Hi, I'm Frozen! Yes....yes you are. Living up to name man! Another great instructional video. When I started with my layering I found a great article on the Section Hiker website. It included great visual aids of each layer and what each layer does for you. Thanks for the lesson.
Thanks for the video and an alternate way of doing things. I'm just back from a few weeks of 20 deg to 40 deg backpacking / camping. Since my summer layering is simple: loose long sleeve underarmor T-shirt next to skin, long-sleeve buttoned fishing shirt, shorts, and knee-high compression socks, I only needed to add for winter: polyester tights to hike in and a different pair to sleep in, a thin shell that is breathable and waterproof from Zpacks to hike and sleep in, and a homemade pair of gore-tex wind/rain pants. No sweater, no fleece. Of course, I have a hooded puffy jacket for when not hiking in camp. For the head, I have a buff, a beanie, and my favorite floppy wide-brim hat from Marmot that is waterproof, wind-proof, and breathable. In summer, it keeps the sun off my head and out of my eyes. In the winter, it is adjustable enough to go over my beanie AND the hood of my shell. And it keeps sun out of my eyes which is quite important in the snow at high altitude (sunglasses are a MUST!). For hands, I use mittens, not gloves. The Patagonia Better Sweater Fleece gloves are half gloves/mittens. I love them. I can expose my fingers easily for camera work, cooking work, and fine finger control. Don't forget those hand warmer packets which are wonderful and go right in the mitten parts. (A hand warmer packet can keep one's water filter from freezing, too!). I use a separate waterproof mitten shell over the fleece mittens if needed. One thing we completely agree on: SealSkinz waterproof socks. :) My winter wear adds about 2 lbs extra weight over my summer clothes and I'm still using my summer clothes in the winter.
I also wanted to write that how easily layers are removed and added during the day of hiking is important. Mornings are usually the coldest, so one starts dressed with more layers. For me, the beanie goes leaving the floppy hat. The upper body shell gets unzipped and the pit zips open up. Then the buttoned shirt underneath gets unbuttoned exposing the undershirt. Then the sleeves of the undershirt get pushed up while the fishing shirt sleeves stay long. Lower shell (gore-tex) pants can come off, then the tights if needed. Or gore-tex shell pants can go back on. At that point, I'm just about in my summer gear, but still have the mittens to unfold leaving fingers exposed, then the mittens come off completely. I wear my puffy jacket OVER my shell in camp if it is not raining, but under the shell if it is raining.
Buff! So far as hat sizes go, I'm a 7 7/8 hat size. The wintry Buffs are just about all I can wear, except for the Mountain Hardwear Dome Perignon (XL). ... AND ... This is such a good way to get people's attention to help everyone understand layering! I also like that you gave temperature levels as guidelines.
Winter camping is badass . i remember years back a buddy almost died of hypothermia because he brought one thin blanket . he sat by 🔥 tending it all night LMAO... Great video.
Just got done watching your video excellent choices that you've made over the years with a few mistakes that we've all made I have similar pants they say it's waterproof but they're not I got mine from mountaineers I have other similar layers by completely different in a lot of aspects ways again excellent video
Merry Christmas Jason I am just working on my winter clothing kit. It is an ongoing challenge. I just bought an Outdoor Vitals Dragonwool Hoodie which has gotten some great reviews. Take Care
Just did a 2 nighter in north central WI, avg temp was 30 deg. And about 26 at night. Definitely a layers game. I sweat no matter what I'm doing so usually just a t shirt while doing camp chores. Then later after I'm sitting around . Thank for the video, good info for the unexperienced.
Quick tip: If you're cold, just start hiking. It's amazing how much warmer you get by just moving. And, save something dry to show up at camp and keep yourself warm when you stop moving. Also, removing those sweating layers helps to keep your body warm.
You pick the perfect day for this video starting with the shorts. 👍😅 Very good job with the video and it looks like you have some good clothing for all temps. I should take a look at the down booties.
Great video Frozen. I really like the hoodie and the seal skin socks. You have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Hope to see you on the trail in 2019
Great video. Kudos for standing there in shorts and a t-shirt! I’m 66…a retired backcountry LE wildlife officer, so I’m pretty savvy to proper winter layering procedures….but in my profession, I didn’t worry about grams and ounces. Now, however, I’m seriously preparing for a mid-February start of the AT, and total pack weight is at the forefront of my mind. Like you, I prefer trail shoes to boots. To confirm something you said, in snowy conditions, you found that your trail shoes and sealskinz socks to be adequate….even in snow maybe 6 to 10 inches deep? I’m tentatively shopping for a winter-hiking specific shoe or boot, but I’d be willing to try something else. Bravo-zulu….well done on producing a value-added - with great visuals!! - video, amigo!
Boots end up doing me a lot my harm than good. I find that with the sealskinz socks I can do any winter trip up to the point of needing snow shoes. If I need snow shoes I'd probably go boots but walked a few miles in 3 feet of snow with just runners and this socks and have been fine.
in 6 to 10 inches of snow...wear gaiters it will stop the snow from coming in your shoes or boots plus bring some snowshoes if it is that deep, also the possume (that I have) and or sealskinz waterproof socks should also do the job. I live in Canada so snow we got and plenty of it, cold weather we got and for a long period of time. Glad you are back hiking and backpacking...enjoy while you can!
@@labellaescrima1996 That’s a good idea! I tried gaiters on my attempted AT thru-hike in 2018; but unlike most other backpackers, I found them uncomfortable, cumbersome, and not worth wearing (late spring to early summer). But your idea of trying them out for winter conditions is a great suggestion…..thank you for taking the time to write your comment! I’ll give them a try over the next few months during my winter hikes here in western Massachusetts!
@@captaincoyote1792 Outdoor Research (OR) make good quality gaiters, don't forget to take the long ones not the little ones for summer (totally useless in 10 inches of snow). You can also go for Montane Endurance Pro Gaiters, Berghaus Yeti Attack, Rab Muztag GTZ Pro, Black Diamond Cirque Gaiters, don't forget high gaiters in the winter. Good luck
Awesome Jason I love snow but thankfully I don't have to worry about that in Florida we rarely have a one or two day temps of lows in the 30's but than warms in the afternoon to 50 and 60 but mostly 70's and 80's even in winter
This is a tangential question -- maybe for a Q and A? -- but barring tears or other damage, when do you consider the tread on your trail runners too far gone? My Lone Peaks have a few nubs worn down, but I figure it's not such a big deal in winter since I will slip anyways (or need to wear traction). Do you wait for them all to flatten out so they look like ballet flats?
just interested to know how the Body Wrapper pants are holding up and how they're working for rain pants? Was the NikWax/DWR treatment effective enough? or are they basically only suitable as wind pants or to hold in a little extra heat?
Got a question for you - I know you've spoken highly of the "Body-Wrapper Pants" (or ballerina). How exactly did you apply DWR to them? I tried one of those soak-them-in-a-tube Nikwax and they effectively do nothing from a (minor) rain protection standpoint. Imitation is the best form of flattery and I'd love to redo what you did there for my future hiking... and yes, I know it won't be as good as real rain pants or a rain kilt - just looking to understand better what worked. Thanks!
There's a video on my channel about reapplying dwr to rain jackets. Basically clean it with tech wash then the DWR solution. Then dry on low heat for 6 minutes.
You aren't going to get them to be rain pants. But in a light mist. It'll keep you dry. It's just to enhance the wind pants by making them a little bit water resistant.
@@FrozensAdventures Thank you - that's what I thought but I was wondering if you had some other trick that worked better. Appreciate all the videos you've done. Take care!
Hello Frozen, love your videos. What are you doing for shelter are you taking a tent or hammock. How well will a hammock work on The AT. And your winter layering works for hammock.
I'm taking my hammock. If you wait until next week. The AT videos full of everything you want to know about what I'm bringing and my plan start coming out.
I'm so tired of all my clothes smelling and getting so hot amd sweaty hiking in the winter. If Marino wool doesn't help then I dont know what else to do.
So, Survivor Man always says “You sweat, you die.” Can you explain, or maybe do a video, or like to one you may have done, how to go about hiking in colder weather with enough on to keep warm, but avoiding breaking a sweat?
Works for me! Thanks. As a Washington guy who has been a Penguins fan since 1990, I’ll have a tough decision in 2021... Pittsburgh or Seattle? Can I get on the Seattle bandwagon and still mostly like the Pens? I still hang my Jaromir Jagr Christmas ornament every year.
I think I prefer non hooded. It allows for more options and doesn't take up extra space. I rarely need any more than the buff and a hat. Without a hood I can easily use the hood of my shell as well.
So is the Patagonia R1 top and bottom your base layer if it is At or below 20 degrees? Couldn't understand that transition from the Smartwool for lounging and the Patagonia.
Thanks for the information. I do have one question, if you are on a section of a thru-hike where your temps can range from low teens to 40's, what clothes would you bring for that section?
Each their style, and I happen to somewhat disagree.This is really optimal for dry weather. And may be fine for, say, continental USA. But if it's too moist you'll get tired of having to dry your gear all the time. Over time your clothes won't get any less damp than the weather you're in, rain gear just slows the process.Which is where old fashioned, high quality wool really works better. It's heavier, but you can just layer it on, so when you don't have to bring so many spare clothes it kind of evens out.
Ut På Tur - Out Hiking Lol that is retro my friend. I like your style. I used to be a wool man myself years ago. But in the end I disagree with you. Modern synthetics are lighter and work just as well in wet weather when compared to wool. Wool does keep its insulating features when damp and wet but it is still damp and wet. So even in the wool years I carried a gore rain shell. I prefer the ultra light synthetic modern materials that do the same thing as wool and still carry a similar style rain shell only it’s a Helium 2 these days. But then I do 99.99997 of my backpacking in the continental USA where 99.999997 of the best backpacking in the whole world exist. I am going to Iceland soon but taking my synthetics with me. But just to point out an interesting feature about the continental USA. It’s is pretty large and believe it or not has more than one climate. As a matter of fact we have two different styles of rain forest in the lower 48 as well as desert climates along with alpine climates and other interesting climes as well. I myself live in the Southern Appalachians and it is wet here my friend. Even when water is not falling from the sky the air is heavy with oppressive humidity in the summer. So this part of the continental USA is definitely not dry.
All the things in this video I got on a clearance sale. I really didn't want to.mention the price because it would be upwards of $500 which I can't recommend. I urge people to look at what I'm wearing and make similar layering choices that are much cheaper. For the Patagonia and smart wool stuff I paid 280
For hiking in the mid 20s all you need are those pants. The Cirque adds another 15 degrees. Keep in mind everyone's body is different. Your upper body is most important. I'd recommend the r1 hoodie or similar before getting those pants.
Are you going to take all this on your AT thru hike? That seems like a lot of clothing. I think you said you are starting in March. So you can definitely run into some cold nights.
I have a gift card to REI burning a hole in my pocket and on the shopping list is a quality rain jacket. You mentioned Torrent. I am also looking at the rainshadow, OR Helium HD or REI's equivalent? Anyone have thoughts... pros/cons?
