04-15-2008, 12:09 AM
Frankfort, Ky. - The advances in the science of keeping warm are miles ahead of where they were just 15 years ago. The development of synthetic base layering and clothing with wicking properties makes going afield in winter and early spring pleasurable compared to the way things used to be in the days of wool and cotton.
Gone are the bulk of those outer garments that made one feel inflated with air. They also greatly constricted movement. Also gone is the cold that comes from exerting oneself enough to sweat and then sitting in cold damp cotton clothing the rest of the day.
Outdoors enthusiasts underestimate nature's chill in late winter and early spring more than any other time of year. Those first warm spells that hit in mid-February to mid-March lull hunters and anglers into a false sense of security. They don't prepare enough for warmth when chasing sauger in a tailwater, trout fishing, snow goose hunting or deep-water crappie fishing during this time of year. It is easy to wind up so cold you wonder if your teeth will crack and break from chattering in the last few hours of the day.
Hunters and anglers can prepare for this situation and stay warm without much bulk. A thin base clothing layer of polypropylene, breathable micro-fiber or breathable fleece is the most essential ingredient to staying warm. Silk is another great base layer - and it feels great against the skin. These materials allow perspiration vapor to escape and wick away moisture from the skin. This is what keeps you warm.
Do not use a cotton tee-shirt and cotton sweat pants as a base layer. Late winter and early spring weather changes by the hour. It could be 30 degrees at 6:30 a.m., 48 degrees at 10 a.m., 52 degrees at 2 p.m. and back into the low 30s when the sun dips behind the hills in late afternoon. If you've exerted yourself during the day and sweated in your cotton tee-shirt and sweat pants, those damp garments become blankets of frost at 5 p.m. Cotton just doesn't dry and loses all insulating properties once it gets wet.
You can exert yourself while wearing a breathable base layer and the perspiration mostly evaporates off your skin. You stay warm in late afternoon.
Layer some medium to heavy weight insulating fleece over the thin breathable base layer and add a windproof rain suit. You'll stay remarkably warm with a non-constricting, comfortable outfit. If it is going to stay under 40 degrees for the entire day, you may need some insulated bibs and a jacket or coveralls. Bibs and a jacket offer much more comfort and you can remove the jacket in the mid-day sun and stay comfortable with the bibs and under-layers. Once the sun drops, slide the jacket on again.
Use a thin polypropylene layer sock over thick wicking socks and your feet stay warm and dry all day. A wool sock works as well, but wool makes your feet sweat when walking. The dampness becomes cold when you slow down again. Don't put on your heavy, warm boots until you arrive at the snow goose blind, tailwater or lake. Your feet sweat like crazy in a heated vehicle while wearing heavy winter boots. Your damp feet feel like frozen blocks of wood two hours after you leave the truck. You'll be miserable the rest of the day. Wear some slip-on shoes until you arrive at your hunting or fishing destination.
Winter anglers often use fingerless wool or fleece gloves, but they aren't too comfortable after a soaking in 38-degree weather. A trick winter trout and smallmouth anglers use is to spread an even coat of petroleum jelly on their hands and slide a pair of latex gloves over them. Your hands stay warm and the latex gloves shed water. Thin latex gloves allow complete freedom of finger movement, making tasks like tying knots or releasing fish much easier. Pack several pairs of the latex gloves. A puncture hole from a hook or a fish fin ruins the insulating effect of the entire glove.
Use these simple tips during this late winter and spring and you won't have to leave the trout water three hours early because your hands are so numb you can't tie on a fly.
Gone are the bulk of those outer garments that made one feel inflated with air. They also greatly constricted movement. Also gone is the cold that comes from exerting oneself enough to sweat and then sitting in cold damp cotton clothing the rest of the day.
Outdoors enthusiasts underestimate nature's chill in late winter and early spring more than any other time of year. Those first warm spells that hit in mid-February to mid-March lull hunters and anglers into a false sense of security. They don't prepare enough for warmth when chasing sauger in a tailwater, trout fishing, snow goose hunting or deep-water crappie fishing during this time of year. It is easy to wind up so cold you wonder if your teeth will crack and break from chattering in the last few hours of the day.
Hunters and anglers can prepare for this situation and stay warm without much bulk. A thin base clothing layer of polypropylene, breathable micro-fiber or breathable fleece is the most essential ingredient to staying warm. Silk is another great base layer - and it feels great against the skin. These materials allow perspiration vapor to escape and wick away moisture from the skin. This is what keeps you warm.
Do not use a cotton tee-shirt and cotton sweat pants as a base layer. Late winter and early spring weather changes by the hour. It could be 30 degrees at 6:30 a.m., 48 degrees at 10 a.m., 52 degrees at 2 p.m. and back into the low 30s when the sun dips behind the hills in late afternoon. If you've exerted yourself during the day and sweated in your cotton tee-shirt and sweat pants, those damp garments become blankets of frost at 5 p.m. Cotton just doesn't dry and loses all insulating properties once it gets wet.
You can exert yourself while wearing a breathable base layer and the perspiration mostly evaporates off your skin. You stay warm in late afternoon.
Layer some medium to heavy weight insulating fleece over the thin breathable base layer and add a windproof rain suit. You'll stay remarkably warm with a non-constricting, comfortable outfit. If it is going to stay under 40 degrees for the entire day, you may need some insulated bibs and a jacket or coveralls. Bibs and a jacket offer much more comfort and you can remove the jacket in the mid-day sun and stay comfortable with the bibs and under-layers. Once the sun drops, slide the jacket on again.
Use a thin polypropylene layer sock over thick wicking socks and your feet stay warm and dry all day. A wool sock works as well, but wool makes your feet sweat when walking. The dampness becomes cold when you slow down again. Don't put on your heavy, warm boots until you arrive at the snow goose blind, tailwater or lake. Your feet sweat like crazy in a heated vehicle while wearing heavy winter boots. Your damp feet feel like frozen blocks of wood two hours after you leave the truck. You'll be miserable the rest of the day. Wear some slip-on shoes until you arrive at your hunting or fishing destination.
Winter anglers often use fingerless wool or fleece gloves, but they aren't too comfortable after a soaking in 38-degree weather. A trick winter trout and smallmouth anglers use is to spread an even coat of petroleum jelly on their hands and slide a pair of latex gloves over them. Your hands stay warm and the latex gloves shed water. Thin latex gloves allow complete freedom of finger movement, making tasks like tying knots or releasing fish much easier. Pack several pairs of the latex gloves. A puncture hole from a hook or a fish fin ruins the insulating effect of the entire glove.
Use these simple tips during this late winter and spring and you won't have to leave the trout water three hours early because your hands are so numb you can't tie on a fly.