Video – The secrets… warm clothes! #4

In this episode, I will decipher all the elements that will help you brave winter peacefully, and even more! I go over in detail all the suits and accessories useful for hiking or mountaineering with temperatures around -30°C.

From new modern technologies to the traditional outfits of Arctic peoples, I will retrace all the best for going on an adventure in extreme cold.

Personally, I experienced these temperatures when I lived in Montreal. Honestly it's bearable, just breathing can sting a little because it's icy air that enters the lungs.

I then asked myself how do we survive in such temperatures? How do we dress in a context where clothing becomes safety equipment in its own right?

And for that, it was the Au Vieux Campeur store that welcomed us. It's an institution in France, it's THE reference store for outdoor equipment.

How to be warm ?

To stay warm, even in extreme temperatures, you need insulating clothing that retains heat well and prevents it from evaporating. T he best insulator known to date is... air, quite simply.

Think about double glazing, it's the same principle.

The whole point of down, synthetic insulation, wool, or cashmere is to capture as much air as possible.

The material that allows you to capture the most while being the lightest is down. 

Feathers that are worth gold: down 

I think you're not surprised if I say that down is the ultimate weapon against extreme cold. In reality, down itself does not provide heat , what makes you hot is that it traps the heat of your own body.

Down feathers trap a lot of air, which helps keep you warm. The problem is that it fears humidity, and if it gets wet, it clumps together and completely loses its swelling power.

On the other hand, at very high altitudes, or very low temperatures, the air is dry, there is no risk of rain, therefore no risk of the down getting soaked.

In addition, today we know how to carry out treatments on the down to prevent it from becoming saturated with humidity.

Generally speaking, I am more in favor of synthetic insulation for urban use, but there comes a time when to be kept warm in freezing temperatures, while remaining light, you can't do better than down. Because yes, for the same weight, down will always be warmer than synthetic.

For example, if you look at very cold sleeping bags, the down is systematically lighter. During an expedition at 6 or 7000 meters altitude or an exhausting polar crossing, every gram counts. When you go mountaineering, there is also a safety issue: you cannot afford to be thrown off balance by a heavy bag hanging on a cliff. So obviously, down makes complete sense.

It's also very compressible, which is handy when you need to pack really bulky clothes or a sleeping bag.

In terms of fit, you are obliged to have loose cuts for several reasons:

• The loft of the down must be able to fully express itself, because if the down is compressed, it no longer traps air, and therefore it no longer insulates.
• It also allows air to be trapped and therefore is even more insulating. 

So concretely, what do mountaineers wear?

They have big down jackets or even entire down suits.

You know that I hate outdoor clothing in neon colors, but here, there is such a stake in safety and visibility in mountaineering that I completely understand the benefit of having a very visible red.

Lightness is also very important, because if the fabric is too heavy, it will weigh down on the down and cause it to lose loft. And it absolutely must let the water vapor that the body generates during exercise pass through, so there is no need for a membrane for maximum breathability.

The best-known supplier of this type of fabric is Pertex, which dates back to 1979, specializing in technical fabric, with the Quantum and Equilibrium ranges.

But it is not the only one, for example Valandre, a French brand very famous for its duvets, uses a fabric from the Japanese Asahi Kasei, a little heavier but also more resistant.

So I talked about parka, but it's exactly the same principle for pants, they have down overalls, or pants with synthetic insulation and even waterproof over pants, like a Gore-Tex jacket , except it's for the legs.

How do you measure the quality of down?

There is a unit of measurement called cuin for cubic inch, which will measure the FP namely the filling power of the down. 

A cubic inch is a cube that measures one inch on each side, or 16 cm3. We generally take 30g of down, we put it in a tube and we crush it with a piston which has a defined weight and we see how much volume, how many cubic inches the down occupies.

If it doesn't take up much space, that means it's all flattened out and it won't trap a lot of air. For example, 50g of a 900 cuin down will take up as much space as 100g of a 450 cuin down, so it will obviously be lighter and more compressible. 

Conversely, the higher the number, the more it can compress and the more bulk it will have.

The problem is that you have several standards, between the European standard and the American standard, the size of the cylinder, the weight of the piston can vary depending on the region of the world.

These standards stories are a bit complex and we could do an entire episode on the secrets of down measurement standards. We still retain a few nuances there are a few nuances.

Down that comes from quality breeding will be denser and will trap more air even if the fiber is lower. You can therefore have a 650 cuin down with the same thermal qualities as an 800 cuin down. Higher heat may also be more sensitive to humidity.

Sometimes, it is also possible to see the “+” sign next to the number of cuins, this means that on an 850 cuin + duvet, all the down will be at least 850 cuin, this will not be an average. 

To give you some guidelines, Canada Goose uses 650 cuin down, but in general on mountaineering clothing we are more on 800-850 cuin or even up to 900 cuin. There are a few pieces with 1000 cuin down, but it is still very rare and much more expensive, because you really have to sort the down. 

So you may have heard of eider down, an expensive down harvested manually from the nest of a polar duck, called eider, hence the name.

But I haven't found any outdoor clothing that uses this down, it's more used for very high-end duvets, when you are ready to spend several thousand euros on a duvet. 

On the other hand, it's not just the quilts that count, you also have the weight in grams of the down used, but unfortunately, this is information that is not always present.

Finally, the final quality is influenced depending on the treatment of the down, the way the geese were fed, and whether it was mixed with feathers.

Know that you now have a standard which ensures that the down has been harvested ethically, it is the RDS for Responsible Down Standard, which prohibits, for example, force-feeding .

In short, down is a very big world, it can be a little difficult to know concretely what you are buying, and that's why there are so many magazines that constantly test clothes.

Synthetic insulation to combat the extreme cold

Against the cold, there's more than just down!

Synthetic insulation remains heavier than down, so its use in high mountains remains limited. However, it can be used in other contexts. I am thinking, for example, of daily life in very cold regions, like in Canada, or walks in the forest in the snow with little difference in altitude.

There are still a few brands that use them for very cold parkas: 

• Wiggy's, which uses Climashield “pimped” by itself, which it calls lamilite. In fact, the fibers of the insulation are coated in silicone, so that water can slide off them even more easily. I have never been able to get my hands on a wiggy's garment but I am very very curious to try this Climashield on steroids, the shipping costs have always discouraged me from ordering.
• Beyond Clothing, with an arctic model 
• And above all Kanuk, which I have spoken about several times, it is a brand that manufactures in Montreal, which also uses Climashield.

Work clothing for very cold weather is very often made of synthetic insulation, because it is cheaper and easier to maintain than down. On the other hand, it's obviously heavier, but when you work in a cold store, lightness is a much lesser issue than when you're mountaineering.

In short, the synthetic insulating parka is rather reserved for occasions where the physical effort will be very moderate, with little or no difference in altitude.

We have seen the different types of parkas to protect against the cold, but what do mountaineers wear underneath?

They can wear a small fleece or a jacket with synthetic insulation, but there is one type of piece that fascinates me in these conditions, it's the base layer: a piece worn next to the skin in very cold weather.

Base layer : essential for an expedition?

When you make an intense physical effort in very cold weather, you need a special base layer because it must both keep you warm and wick away perspiration. That 's a bit what attracted me to this type of piece, because they have to succeed in doing things that are a priori contradictory.

This is where Polartec reigns supreme with two famous materials: 

• Power stretch, which is like a very thin fleece, but very stretchy and which dries super quickly, we used it for our gray bomber jacket 
• The power grid, which is like a gridded fleece, so that air can circulate well and evacuate humidity 

Personally, I love the power grid, I find that it's a material that really keeps its promises, and when I'm going to run my 5km and it's cold, it's just perfect.

I would love to make a piece in this fabric one day, but without looking too technical.

But obviously, in base layer you also have the option of merino wool, it's exactly like our merino t-shirts , except that often there is a tiny bit of nylon to add resistance to friction.

For your information, Mike Horn, the famous explorer, is a huge supporter of the merino base layer because it keeps you warm even when wet, it dries quickly and it absorbs very little odor.

I talked about a base layer for the upper body, but it's exactly the same for the legs: you have like long boxers in merino, in power stretch, in power grid, it's really a question of taste.

By the way, I highly recommend having long merino boxers to put under your everyday pants when it's very, very cold, it will change your life.

When I discovered these materials, I asked myself a question: but what did they do in the old days when all these technical materials did not exist?

This is where the nets come in! 

Conquering Everest, equipped with my fishing net

Edmond Hillary wore a curious base layer, made of mesh, or rather net. Yes it really looks like a fishing net.

But what good can it possibly do?

The principle is always the same: this net is used to trap pockets of air, between your skin, and the clothing that you are going to put over the net. It's exactly the same principle as the mesh on a backpack strap.

It's a somewhat old school technology, which has to deal with the profusion of quick-drying technical fabric of all kinds, but which also has its fervent defenders, particularly among the military because once again, it's a garment which manages perspiration extremely well in extreme cold.

In Hillary's day, this was the best base layer possible, and he put on what appears to be a flannel shirt, presumably cotton, over it.

Today, you mainly have two brands that offer this type of net: Bryjne and Aclima.

And to tie in with my video on military clothing, just a month ago, Crye Precision announced a partnership with Aclima for their alpine line.

Personally, it intrigued me a lot and so I bought an Aclima base layer, I went running at 10°C with that and a long sleeve tee on top, and frankly, it works really well, you just have the right level of insulation, and it saved me from getting my t-shirt soaked in sweat.

So really if you are passionate about “gear” and outdoor physical activity, give it a try, you will be surprised! 

Protecting your face (or how not to lose the tip of your nose)

Protecting your head from the cold is easy, there are plenty of hats available. On top you put a hood and that's it.

For the face it's a little different, and you have to be careful, you can quickly get chapped lips.

The problem is when it's extremely cold and you're outside all day, the wind can make things even worse, and any inch of uncovered skin can simply freeze.

This is why polar explorers or mountaineers wear glasses, to avoid having a -40°C wind in their eyes. Some also wear special masks because breathing such cold, dry air can be painful. 

For example, the Coldavenger brand (the name cannot be invented) offers it, where you have a system which humidifies and heats the air you breathe and there you are at peace on your ice floe.

Team mitten or team glove?

Hand protection is absolutely essential, because if your fingers are frozen, you can't do anything: opening a bag or a bottle becomes complicated.

Fortunately, we know how to make warm gloves very well and they often use the same technologies as for a parka or a jacket, that is to say with synthetic insulation or down, waterproof membranes or not, etc. 

For occasions where there are little dexterity issues, you can use mittens, they are warmer because the heat of each finger is not separated as is the case with normal gloves.

So really, having warm hands is not really a problem! On the other hand, for the feet, it's a different story.

The different shoes for a peaceful expedition

Again, this is absolutely critical, because if the feet are not properly protected, it is possible to return with fewer toes from your expedition.

So how do these people protect their feet in an environment where the water can freeze in a few minutes or even a few seconds?

It all depends on the type of activity, there will be a difference between shoes for hiking in extreme cold and shoes for mountaineering. 

When hiking where temperatures are extreme with little or no relief, there are hiking shoes specially made for them, that is to say they have insulation all around the shoe. Some have airgel-based insulation, an extremely light insulation invented by NASA, it is the strongest and lightest in the world! It is made up of more than 99.8% air, which makes it very insulating. 

Or otherwise you have the good old winter boots like Sorel or Baffin, with a very thick wool liner, and a rubber part that goes high up on the upper to protect the shoe from snow and salt, it This is a very common shoe in Canada.

You just have to manage the humidity of the wool slipper at the end of the day, which is why some people take several on an expedition. 

For mountaineering, there are other constraints

They are obviously waterproof because you will spend your time having your feet in the snow. They are rigid to be able to put crampons on, and ensure support on very steep terrain. And above all, they are well insulated from the cold, using integrated gaiters. 

One of the best-known models is the Everest from Millet, where insulation is provided by primaloft, a synthetic insulator. There are other very well-known models from Italian brands like La Sportiva or Scarpa.

For such uses, the choice of sock is essential, and here too there are socks with primaloft.

Forty Below is an American brand, very old school, which offers downright “overboots”. To put it simply, the idea is to put like a big coat over your shoes.

Because what keeps the heat on this kind of product is a mixture of neoprene, foam and a heat reflector, like what you have on a survival blanket.

The VBL (Vapor Barrier Liner) aka the plastic bag

Before finishing, I would like to tell you about a funny technique that some people use to keep their feet warm, it is the principle of the VBL for Vapor Barrier Liner, in other words the vapor barrier.

In fact, it is just a plastic bag which absolutely does not allow perspiration to pass through, it is the complete opposite of a breathable membrane like Gore-tex.

Its role is to prevent the accumulation of humidity when you walk several times in the cold and it is impossible to dry your socks.

This is a technique that I first heard about in a video by François Calvier, a YouTuber who loves survival stories.

To put it simply, you put on a thin sock that dries very quickly, on top you put the famous plastic bag sock, and then your thick insulating sock.

In fact, the perspiration from your foot will only be confined to your thin sock since the plastic bag around the foot will prevent it from migrating towards the shoe. As a result, the insulating sock and the shoe remain completely dry. Obviously, in the evening, you have to dry your thin sock by sticking it against you.

So yes, we have the feeling of having our feet in an oven with this system but, I assure you, it is infinitely more pleasant than having frozen toes that we have to cut off.

Honestly, it's a very simple and very rudimentary, inexpensive technology, but one that the big outdoor brands do not offer for several reasons :

• In terms of technology it's level zero, nothing revolutionary
• It is an accessory whose use is ultimately very restricted: confine itself to long hikes in the extreme cold. 
• Faced with brands that put forward the argument of quick drying and wicking away perspiration, this is going completely against the usual promises. 

Imagine the ad? “With these vapor barrier socks, keep the sweat off your feet”! 

Only RAB offers vapor barrier socks. Rather, it's very old school, American brands that offer these curious clothes like Stephenson Warmlite, Western Mountaineering or Forty Below. Here we don't have an artistic direction like Arcteryx at all.

Bunny boots or Mickey Boots

It's impossible for me to talk about feet and extreme cold without talking about the famous Bunny Boots, which Converse was inspired by. Christophe even has a pair. 

It's called Bunny Boots because with them you get rabbit feet. It also comes in black, and there they are nicknamed Mickey Boots.

There is a website on this pump but frankly, from the old school site I thought I had seen it, but here we are at peaks, I think it has not been updated for 25 years, I don't 'do not exaggerate. The shoes are not overpriced, you can find them for less than €100 on ebay.

It uses exactly the same principle of the Vapor Barrier Liner that we saw, it is a rubber boot, with an insulator sandwiched between two rubber walls which is therefore always dry, and therefore always effective.

So yes your feet sweat profusely, but the sweat always remains hot and you will have all your toes. On the other hand, as with VBL socks, it is absolutely imperative to dry the shoes very carefully in the evening otherwise it will be a fungus between your toes, in addition to completely wrinkled skin, as if your foot had spent hours in water. 

Mukluks, an essential in the Nordic wardrobe

Still going old school to keep your feet warm, you have mukluks, traditional shoes worn by arctic peoples. Today you have a benchmark American manufacturer, Steger.

It's like a boot, made with elk leather, it's very flexible and durable with a cotton canvas upper. The advantage of cotton canvas on the boot is that it makes it very breathable, however as soon as it gets wet it's the start of problems, which is why it is imperative to treat it with a water-repellent spray.

Frankly, I like the style, with the strap, and if I had to go on an expedition in the extreme cold, I would be keen to let myself be tempted because I find the atmosphere of this boot brilliant.

On the Arctic side we wear mukluks, in Central Asia they have sturdy leather boots, lined with wool, which go high to protect the shins from the cold. 

In France, it is the Golok's brand that offers this type of piece, named after the region of Tibet and the ethnic group that inhabits it, of which Sylvain Tesson is also the muse, it fits well with the raw side and adventure of these truly special shoes. 

So I hope that you now want to face the extreme cold, and personally, all I want to do is return to Montreal with a little -30°C and enjoy it!