Comments on: How to Dress to Survive a Freezing Ice Cold Snowy Chicago Winter, or Blizzard

By: Chicago vacation in December - Illinois (IL) - Page 9 - City-Data Forum

Chicago vacation in December - Illinois (IL) - Page 9 - City-Data Forum — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 04:27:29 +0000

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By: How to Dress to Survive a Freezing Ice Cold Snowy Chicago Winter | Outdoor Decor

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 21:46:27 +0000

[...] How to Dress to Survive a Freezing Ice Cold Snowy Chicago Winter Posted by root 21 minutes ago (http://chicagoweekendfun.com) They are also good for use in building snowmen and snow forts with the kids let me know by posting them as a comment with your helpful hints and cold weather clothing chicago outdoor film festival free classic movies all summer backgarage chicago decorati Discuss | Bury | News | How to Dress to Survive a Freezing Ice Cold Snowy Chicago Winter [...]

By: joe

joe — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:35:36 +0000

Something very important to remember for any who are going to be outdoors in winter conditions is the old Mountain Climbers saying “Cotton Kills”. Although we are all tempted to wear cotton t-shirts or long underwear because of their comfort, cotton when wet stays wet and has no insulating properties. You can work up a sweat under layers of clothing by just walking a few blocks. You need to either wear a wool blend (now days very comfortable with no itch, ie: Merino wool) or a man-made fabric such as polypropylene (fleece or polyester fabric). Both will wick moisture away from your body so you stay dry. If either do get wet, they still hold their insulation properties and dry very quickly. Stay away from Cotton fabrics in Cold weather. Layers is the key. Poly thermo underwear, sweater (turtleneck as mentioned above), fleece jacket and wind proof/water proof shell coat. Merino wool socks with lose fitting insulated boots and warm gloves. And as mentioned above…always wear a warm hat. As Peter Kummerfeldt (Air Force Artic survival trainer for 30 years) says: “Don’t dress to arrive, dress to survive.”

By: Rose

Rose — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:03:50 +0000

Thanks for this advice! I’m heading to DC for Obama’s Inauguration, and as a native Californian I’m very worried about staying warm. My friend is there right now and called me up to say I should buy a ski mask — it’s so cold she feels like she’s on fire! Today in San Francisco it’s 60 degrees and my hands are freezing… so you can see why I’m so worried about this I’m almost in tears. We’ll be out in the cold on Tuesday for at least 4 hours! I’m off to REI to buy some more warming gear!

By: Erika

Erika — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 16:42:42 +0000

I’m moving to Chicago from Miami at the end of Jan. Thanks for your advice! I’m not as scared as I should be as a native Miamian! But I’ll get a nice taste of what a real winter is when I go up for New Years! Its is then that I will really know what I need! Its hard to shop in Miami, especially when every store still has bikinis for sale!

By: chiweekendfun

chiweekendfun — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 16:40:12 +0000

In general it depends on how cold you expect it to be.

In the winter in Chicago I wear a lot of thick turtleneck sweaters (sweaters in general are good) with a long sleeve t-shirt layered underneath and jeans or courderoy pants. Thick socks are also a must, and boots that are waterproof are important. Other than that you have some options as far as type of sweaters, hoodies, fleece, blazers, cardigans, sweatshirts, jackets, scarves and all kinds of pants but thicker heavy weight fabrics are a must.

Also, if you don’t spend much time outdoors you may not need as much layering. I end up wearing a lot of layers because I walk to and from the train every day. If you just run to your car parked outside a good thick coat should do the trick and then you have more fashion options.

Old Navy, The Gap and many department stores have a lot of sweaters and down filled coats in the fall and winter. Check them out online to see if you like them. If you want professional gear try REI or North Face for coats and warm hiking gear.

By: Hayri Volkan Agun

Hayri Volkan Agun — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 05:01:35 +0000

Actually, I am answering the question above. Winter means cold, so keep yourself warm is the simplest answer. However you need details.
1) Night and Day temperature difference is generally high. You can spend some of your day outside. At nights you can feel very cold if you stay outside for an hour. (15 Minutes is usually enough to start seeking a warm place if you are walking)
2) If you have a gentle skin use creams for your face.
3) Use your nose for breathing rather than your mouth.
4) Do not try to use a bicycle or try to run if you are in a hurry.
5) Don’t think much about cold it is really important if you feel pain in cold. Do not try to make yourself ready for cold when you go outside, because mentally it makes you feel more cold. Actually feel free and just feel the cold but try to avoid from wind.
6) Double wear, it means wear more clothes than usual. No matter how they are thick the important part is the volume of warm air inside the clothes. It is like a kind of isolation.

By: cat

cat — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:00:31 +0000

this was so helpful to me but what other than clothing should i be prepared for? im from florida and have never in my life experienced snow, cold weather or anything of the sort (we start freezing to death at 70 degrees or so, especially me lol). if you could give me a few tips it would be great.