Question:
I have a job where I will be working outside for about 5 hours at
night. after that i work inside around docks which still gets nearly
as cold but I might need to remove some layers. I live in IL close to
wisconsin and in the winter wind chills get well below zero. I'm not
sure exactly where to ask this question but I thought this would be
the best place. I need some clothes I can sweat in and that are
flexible and durable. I was reading cotton can be bad in this
situation. I was listening to advice from co-workers but most of it is
laughable. some people put on 3 pairs of cotton socks which i thought
was silly. I found some "thermal socks" at kmart which have a wool
blend and are part acrylic or something like that? are these a better
choice? what kind of socks would you suggest? I found some polypro
long johns and shirt at the store which advertise they release
moisture easily. would these be an ok choice? my coat served me well
last winter, the shell and lining are 100% nylon and the insulation is
100% polyester according to the tag. im also looking for something
with a hood that can be worn under my coat since it doesn't have one.
would jeans be ok if they don't get wet or would something else be
better for work?
Answer:
I have a Goretex/Thinsulate "Maine Game Warden" parka from LL Bean
which is so darn warm that I leave it totally unbuttoned until the
temp goes below 20 degrees and unzipped until the temp goes below
zero. Probably too warm for use during hard work unless temps go
below -20. It's cut a little loose so you can wear a sweater under it
but I've never needed to because it only gets down to about -20 around
here.
If you can't afford Goretex then I recommend cheap plastic rain jacket
and pants to stop the wind. But those will keep in sweat moisture
I will be working outside at the airport from about 10-3am and it gets
very cold since its a wide open area and nothing to block the wind, a
lot of time will be waiting around. for the second part of the job I
will be working much harder inside around the docks moving packages so
I figure I will remove some clothing. I just bought a hooded
sweatshirt, the lining is polyester and the outer layer is 90%
polyester and 10% cotton. Is it possible to find these 100% polyester
or would that matter much? I'm hunting around for a good wool shirt
now.
well I'm not trying to be cheap at all. I was just looking at some
carnhart coveralls and the outside is made of cotton too. they just
seem a bit bulky for what I need them for. there will be times i am
just standing there and then other times i will be working like crazy
so having something i can remove is important. my current plan is to
stay with polypro underwear, wool socks, my hooded polyester
sweatshirt ,wool sweater, and my winter coat that i mentioned before
on top of everything. I'm still trying to figure out what type of
pants I want, maybe i will just go buy the carhartts or some type of
polyester pants.
