Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Sub-Zero

First sub-zero ride of the winter. (There have been ample opportunities, including one morning that had -13˚, but I drove to work with my wife those days.) Today was only -1˚, so not cold by recent standards, but definitely cold-ish.

The gear:

Long johns, MUSA pants (thin nylon), insulated snow pants: perfectly warm legs.

Insulated winter boots, thin socks, thick socks: toes were cold by the end.

Thin SmartWool base shirt, thicker wicking Under Armor shirt, fleece vest, wind-breaker: A smidge too warm.

Fleece neck/face gaiter, fleece hat, clear goggles: A smidge too warm, but nice.

Snowmobile gloves covered with rain booties for wind-breakage: Awkward but warm.

This outfit would have been OK down to maybe -10˚. Below that, it's probably time to take a bus.


Later:
I soon realized that the extra snow pants weren't necessary. Just long johns and nylon pants were plenty. The warm snowmobile mittens were also sufficient, without the extra wind-blockage of the rain booties.