.


imho big stores like M&S have jumped the shark. I find Matalan, H&M, Sainsbury, and Decathlon more useful for winter clothes. Some people waste their time on brand silliness, its like £1.80 for 16 paracetamol vs 16 pence for the same from a supermarket. Or worse, having a cough and buying cough mixture and cough sweets for £20 vs a 16 pence box of paracetamol from supermarket and extra cups of tea.


If you like a thicker fleece which keeps a breeze off consider the Regatta Sigma. It's part of the professional range so you have to get it online or in trade shops. I have one, its pretty good. There is also a quilt lined fleece which is very warm, the Asgard II. I have one and it is very warm for sitting around in. Occasionally they go on offer but the Sigma never seems to be reduced.


Thinsulate lined fleece hats and gloves are great, they are reasonably windproof as tested in many cold wind storms. Cheap from supermarkets. I keep a spare set in the car glove box just in case. I have no idea why they don't sell mittens. You can get lambswool thinsulate lined mittens in some countries though I would prefer the fleece ones.


Thinsulate lined boots are good if you are spending all day outside. There is no excuse for cold feet with those. Best prices from trade shops and farmers co-ops. Caterpillar and others make them without steel toecaps.


Wind up torch for the car. No need to worry about batteries but the light is feeble.


Lithium batteries for the LED torch in case it is used outside. Low self discharge rates and reliable performance in the cold down to -40C. Alkaline and rechargeables don't last long in the cold.

 

[Lazarus]

You get cold then, do you?

Not a native Northerner? (We tend to overheat even with a shirt on)

 

[hexah]

Bah! Humbug!

Actually when going out for a days walk with snow on the ground the main worry is wearing too much and overheating!

I use power stretch hats and gloves down to at least -15C and find myself taking them off when going up hill. The thinsulate hats and gloves are carried as spares and used when resting or if the wind is cold and strong, cutting through the thinner hats. It has to be said when I go out I rarely see anyone else around, especially when there is a cold wind.

The tips are aimed at people who do feel cold.

That said because the thinsulate hats and gloves are so cheap it is worth keeping them in the car glove box as you never know when they might come in useful.

 

[sonnetpete]

This thread is for useful tips to help us get through the winter.

Hibernate.......

 

[hexah]

That's cheating!

 

[hexah]

You get cold then, do you?

Not a native Northerner? (We tend to overheat even with a shirt on)

That set me thinking about skool.

We used to go out in the playground all through winter with at least three months of random snow showers and frozen puddles. Without hats or gloves. Once there was a fairly heavy fall of snow, around 6 to 8 inches. When we arrived at school some of the staff had got there early and dug out a path to the door. As we were in morning lessons the caretaker and his mates cleared a fair bit of the playground with their shovels so we went out into the playground as usual at lunch time.

That is probably why I go out in all weathers, I got used to it from then.

The school very rarely closed because of the weather. Blizzard conditions was the thing that usually led to closure. If it was closed due to every bit of snow or freezing up then our education would have had huge gaps in it.

Compare that to the southerners schools when it snows!

 

[sonnetpete]

That's cheating!

Not if you're a bear...

Seriously though, coming up to my 12th Winter here and having to care for outside animals through all of those.....

1) Wear something on your head. Wooly hat, fleecy hat, flat cap, baseball cap whatever. If it has waterproof qualities so much the better.

2) Layer up. I have been known to wear up to five layers when it's been extra cold.....and then put a good quilted (duvet type) jacket or fleece lined shirt on top.

3) Don't neglect your feet. Good waterproof boots or really decent wellies. I have a pair of Chameau wellies that are really comfortable and warm.

I've got a lot of stuff from Army Surplus. Army trousers can be hard wearing and dry quickly. Avoid copies of army stuff as it won't be the same quality. I've got two types of socks which I find indespensible. Last year I got some "Heat Holders" which keep your feet really warm but have a tendency to drop down your leg and pull off with your wellie. "SealSkinz" socks are very expensive but good. They've somehow managed to put a plastic layer inside which makes them completely waterproof but they retain their comfort. They take ages to dry when washed and need to be turned inside out several times though.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SealSkinz-M...d=1384013841&sr=8-1&keywords=seal+skins+socks

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mens-SockSh...1384014042&sr=8-1&keywords=heat+holders+socks

 

[hexah]

Not if you're a bear...

Seriously though, coming up to my 12th Winter here and having to care for outside animals through all of those.....

1) Wear something on your head. Wooly hat, fleecy hat, flat cap, baseball cap whatever. If it has waterproof qualities so much the better.

2) Layer up. I have been known to wear up to five layers when it's been extra cold.....and then put a good quilted (duvet type) jacket or fleece lined shirt on top.

3) Don't neglect your feet. Good waterproof boots or really decent wellies. I have a pair of Chameau wellies that are really comfortable and warm.

I've got a lot of stuff from Army Surplus. Army trousers can be hard wearing and dry quickly. Avoid copies of army stuff as it won't be the same quality. I've got two types of socks which I find indespensible. Last year I got some "Heat Holders" which keep your feet really warm but have a tendency to drop down your leg and pull off with your wellie. "SealSkinz" socks are very expensive but good. They've somehow managed to put a plastic layer inside which makes them completely waterproof but they retain their comfort. They take ages to dry when washed and need to be turned inside out several times though.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/SealSkinz-Mid-Length-Waterproof-Socks/dp/B005JDWFFQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384013841&sr=8-1&keywords=seal skins socks

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mens-SockShop-Holder-Thermal-Socks/dp/B002S4UL1E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384014042&sr=8-1&keywords=heat holders socks

Shows how different people can be, I wouldn't wear half that in -15C!

I strongly recommend getting work boots with a thinsulate lining and waterproofing, or thinsulate lined riggers boots. The 200gm thinsulate lining is 5 times thicker than the 40gm lining in gloves. It is much more effective than messing around with socks.

You can get work boots on amazon. If you get them with a steel toecap they will protect your foot if you drop a bucket of animal feed on it or a petit goat stands on your foot.

My dad got a pair of thinsulate lined riggers boots a few years ago in a sale for £10. He wears them working in the garden in winter and he says his feet are very warm. He likes not having to fiddle around with changing socks or putting another pair of socks on. They are not officially waterproof but they keep the mud out and don't get more than damp on the surface in normal use (not jumping in puddles!).

 

[hexah]

Top tip!

Don't get the brown salt for paths and the driveway. Idiots will bring it into the house on their shoes and rub it into the carpet. Get the white salt instead. Then you can vacuum it out easily without it looking like a dog has crapped on your carpet.

If you can't find any bags of the white stuff, use dishwasher salt it's the same size and white.

 

[skomedal]

Dont forget to stock up on wintergreen ointment to soothe your chilblains

http://www.patient.co.uk/forums/dis...ilblains-on-amp-off-since-childhood-alwa-6412

 

[hexah]

If it is for someone you don't like you could recommend Anusol cream instead.






"Tip- Wintergreen is renowned for use on hacks"

I suppose that means the media morons use it!

 

[hexah]

Save money on snow shovels by buying a head with a metal reinforcing strip for much less than the whole shovel. Then you can use one of the old brush handles you have in the shed or get one cheap. That way you can cut it to a length that suits you, not someone 4 feet tall with short arms.

Don't bother with the folding snow shovels for the boot of the car. Get a separate head then cut a handle to suit the size of the boot of your car. You will find that it works properly if you have to use it. The folding one will probably break when you need it the most.

 

[2cvbloke]

My tip for surviving a british winter:

1. Don't be a wuss...

Yep, that'll do...

 

[hexah]

True, but it would spoil the fun of watching the chaos in London and the South on the news.

 

[2cvbloke]

True, but it would spoil the fun of watching the chaos in London and the South on the news.

I was going to say "a southerner", but they seem to be one and the same...

And I seem to have a vague recollection of saying that before somewhere on this forum...