Keeping warm and dry this winter

KIPAX

KIPAX

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KIPAX Lancashire UK
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This might be a better read for those attempting there first winter out and about doing sports.. especialy sat pitchside. rugby or football where you cant move around to keep warm..

These are just my thoughts.. as always I am not saying this is how anyone should do things.. only that this is as I do them and it works for me.. I am happy to learn if people have better solutions.. Anything that helps :)

PANTS
For rainy days I carry a pair of Glacier Point sky/board pant.. they have built in braces which is good as I find overpants slip down a lot..so these don't.. SKI pants have the added extra of being warm.. so not just dry but warm... never buy waterproof pants that are not lined as they sweat and you end up more wet.. these pants can be worn as is.. or over other pants.. I take them just in case..

PANTS 2
Just bought some Karrimor fleece lined pants .. work pants lots of pockets and fleeced lined.. these purely for cold days/evening but dry weather.. worn as is not over others.. quite smart don't look bulky and odd

COAT
I have a regatta waterproof windproof coat that zips right up to the chin.. need something windproof especially IMHO and up to chin like a polo neck :) Also long at the back for when your sat pitchside..I can wear various items under this coat.. a thick fleece or a normal jumper depending on the weather

FEET
Waterproof boots and thermal socks.. nothing worse than your toes going numb


UNDIES
Depending on the weather I may wear full length or top thermal underwear.. Anyone who has done football in winter or rugby at lower league grounds where there's not much cover from the elements will know biting winds and freezing temperatures :( Full length helps keep your lower back covered..again when sat all night and yer coat/top starts to ride up


HANDS
Now this is strange.because I see people coming up with allsorts of plans.. fingerless gloves.. thin cycle gloves blah blah.. well for me a nice reasonable normal pair of thermal gloves (not mega thick) will do.. I don't need to cut holes in them.. using the BBF means I don't need to be so delicate.. one big gloved thumb pressing the back button for focus and then hit the front to shoot.. you don't need deft control.. if your using the shutter button for everything then yes.. but using BBF you can get away with normal gloves IMHO


HEAD
I have a lovely thick "heat holders" thermal hat..I also have one of them Russian type ones that keep yer ears warm but find the front protrudes too much for the camera so not great


HANDS/HEAD
Gloves and Hat are reasonably cheap.. so I keep a spare set in the car.. there's nothing worse than getting to a cold nights job at a freezing footy ground to find hat and gloves in camera bag and you brought camera case.. or there in your other coat pocket... believe me you don't want to be stuck pitchside on a freezing night with no hat or gloves.. so why not have spare


Rest is just warm clothes..jumper blah blah

Remember.. a nice clear blue sky might be OK in the afternoon.. but if your stuck out.. that clear blue sky will be the coldest night of the lot

PS I take a flask of warm milkey coffeee in winter ..you cant always get to the tea bar at half time if busy
 
PANTS
Doesnt matter, i have a weak bladder so usually end up damping down and the freezing weather turns them into wee wee flavoured ice pops

COAT
Cant get one big enough

FEET
Yep, 2 of them

UNDIES
Tend to use the wifes, nice frilly ones means ive got a spare monopod to hand :D


HANDS
Yep, 2 of these as well, one of them usually holding my "other monopod" (read above) while the Cheerleaders do their busines


HEAD
Yes please, do you spit or swallow
 
You will be sat round yer telly on a sat afternoon or a tuesday night wont you Gary :)
 
Still doing local footy and RL mate, nowt worse, wide open spaces and no shelter, no time pressure though, Sat afternoon and Sun morning games with a Wednesday teatime deadline
 
Not that I'm likely to be shooting loads like you guys but intend to get out and practice whenever I get a chance this football season just at local league stuff... Anywho, being a freshwater fisherman I found myself staying warm enough when there's snow on the ground and it cold enough for the lake to freeze around my line as it sits in the water. But also, as a snowboarder, I will probably just wear a combination of my 'boarding gear / fishing clothes to keep warm....

The true key is layering thin items of clothing rather than one big bulky fleece / jacket. Thermal pants and vest, a tshirt, decent hoodie, 'boarding jacket, board pants, good thick socks - maybe two pairs if its dead cold! My boots are a £25 pair of dickies steel toe items from Wickes which I've made waterproof, a decent thick hat, scarf if needed...

Ref. keeping hands warm, I'll roll with others advice as I'm fresh to this game and hands are obviously pretty key to the overall objective of taking a photograph! But I've managed to keep warm enough besides this in -30 odd celcius with my snowboard goggles freezing on the INSIDE!
 
ref. keeping dry, as I realised I only covered the warm bit my advice would be to stay indoors! So I'm sure there must be better ideas than this?! How do you guys go about keeping your gear shielded from the rain?
 
corb said:
ref. keeping dry, as I realised I only covered the warm bit my advice would be to stay indoors! So I'm sure there must be better ideas than this?! How do you guys go about keeping your gear shielded from the rain?
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Thinktank rain covers on so called waterproof kit :)
 
Gary Coyle said:
Genuinely, in the really cold weather i always wear a pair of womens tights
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I believe that was the clothing of choice for the "older generation" of motorcyclists,
before the "modern" stuff became available (y)
 
Gary Coyle said:
Genuinely, in the really cold weather i always wear a pair of womens tights
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Many years ago I worked in a garden centre that had maintenance and landscape teams and after that in cold garage workshops, all the guys would wear tights to help keep warm in winter. Certainly not unusual, though I have never managed to work out how, because when I wore them under trousers there was no discernible difference, other than the friction causing your trousers to ride up :LOL:
 
Yv said:
Many years ago I worked in a garden centre that had maintenance and landscape teams and after that in cold garage workshops, all the guys would wear tights to help keep warm in winter. Certainly not unusual, though I have never managed to work out how, because when I wore them under trousers there was no discernible difference, other than the friction causing your trousers to ride up :LOL:
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You need the thick, heavy woollen type. Not slinky fishnets! :D
 
Pants. just normal trousers, I don't feel the cold in my legs (even in deep snow) so just something that dries quick.

Coat. Buffalo jacket and a down over jacket if it silly cold.

Feet just heavy boots (again don't feel the cold there)

Undies. thermal shirt and if it's going to be sitting on wet ground speedos (old SBS trick, they dry quick)

Hands I favor kevlar army gloves, they have rubber grips, but they are a bit on the thin side for really bitter weather then I switch to neoprene gloves.

Head thermal 'bobble' hat (without the bobble)
 
Dont forget.. field sports.. your sat in one position in the cold for about 2 hrs..
 
KIPAX said:
Dont forget.. field sports.. your sat in one position in the cold for about 2 hrs..
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Oh you precious little babe..............try sitting for 5,6,7,48 hours waiting for meester stoat to appear.
 
fracster said:
Oh you precious little babe..............try sitting for 5,6,7,48 hours waiting for meester stoat to appear.
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thats why i put it in sports and not general.. i just knew!!! .. haha.. no i didnt really ... :)
 
I highly recommend 100% silk thermals that skiers use. Light, thin, breathable and extremely warm. Used them years ago when I used to ski and used them last winter in extreme cold weather. Kept me nice 'n toastie
 
PANTS
I do have some of those plastic waterproof trousers that I keep in the car. I can pop them in the bag if it looks like it might rain but won't be cold. As Tony says can make you sweat. However they worked well in the abandoned Charlton vs Doncaster Rovers at the beginning of the season.

I have some ski pants that I got for about £20 in TK Max a few years ago. They are warm and can be worn by themselves or over other trousers.

COAT
I ave some 'supposedly' waterproof jacket. Thin but I would say it is shower proof. At the above mention Charlton game, the water came through the sleeves.

FEET
Keep the waterproof boots and thermal socks in the car.

UNDIES
I have some UNIQLO shiny thermals. Not because that brand is supposed to be particularly good, just happened to be in one of their shops a few years ago.


HANDS
This is where I can't seem to get it right. I need to find the right thickness ones that keep the fingers warm and that I can still use BBF and still Chimp with.

HEAD
Wooly hat


KIPAX said:
HANDS/HEAD
Gloves and Hat are reasonably cheap.. so I keep a spare set in the car.. there's nothing worse than getting to a cold nights job at a freezing footy ground to find hat and gloves in camera bag and you brought camera case.. or there in your other coat pocket... believe me you don't want to be stuck pitchside on a freezing night with no hat or gloves.. so why not have spare
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Good thinking batman.
 
bigrob said:
n.b. I also have a weak bladder and most times at half time I need to run to the loo and then sent pis. Then at full time pee again and then edit and send.
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A Freudian slip? :LOL:
 
Oh damn and blast. Not an intended slip but a god one all the same. Well spotted.
 
Being a biker, I have an array of waterproof cold weather gear which is very useful for outdoor sports photography.

A really good recent buy is the EXO2 heated jacket. I wear this as an inner jacket on the bike but it can be worn as an outer off the bike. It usually plugs into the bike and gives a lovely warmth on the body and down the sleeves. It also comes with a battery which goes in a pocket in the jacket so you can have heat from the back panel in the jacket when off the bike. I used this several times last season when otherwise freezing my nuts off and it was great as it keeps your core temp up so everything else stays warm.

As I usually bike to games, I'll have on Rukka Armas goretex gear which is tremendously tough. I'll generally leave the trousers on and take off the jacket and swap it for a Fjallraven waterproof outdoor jacket with a hood. The Rukka jacket is a bit stiff and not cut for holding your hands & arms up to a camera hence the change. The Fjallraven jacket is long so covers your waistband to prevent drafts.

I do recommend a hood on a jacket as well, as it helps keep your head and the back of your neck warm and cuts out drafts down your back. Also stops the rain running down your neck.

If I'm not on the bike I'll have a pair of Fjallraven Barents Hydratic (gore-tex like) trousers on. These are lined, waterproof and very cosy. The Fjallraven stuff is really excellent if you can find it. Their website is here.

Hat is normally a beanie of some sort, or something with a peak if it's raining (baseball hat style). Gloves are an issue at the moment, and I have still to find the right ones. I have a pair of Lowepro mittens that the ends fold back allowing fingers & thumbs to work but keeping the palms and back of hands warm. I've also got a pair of Musto thin gloves which allow me to operate the camera OK but not type captions. Still looking for the right thing here.
 
Are you on a KTM now Tobers?

I'd like to see how your bag etc fits on the bike. I remember you did a blog a long time ago. Do you have a backpack as well?

I am thinking next year I might like to go down this route.
 
I purchased some sealskins shooting gloves last year , not the cheapest but do a good job and allow a few fingers free .

0022957_sealskinz_shooting_gloves.jpeg
 
Cobra said:
I believe that was the clothing of choice for the "older generation" of motorcyclists,
before the "modern" stuff became available (y)
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Nah. The only good use for the Daily Mail is to wrap around yer shins and thighs. One of the broadsheets is better for the upper body, especially round the kidneys. Brown parcel tape to keep it all in place. The kind of wimmin I used to know back then didn't have the nice, warm kind of tights, only the sheer ones which ain't that warm! Now I use a set of full length thermals that I picked up in Lidl a couple of years ago - way better than the papers and washable! Of course, I don't do the 2 wheeled mileage that I used to anyway but the cheap thermals do work very well!

I always used to try to avoid getting too cold rather than trying to warm up after a freezing - once you're cold to the bone it's near impossible to thaw out but by stopping at almost every opportunity for a cuppa (and a pee!), I managed to keep my core temperature up most of the time.
 
I use fishing gloves in the winter as they have a couple of folding back fingers for shooting

Base layers are a huge benefit aswell. top and bottoms really do help during the winter, those and ski pants keep you warm.

I use ski socks aswell

Ski ranges have to be the best out there as they are designed for lower temperatures than we sit in
 
Silk thermal socks with a nice thick pair of ski socks over the top, keeps my toes toasty.

The key is layers and lots of them. I have thermal top and leggings. Silk thermal ski gloves and balaclava with hat then rugby top, fleece and waterproof coat. It's just my legs getting wet that makes me a little nippy. I wear jeans but they are probably the worst things in cold and wet or even just cold conditions.

Oh and I have a charcoal burner hand warmer thing in my pocket
 
Ah that reminds me I bought some silk socks last year. Just need to find them now.
 
Grr can't get the selection to move to the basket, tried Firefox & Edge, no joy.

Just worked ... weird!
 
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I think the key is layers do you can add or remove depending on conditions

Pants,
I have taken to using snickers work pants, they are fairly warm but best of all you have the pockets on the knees that you slot kneepads into
For over pants / rain protection I have some Berghaus deluge over trousers and a pair of braces to hold them up, never had a pair of elastic ones that didn't have to be so tight they were uncomfortable.

Coat
I have a nice Helikon tactical fleece which is nice because it is very warm and has lots of pockets and then to keep the rain out I have an oversized karrimor rain jacket to fit over the fleece, I have an even more oversized version of the same rain jacket I use if I am using any belt pouches as it comes down and covers them which saves me having to fiddle with the rain protection on the individual pouch.

Feet
I have a decent pair of waterproof hiking boots but the piece de resistance is the HAIX XR21, its a big waterproof work boot with fur lining. They are great for pretty much everything except driving in

Hands
I use two sets of gloves, the first is a light wool glove with those touch pad things on the fingers so you can still use the phone, the second is a pair of thinsulate fingerless gloves that can fit over the other pair and still allow me to operate the camera.

Head
I tend to use a simple fleece beanie and the hood from the jacket

Gear
I use Think Tank Hydrophobia to keep my stuff dry, great at keeping rain out but a pain if you want to swap cameras quick
 
Interesting stuff in the news lately about some downsides of synthetics in clothing. The trouble is, there is a lot of us on this one little planet and we're increasingly consumers with disposable income who want the latest and the newest and the most convenient and - the most efficient?

It's always been obvious that synthetics are on a one-way trip from a fossil source (oil) to (mainly) landfill where their material will persist for aeons. That's not efficient at all, it's wasteful. The recent bad news is to do with their profuse shedding of minute particles when laundered (but I suspect also in use), together with after-effects from water-repellent coatings.

I've worn my share.

There's no perfect world. Tests have shown, though, that wool keeps your heat in when it's wet to a radically greater degree than polyester fleece. Merino is great as a base layer - tops, briefs, hats, socks - in all seasons.

Mountaineers of old were focussed on silk (as underwear - also marvellously light, I have a silk sleeping bag liner) and on wool (knitted, as for socks, or woven (tweed) as for trousers / jackets - I know, that's a period fashion statement!). Cotton remains generally a no-no, being too absorbent of sweat and rain thus having an excessive cooling function when you might least require it. But there's a spun-and-woven waterproof form of it called Ventile that can be got in garment form (at a price). I could write a small essay on that. And there's waxed cotton as in Barbour etc jackets.

It's all food for thought. I'm sitting here in polycotton trousers (more than half synthetic). I've got about three nylon coats (Goretex, Sympatex, eVent, you name it) hanging in the cloakroom, as well as a Ventile one.

The easiest intro to natural fibre clothing is the merino base layers.

I could add that my perspective in the above isn't that of Kipax sitting on his fanny (and I hope that's taken in the spirit that was intended!), but being active in the outdoors, including strenuous exertion.
 
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