75 replies to this topic

[solarity]

While I have a lot of warm clothes, it is amazing how quickly my interesting in setting up and using my scopes starts to sway dramatically the colder it is. What do you do to help fight the cold? My biggest issue is dexterity vs. warmness of gloves. Thinking of heated gloves, haven't bought any yet, though I wanted to see if this would be a good compromise. I do have some heated socks.

[willyk44]

I've been out plenty of times for hours at a time lately and it's been in the 20's mostly.  I wear compression clothing as a base layer and then some normal cargo pants, a hoodie and a Columbia jacket over that.  I have fingerless bum gloves with a fold over mitten to cover my finger tips when I'm not doing anything.  Thick thermal socks and warm winter boots along with a beanie with mask built in.  Keeps me pretty comfortable for hours.

[Jim Waters]

https://www.amazon.c...1435182458&th=1

 

These work for me.

[Bill Jensen]

Hand warmers work well, and I have used them inside boots at times as well. I still have some of the chemical variety, but now they also have the electronic types too. When I would routinely observe at a remote star party site, the chemical hand warmers did the trick, and I didn't have to be concerned about re-charging them . 

 

Essentially looked at what hunters use... 

[SoCalPaul]

In addition to the good advice above...

 

Old hiker's adage: if your feet get cold, put on a hat.

 

I read somewhere years ago that humans lose the most heat through our heads than through any other parts of our bodies, due to the thinness of the skin there and the high number of blood vessels.

 

This applies to me in spades. Covering my head makes a huge difference in my overall warmth.

 

One last thing I'll say is, don't wait until you feel cold before covering up and using your warmth generators. Anticipate and start adding layers or turning on your warmers.

 

I'm a firm believer that personal comfort is one of most critical contributors to observing success.

 

Clear skies,

Paul

[NDBirdman]

Getting warm on a cold winters night?  A cup of hot tea and climb under the blankets with better half!!  Sky will be there come summer!!

[vtornado]

My hands were cold at 25F with thin cotton gloves until I put on my better hat, then they warmed.   Make sure you have a good hat.   This does have limits no matter what hat I wear at 0F (like last night, my hands got cold with a good hat and better gloves)

 

For long sessions I have electric socks.  It's always my feet that get cold even with wool sock and lined boots.

Edited by vtornado, 20 January 2025 - 05:38 PM.

[Starman47]

Hand warmers, toe warmers, trip to mud room, cuppa hot chocolate or coffee. Then back outside. Repeat as often as necessary. 

[lwbehney]

The electric gloves are clumsy, if you have to use them for operating your hand controller, otherwise they are excellent. There are chemical warmers for inserting into shoes as well as gloves and another vote for wearing a hat for your head and ears.  Plenty of warm fluids before hand will improve circulation to your extremeties.  

[LuscombeFlyer]

Since I do imaging almost exclusively, I can sit in my comfortable, warm "ham shack"/workshop and operate everything outside over WiFi.

[rickmurray1989]

Personally, I have found that a good toboggan hat, a heavy coat and good gloves make for a good first start. However, a bit of Jack Daniels or Fireball doesn't hurt, either.

Edited by rickmurray1989, 20 January 2025 - 06:11 PM.

[dave253]

The coldest I ever deal with here is low single digits Celsius. Multiple layers, ugg boots, warm beanie and hot chocolate.

 

Here in winter the Milky Way is directly overhead so a bit of discomfort is worth it.

[Don W]

As a young man my toes were almost frostbit. They have been very sensitive to cold since. For that reason I stay home when it’s below 45 or so. 
 

I have recently moved from Wisconsin to Arizona and those days are much fewer.

 

I Wear insulated boots with disposable heat packs that stick to the top of the socks. My goose down winter coat does the trick for my upper body. Insulated or thermal longjohns keep my legs and tush toasty. Fingerless gloves with heat packs help the hands. A thick stocking cap with eye and mouth holes go on the head.

[Mike Q]

I could dress up and look like the Michelin Man and still be cold.  So down to 20f its Carhartts, sweat shirts, insulated socks and a nice double single malt scotch.  I swear being warmed up from the inside out works better then anything.   Once it goes below 20f..... Forget about it 

Edited by Mike Q, 20 January 2025 - 07:22 PM.

[sevenofnine]

I keep one of these in my parka's pocket and just wear finger less rag wool gloves...works great! 

https://www.amazon.c...096&sr=8-2&th=1

 

p.s. I'm really impressed with the lightweight Columbia Omni-Heat jacket 

Edited by sevenofnine, 20 January 2025 - 08:39 PM.

[Keith Rivich]

I pretty much just layer up with an outer layer of down filled. A nice down jacket and down after ski pants and insulated boots work great. Wool socks go a long way. For my head I wear a Russian style fur covering with ear covers. The cheap stuff doesn't work as my head will start sweating. Pony up for the real thing! 

 

For my hands and eyepieces I use chemical hand warmers in my pockets. 

 

If it gets to cold and I am just not having any fun I call it a night and go inside. No point suffering unless the seeing and transparency are off the charts!

[aatt]

Fleece lined jeans with ski pants over them or those coverall thjngs fishermen wear with fleece lined jeans
Long sleeved insulated shirt with undershirt and winter jacket
Winter hat
Fleece head covering that cinches around face and covers neck
Glove liners and wool form fitting work gloves covered with winter gloves
Alpaca and insulated socks
Winter army boots with insulated soles inserts
Works pretty well into single digits
I still need chemical hand warmers though…
If I am camping, then I need those hand warmers in my pockets too for all nighters.
Have not tested this setup in 0 degrees or subzero yet.

[Jethro7]

Hello Solarity,

I layer up, including wearing a toboggan and use "Hot Hands" hand warmers. I'm good for viewing sessions down to temps about 35°. It's down in the mid 20's already and heading lower tonight. We are expecting 3" to 4" of snow tomorrow. I know 3" or 4" of snow is not really a big deal for many CN members but it is here in N.W. Florida. We have no infrastructure deal with snow. Even though I have clear skies tonight. I'm staying warm in front of a fireplace and here I'll stay.

 

HAPPY SKIES AND KEEP LOOKING UP Jethro

Edited by Jethro7, 20 January 2025 - 09:03 PM.

[WISDOC]

Insulated boots, Walls blizzard proof bibs and coat, knit watch cap,gloves, and a big insulated mug of hot chocolate. A charcoal stick handwarmer in each coat pocket.

[Dave Mitsky]

On the coldest nights, I wear fleece-lined jeans, sweatpants, a Carhartt Men's Arctic Quilt Lined Yukon Coverall, a shirt, a sweatshirt or sweater, a hoodie, a parka with a hood, various gloves or fingerless mittens, alpaca or insulated socks, and winter boots.  I have several ski masks and balaclavas, so along with the two hoods I'll have three layers covering my head and face.  I also use chemical and electronic handwarmers.  I have a pair of electric gloves, but they are rather clumsy, as lwbehney mentioned.

[PIEJr]

When I was starting out, I'd bundle up.

I still like my Long-John bottoms this time of the year. (Yes, it even gets cold in California)

Back then I used to dream of remote operation of my equipment.

 

Now, I dream while my equipment is running with NINA, collecting image after image and I sleep away.

All warm and cozy in bed.

Often when I get up for the 3 AMish bathroom trek, I'll check my camera that watches over my mount to see if it has parked yet.

But I go back to bed and find it parked the next morning.

 

Anyway, that's how I stay warm. I stay inside when it's cold.

Makes the wife feel like less of an Astronomy widow, too. 

[Inkie]

Sorel winter mukluks, warm socks.  If my feet get cold, I get walking.  Jogging if I'm up to it.  

 

Peruvian natives say if you're feet get cold, put a hat on.  So, I wear a Stormy Kromer cap, felt lined, cotton duck waterproofed it I think that will suffice; otherwise a toque.  If I'm likely to fog up an eyepiece, I wear a flexible heat gator with the bottom half folded up over my lower face and nose. 

 

I keep gloves nearby, but honestly they just get in the way.  So, I keep a rechargeable pocket warmer in each jacket hand pocket.  They work amazingly well if you remember to put your hands back in them when you've finished fiddling with aim and focus.  I don't forget too many times before I'm sticking my frozen fingers into those pockets. 

 

Down vest and/or down jacket.  I wear long johns and one or two pairs of fleece gym style long-legged pants.   

 

If there's a bit of a wind, the kind that gets down your collar and takes your mind off the viewing too much, a turtleneck shirt/sweater, a scarf, that head gator...

 

I'm good at 0 to -10F for long periods dressed like that.  Much colder and I have to move off for a brisk four- minute walk every 10-15 minutes to keep the circulation and metabolism up.

[Tony Flanders]

Last night I was out for a couple of hours at 4F -- however, it was dead calm, which makes a huge difference. At 4F with a 20 mph wind I probably wouldn't have lasted that long.

 

My body stayed toasty warm, not even a hint of chill, wearing my usual clothing. A couple of layers of pile, then a ski bib and an expedition parka. With a hood, obviously, over my usual warm winter hat.

 

My hands were fine as long as I didn't do too much fiddling with equipment. I wore thin slit-palm mittens with chemical hand-warmers inside. Much as I hate using throw-away warmers, they're much more svelte than my rechargeable electric ones. Stuck my fingers out for fine manipulation, which was OK as long as I didn't stay in contact with metal more than a few seconds.

 

My feet, alas, didn't do so well. That's not so much because of the boots, which are quite warm (Baffin brand). But my feet were already chilly when I put the boots on. I should have taken ten minutes to warm my feet with a hot water bottle first.

 

Alternatively, taking regular breaks to jog a couple hundred yards is a pretty good way to keep the feet warm. Also, I was observing from a standing position, which I find a lot colder than sitting on a chair.

[AlamoBob]

Geez, I used to be a hardy soul, but 4.5 years in the Tampa Bay area RUINED me!  Now, it's three layers of headgear or even four!  UnderArmor like "beanie" (thin and white) then an UnderArmor Balaklava, and THEN the acrylic stocking cap - it may not be as warm as my navy-issue wool stocking cap, but i find the wool beanie is a bit too tight.  Then comes a hood when needed.  Right now I'm sitting in my office with UnderArmor long-johns and Under Armor insulated bibs - and UnderArmor "base layer" on top followed by an acrylic "chamois shirt" (in fashionable International Orange).  What a wuss I have become!

[Astro-Goat]

"What do you do to keep warm during cold winter nights?"

Heated socks, heated gloves, and a hip flask full of whiskey