5 ms·
> A man in the cold is not necessarily a cold man,” says Tipton. “If you keep moving and you are reasonably insulated you will produce enough heat to stay warm.
by LeifCarrotson 7y ago
> A man in the cold is not necessarily a cold man,” says Tipton. “If you keep moving and you are reasonably insulated you will produce enough heat to stay warm. At maximum exercise, it is like you are running a 2kW fire. When you exercise reasonably hard you can do that in shorts and t-shirt in the cold...
I think about this a lot as a runner in the Midwest US. I regularly go out in 20-30F weather in wool socks, running shorts, a long-sleeve shell, and a hat and gloves. I add running tights and a bit of vaseline on my cheekbones and nose if it's under 20. This last weekend it was 45 and blissfully sunny; it felt like spring, I left my hat and gloves at home and did my first shirtless workout of the season.
The article reminds me of the quote from Jack London's "To Build a Fire" (full text at [1]):
> His idea of running until he arrived at the camp and the boys presented one problem: he lacked the endurance.
Guðlaugur did have the endurance! Good on him.
It does make me think, however, what would happen if I were to sprain an ankle or break a leg and be unable to run to generate heat. If I could only hobble, would I be able to, say, sit down to do sit-ups and push-ups until I could warm up and resume hobbling? Fortunately, I'm not far from from shore on a dark sea, my routes never take me further than about two miles from civilization.
[1]: https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to...
- js2 7y agoFellow runner here. For God's sake man, carry an emergency blanket with you at least. https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Blanket/s?k=Emergency+Blanket https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Blanket/s?k=Emergency+Blank...
- vaultconsulting 7y agoalso a great make-shift Faraday cage for those pesky non-removable-battery phones
- allovernow 7y agoI don't know if that's true. In the nonideal world a Faraday cage must have a minimum thickness to function, which is a factor of the wavelengths you are trying to block and the conductivity of the material, I think.
- londons_explore 7y agoJust the conductivity.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- rmcpherson 7y agoThe article mentions that plastic bags work better than emergency "space" blankets since they block moisture and thus evaporative cooling. A large industrial trash bag is part of my emergency supplies on cold backpacking trips. It's cheap, weighs almost nothing, and provides protection from both radiative and convective cooling.
- jniedrauer 7y agoRelated: I used ziploc bags as vapor barriers nested between two pairs of socks while on a multi-month winter hiking trip in trail shoes. It was extremely effective. I could posthole in deep snow all day in my running shoes and not get frostbite.
- klondike_klive 7y agoHow did you avoid damp-related problems like fungal overgrowth?
- jniedrauer 7y agoIt didn't end up being a problem. I washed my feet when I could, used thick wool socks, let my feet air out at camp, and that was enough.
- krsdcbl 7y agoThe article distinguishes it as a better option _when wet_
- js2 7y agoI'm surprised. I've lined up before races in the cold and I've found an emergency blanket keeps me warmer than a trash bag. I've tried both. Neither beats used sweats from Good Will, but that's too much to run with.
- jvm___ 7y agoYou're supposed to pretend your the garbage and climb into the bag - creating a closed system where you keep the lost water warm.
- thanhhaimai 7y agoWhile I'm happy for your health, I think running shirtless outside at 7 Celsius a bit risky, no? You may be able to sustain it for a while. But if any small accident happens (twisting the ankle for example) it's gonna get cold quickly.
- netcan 7y agoWould I be able to, say, sit down to do sit-ups and push-ups until I could warm up and resume hobbling. It'd be tough. The muscles in your arms are much smaller than your legs. They produce less heat and induce less cardiovascular activity when working. Try getting your heart rate up without using your legs. It's hard. Hope you're not doing this someplace isolated.
- germinalphrase 7y agoLong distance snow walkers (snowshoes/backcountry skis) will take the opposite approach. Oversized insulation + air permeable shell. Oversized clothing allows for complete ventilation when needed/possible. Air permeable shell allows vapor to escape or freeze onto interior surface and flake off under movement. As for light/fast: I’ve worn a small running fanny pack with an emergency blanket and whistle at times.
- londons_explore 7y agoI don't really understand this 'breathable' clothing from a physics perspective. Every liter of water lost through breathable clothing is 2.3MJ of lost heat. So one would presumably prefer to have non-breathable clothing, keep that water in and potentially get 'clammy', yet stay warmer. Yet nobody seems to do this. Is there a physics based reason other than 'it feels icky and is uncomfortable'? Perhaps because even when in very cold environments there are occasions when the body is too hot and needs to loose heat?
- germinalphrase 7y agoWet clothing is a life threatening situation in the backcountry. Intentionally venting excess heat is common and not at all a concern for snow walkers.
- thinkingemote 7y agoSome cold weather gear works on that principle. Synthetic string vest for example, keeps you warm even when sweaty. It dries off quickly too when you are no longer sweaty. The main thing is that you are warm and never cold and that you shouldn't worry about soggy undergarment.
- cafard 7y agoWashington, DC, does have generally mild winters. The coldest I have been has been in cold rains, which are no fun to run in. One can almost always run in shorts, but below a certain temperature and with a wind blowing, you do need something windproof over or under your shorts.
- felipemnoa 7y ago>>This last weekend it was 45 and blissfully sunny Any temperature above 40 is pretty warm though, assuming you have a sweater and a jacket of course. Anything below that starts to feel cold.
- jniedrauer 7y ago> It does make me think, however, what would happen if I were to sprain an ankle or break a leg and be unable to run to generate heat. This is a big fear of mine as well. If I'm going out of cell coverage, I always bring the 10 essentials and at least one extra layer. Even if my legs are cold, at least I'll have a fleece jacket.
- tenaciousDaniel 7y agoI remember snowshoeing in the Colorado Rockies years ago. It was around -15, with strong wind blowing. But we were at high altitude and the sheer exertion of it was making me sweat after a while, so much that I actually unzipped my coat.