3 ms·
I've never experienced any deaths on hikes, but I have experienced folks suffering the initial stages of hypothermia (and not realizing it) when wearing jeans o
by calmbonsai 2y ago
I've never experienced any deaths on hikes, but I have experienced folks suffering the initial stages of hypothermia (and not realizing it) when wearing jeans on a multi-day excursion when the weather went from dry and sunny to rainy, to icey-rain to sleet.
Unwaxed cotton absorbs water, stays wet, and shrinks when wet to make close contact with skin--three properties that one does not want when its wet and cold.
- Aeolun 2y agoSo taking your pants off would work? Seems superior to wet clingy cold pants anyway.
- calmbonsai 2y agoThat depends on the specifics of the environment, trail, and your pants. Indeed, going "pantsless" for short periods can be less risky if your pants are already soaked-through, it's very humid, there's ice build-up, and there's little to no risk of skin abrasion from terrain traversal.
- saagarjha 2y agoIn the cold?
- calmbonsai 2y agoIf you're wearing "wet ice", convective heat loss from air is preferable to conductive heat loss from water. Water on skin is a really, really good mechanism for heat transfer (both ways)--hence why we sweat in the heat.