Sorry for the misleading title, I'm not being flirtatious, haha. I have accepted a position at a small repair company in Cheyenne, Wyoming and am slightly concerned about the cold/wind. I am mainly seeing what you guys wear to combat such conditions. Any recommendations for extremely warm clothing that will cut the wind without being entirely too bulky to crawl around in machines. Long under wear? Underarmour? Also if anyone knows of some good insulated steel toe boots that don't wear like a pair of clown shoes I would be much obliged. Any other tips and tricks you can offer about working on machines in the cold and problems I may encounter that I wouldn't normally see in NC? Anyone in the area who would like to meet up for a beer and war story session after I move in a few weeks is more than welcome to give me a holler. Thanks in advance guys you this community is always so helpful when it comes to assisting others.
Well catfixer... I looked at the weather down there and it looks like summer to us. Depends on the weather for me as to what I wear. To -10C nothing more than a hat and maybe gloves. Below that long underwear and a jacket or vest under coveralls. -20C and below winter coveralls when it gets colder the more I wear. Winter boots go on about -15C other than that my redwings with minor isolation work well. When the wind picks up you have to wrap exposed skin it freezes very quickly. It was -30C this past weekend and windy as can be (they said wind chill factor brought it to -48C) and I had to work in it. Extra socks, long johns, jacket and vest, winter coveralls, two ski masks, hat, winter gloves. It was at the point I was thinking about getting ski googles because at that temp your eyes will water and then freeze. Just wrap keep adding layers until your warm. I don't care how many it takes, it will slow you down but so will freezing to death. To give you some brand names of clothes helly hanson underwear and winter coveralls are the best but also the most expensive. I wear Baffin winter boots when its really cold. Redwing with a bit of insulation works as long as you keep moving. But if its anywhere near where google says its at I would not worry too much when you get climatized
UnderArmour all the way,not the cheap knock-offs either,there IS a difference. Carharrt fleece lined jeans over top of the U.A. and you'll stay quite toasty.
Oh, yeah, and a hooded sweatshirt and Carharrt jacket with the arctic lining, too.
nice warm truck cab lol carhartt bibs & jacket. the best thing I have is a fleece neck gaiter, it will keep you warm!! under amour is great, if its really cold carhartt makes wool socks that are better than warm beach sand on your feet!! I haven't ever found a pair of steel toed boots that I like, I have a pair of IRON AGE composit toe boots that are warmer than my steel toed red wings. bring along a thermos of hot soup for lunch or snack for a warm up break.(I never have been a coffee drinker tho) I always keep a spare coat & bibs & a pair of shoes & socks in the truck in the winter also in case I get wet, or something happens to a coat. ( its came in very handy over the years) also keep several pairs of gloves.
I agree with Fservice. GOOD long underwear, Hooded sweatshirts, Face masks, Carhartt bibs and coats and plenty of warm gloves! You can never have enough dry gloves.
Under clothing = The two layer Stanfield long johns, Tee shirt and turtleneck . Cotton socks with 3 or 5 LB wool socks. I will up size jeans to be loose. Shirts Cabela's Chamios shirts are wonderful! Carhartt arctic vest/ coat. Their insulated coveralls and their arctic coveralls are very good. Woolrich make a VERY good 21 oz wool pants that are very good! Green ape gloves are good just get lots and when they get wet/ dirty replace them with dry clean ones. Ninja Ice Gander Brand synthetics 99-9-265-10 . Make sure that gloves are loose so they don't put pressure on the fingers this will reduce blood flow and make your hands cold. ( Mine anyway) The Helly Hanson winter under wear is very good, Let yourself be a little cold this will get your body burning more calories and keep you warmer. I use the inner and outer wool liners of the Military Mucklucks cut apart over my wool socks in size 12 work boots this is smaller then the big Work boots good for driving and operating equipment I am good until -38 C even if terminating at panels. DON'T have your boots tight this WILL reduce blood flow and make your feet cold.
Make sure on the Carharts that you get the Artic. They make many versions and some of the foreign ones are pretty thin. I agree with the Under Armor. That's good stuff. When its super windy a cheap rain coat on top will to wonders for keeping heat in. Laugh or not back in the 70s a lot of up north construction workers wore women's panty hose underneath it all.
I've heard that about the women pantyhose. Make you wonder about working in the work camps Definitly, it seems like the more expensive winter clothing does work better. Best investment I ever made was a good heavy winter coat and insulated bib overalls. $500 Ive never missed. For boots, I have been using the green dunlop rubber boots. https://www.google.ca/search?q=dunl...3Lo6BqgGduIGoBw&ved=0CFYQsAQ&biw=1366&bih=680 just a single pair of normal cotton socks, feet warm and dry all day. Heavy and clumsy, but warm and dry.
I've had good luck with carhart bibs/coat when it's really f'ing cold. But usually I wear carhart lined jeans, tshirt, hooded sweatshirt and a carhart active jacket and stay plenty warm. It's been a very cold winter here (Minnesota) and I think I've wore bibs 10 times all winter and I'm outside almost everyday. And I've always got 4-5 pairs of handi-Andy's in the truck. Cold weather just points out the ones that don't work hard enough. (The ones that whine about being cold) ha
Uh lets see, beaver skin hat a couple of hand made wool sweaters,canvas parka, good pair of long johns, wool pants,handmade moccasins inside a pair of sorels and moosehide gauntlet mitts, good to go.
UnderArmour gets my nod too...... and then wool, wool wool... incuding buying yourself a high quality set of wool pants (with the suspenders) and a wool shirt. The reason wool is if you do perspire it still won't let you get cold.
Never underestimate the freezing power of road salt and snow! For years I could scoop gallon blocks of ice from maple syrup buckets with bare hands, then I froze my hands on a "warm" day loading fire hose at an accident scene, and have never regained my hardiness. Get rubber fishing gloves from Gempler's for fuel filters as wet hands will get you bit. Especially when de-iceing with alcohol. I have also taken the skin off my knees and spots on thighs and shoulder blades when I got soaked but they have not bothered like my hands. So keep cardboard slip sheets or rubber mats, double bubble (great untill you find how slippery and flamable), handy for crawling around (tools also disappear in a little snow but are easy to find on a sheet) have a good magnetic pickup tool! Have a good flashlight as it spends more time dark (Stream light 2aa ten tap worth the $50). Have a knife that you don't have to take gloves off to get out or open. Keep close eye to wound care as things do not bleed well when cold and combined withthe salt, (snow doesn't wash anything) dirt and oil can make for infection trouble. Steel makes more blinding splinters inthe cold so put on your safety glasses. Have spare clothes because wet is cold. One good fall in a hidden rut and you are wet head to toe and home is a long way off.
I first heard about the pantyhose thing from a cop in Boston. He has his wife buy them for him, but he says they work great. Definitely keep things LOOSE. My carhartt coveralls are getting tight (bought them before I got married, haha) and I've noticed a significant reduction in how effective they are. Hand warmers in your pockets are great for getting the fingers warm again when you just can't have gloves on. A trick I got from my dad was putting a big wool sock into my hard hat over the suspension. It can be hard to keep the damn thing on over a wool hat, but the wool sock (or two) works almost as well and you don't feel like its about to fall off.
A torpedo heater running off a generator aiming at you works good too!
All good suggestions so far. I also get the long welding hood liners for when it gets down below 0 and windy. I carry three in the truck and keep changing them.
When you get up here let me know as I'm just over the hill from there.
Thanks guys! I'm for sure gonna have to order a bunch of stuff to keep my southern bones from chattering too much and trust you bunch more than some review on a website. wytruckwrench, I'll definitely give you a holler. My last day at the cat dealer is this friday and i will head up about a week after that, Where are you located?
Over around Laramie,Wy.
Good deal, I fell in love with Laramie when I visited, and being that I will be in field service traveling around, I think I may ultimately get a place there. The place I looked at, I loved but their leases didn't start til August so I'm hunting something temporary in in Cheyenne.
Yes it is a nice town. However it is a college town. People are still nice and friendly here too. I'm about 25 miles South of town.
A lot of good times had in Laramie... And fantastic snowmobiling too
Filson.
komatsukid. Do you mean Filson tin wear? I am considering a set for rain gear but $ and I have not seen a set up here. Tell me more!
That is nice country. Are you down around Woods Landing. We sometimes run in there for a beer and dinner if we had a good day elk hunting up top, east of Mountain Home on the Colorado side of the line.
If it was heat I could make some suggestion's Boss, but the coldest I've ever been was -17 in ON,Canada on a Holiday up there. I know what its like getting a Brand off a spanner but not being able to let go of it would be new to me!! These day they make us wear long longs in the middle of summer so we don't get sun cancer (next we'll be wrapped in cotton wool case we get our hands dirty!)