5 Extreme Cold Clothing Tips / You Need (BEST Gloves, Hats, Coats and Boots)

Hey, welcome to Ultimate Survival Tips. I'm David, coming to you from the bitterly cold, but beautiful, endless mountains of North Central Pennsylvania. I'm glad you stopped by today because I'm gonna try to help you put together a cold weather survival clothing kit so you can be more comfortable during any cold weather activity and stay alive if you're ever stuck outside for an extended period on the coldest of days. Stay tuned until the end for some bonus tips and links to the full list of gear that I'm gonna show you in this video. Let's get started. I don't know about you, but I hate freezing my butt off when it's cold outside. Add a worst case scenario. It forces you to be in the frigid cold for an extended period of time and you could be toast. So it's important to know how to dress for extended exposure to the frigid cold. Fortunately, it isn't as hard as it might seem, especially with the addition of new clothing technology and a common sense approach. Here's the way it works. Your body is a furnace that continually generates surplus heat. So all we need to do is use scalable layers of the right clothing to create a comfortable microclimate between your skin and outer layer, adding layers when you get cold and removing layers when you get too warm. Layer number one, the sub-base layer, or underwear for short. I've found that a snug pair of briefs and a long sleeve or sleeveless top made of nylon or polyester that is breathable dries quick and pulls sweat away from your body works great, where short sleeve shirts tend to bunch up and be uncomfortable under thermals. As far as brands go, Under Armour and Ex Officio stuff has been durable and has worked well for me. And the cool thing is that they're great for year-round use, for travel, and for bug-out bags because they wash out easy, dry quick, and then can be reused without laundering. And both of these brands make great sub-base layer stuff for the ladies. Now here's a general warning for all the clothing that we're gonna talk about. Clothes made out of cotton can be terrible for extended exposure to the cold because when you sweat or get wet from the snow or rain, cotton absorbs moisture, loses its insulating properties, draws heat from your body instead of retaining it, especially if your wet cotton clothes freeze. And that's bad news in a surefire recipe for hypothermia. Next up, we have socks, wool socks. Not just any wool socks, I prefer merino wool socks. Merino wool is warm and softer than other wools, so it's not scratchy. Man, I hate scratchy wool. Plus, merino wool is tough, wicks moisture, is breathable and naturally elastic, so my socks stay up and don't get all bunched up in the bottom of my boots. Now layer number two, the base layer. We used to call these long johns or thermals, not anymore. So for your base layer, long sleeve top and bottoms made out of breathable, insulating polyester like my Polarmax base layer are lightweight, roomy, warm and comfortable. For extreme cold, I pull out my military issue polypropylene thermal top and bottoms. Now we need some pants. Durable water and wind repelling pants made of wool or at least 60% polyester work great. 5'11 or proper tactical pants really work well over your base layer, but for extreme cold, it's hard to beat my military surplus winter wool trousers. Oh yeah. And don't forget your belt and multi-tool. Now here's a bonus tip. To add a tough scalable wind and waterproof outer shell for extreme weather protection, I recommend the Holly Hansen Improtect jacket and pants. Just make sure to size them large enough to fit over all your other winter clothing. Layer number three, the core or insulating layer. Now for tops, I layer two 100% poly fleece pullover shirts. I use a thinner one close to my body and then a thicker one on top. I prefer mine with quarter zippers in the front because they're helpful for regulating heat. Now here's another warning. Make sure your core layers are not too tight because what really keeps you warm is having pockets of air between each clothing layer. Layer number four, the outer shell. A tough insulated water and wind repelling jacket is what you need. For moderately cold temperatures, my tactical soft shell jacket works great. It's very durable. But when the temperatures go south of freezing, I'm wearing a jacket with an outer shell that's highly water resistant, totally blocks the wind, and is insulated to keep my core heat in. But for bitter extreme cold, nothing beats a down parka. And one more thing, a coat with a hood is absolutely essential. Now let's talk about feet, neck, head and hand protection. Now to keep your feet happy, I recommend comfortable, rugged, insulated, waterproof boots that are not super bulky. They need to keep your feet warm and dry and be able to stand up to hard extended wear if needed. My current favorite all purpose winter boots are my Rocky Men's Core Hunting Boots with 800 grams of Thinsulate. They're tough, warm, waterproof, super comfortable to wear all day. But there's a lot of choices out there, so you have to try some boots on and find out what works best for you. Now around my neck, I usually wear a polyester buff headwear scarf as a base layer to wick moisture and add a layer of cold resistance. And then as an outer layer, I add a polyester neck warmer, like my vintage turtle fur, or a shemagh scarf wrap. Both are good options, but the shemagh is my favorite due to the many ways it can be wrapped and used for neck, face and head protection. The downside is that the shemagh is made of cotton, so it'll be useless if it gets soaked like any other cotton wear. Next, you gotta cover your head. As a base layer for keeping the old noggin warm, I recommend a simple fleece watch cap in addition to your insulated coat hood. Together they offer scalable protection from the wind and cold. But for extreme cold, nothing beats my sheepskin bomber style hat. Now we need some tough, warm, water resistant gloves. Now for maximum warmth, I can't find anything better than a durable pair of insulated mittens, but sometimes mittens won't do. So for a versatile glove made to work, keep your hands warm, the Carhartt insulated cold snap work gloves are worth a look. And last but not least, you need some sunglasses to protect your eyes from light reflecting off the snow and from bitter winds. So I prefer tactical shooting glasses that have a lot of surface area and provide maximum coverage. There you have it, a simple scalable system that can keep you warm if you ever have to survive in the cold. For your convenience, I've included links to all the gear that I've mentioned in the video description on YouTube. Just click the show more tab under this video. So don't forget to subscribe to this channel. And for more gear reviews, survival tips and survival news, check out ultimatesurvivaltips.com. While you're there, grab our monthly survival e-mag, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the latest news and be the first to hear about the great gear giveaway contests we have planned. Okay, this is David. Hope to see you on the other side. And remember, be prepared because you never know.