Staying Warm

[shadowmouse]

Cold weather has started to set in here. Hotdog, my short haired calico, has become adamant about applying warm kitten therapy.

For those of us who are drifting towards colder months, how do you like to keep warm?

The local habit is long underwear, often multiple layers of it. I don't have a typical Chinese figure, so even if I were inclined to wear the stuff I would have trouble finding a comfortable fit, but those from the south may well be wearing three layers of long underwear by winter. Those from the north may be wearing fewer layers of long underwear, but they make up for it by wearing really heavy duty stuff.

Indoor heating is often handled by radiators run off of a central heating plant. Aside from contributing to our horrible winter air quality index (AQI) by burning tons of coal, those central heating plants run on a schedule and the heat won't go on until mid November. In the interim, there will be space heaters all over the place. Some will be like radiators themselves, others will use heated ceramic rods, but there are still areas around Beijing where people burn cylinders of pressed coal in pot bellied stoves, and in restaurants I'll start seeing upright heaters that run off of tanks of gas.

Bungee will be breaking out the down comforter, sweaters, and down vests for a couple of months. Once the heat gets turned on, however, I'll be sitting around my apartment wearing next to nothing because the radiators in my apartment are strange, high tech things that are brutally efficient. The sweaters and down vests will still be needed in my office, though. Heat there is supplied by old fashioned cast iron radiators that are pretty much the opposite of efficient.

[Celista]

A big part of it is staying dry. The one thing we learned in Alaska is that cotton is a terrible inner layer for warmth, as it picks up your sweat and becomes damp. No good if your goal is staying warm. This includes underwear, by the way.

http://lifehacker.com/the-three-laye...int-1686545193

I disagree with the "must be a natural fabric" advice from Lifehacker for the inner layer of insulation, as the synthetic fabrics designed to be inner layers of insulation from reputable companies (North Face, etc) are very good.

Everything else in the infographic I agree with.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...ng-basics.html another guide.

[Forgettable]

Like all good Canadians, something like this:

[WskyDK]

Tips from when I was a cold weather instructor in Alaska;
Keep moving.
Air pockets are your friend.
Dress for how warm you'll be in 15 minutes (avoid overheating and sweating)
Stay dry
Take a normal shower, and for the last minute switch to as cold as you can stand. This will kickstart your "internal furnace"
Eat eat eat eat eat
In emergency situations, piss in a water bottle, seal it, and stick it between your thighs while you sleep

[Celista]

And oh yeah, mittens > gloves, even if you think you look silly in them. Goes along with the "air pockets" thing mentioned above.

[Deleted]

I just crank the heat up on my radiators, it's enough to keep my apartment warm. -1C outside right now and 24c inside.

[Kellhound]

Throw a few logs into the woodstove.

[Independent voter]

Guy from Saskatchewan calls CBC raido to complain about cold.

[Fencers]

I don't even wear a sweater till it's like 30 degrees outside. It has to be close to 0 for me to wear a coat. And I live in Chicago. My body is a furnace.

The few times I 'bundle up', use of that term is very loose, are usually when I need to be out in the cold for a long time (6-7 hours). That usually means I am in line for a concert in the Chicago or New York winter. Still not a coat person, I found that sporting goods stores still these shirts & leggings: link.

They are great! Super light, thin, easy to wear under normal clothes and keeps you dry and warm. I have found that for me personally, one of those base layer shirts and run-of-the-mill heavy metal t-shirt can be more than warm even in 10-20 degree weather. Last November I wore just such a pair of leggings & undershirt with a pair of jeans, tshirt and hoodie over top in 15-20 degree weather while it was raining. For 8 hours. A few blocks from the lakefront.

There are lots of companies that make these layer things. Great investment.

[Cerus]

A big part of it is staying dry. The one thing we learned in Alaska is that cotton is a terrible inner layer for warmth, as it picks up your sweat and becomes damp. No good if your goal is staying warm. This includes underwear, by the way.

http://lifehacker.com/the-three-laye...int-1686545193

I disagree with the "must be a natural fabric" advice from Lifehacker for the inner layer of insulation, as the synthetic fabrics designed to be inner layers of insulation from reputable companies (North Face, etc) are very good.

Everything else in the infographic I agree with.

https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-adv...ng-basics.html another guide.

Cotton does the job of whicking moisture away from the skin quite well which is what you want in an inner layer but it's slow to dry out. Wool does the job much better and is still the best inner layer for warmth. Some synthetic farbircs are OK but they end up smelling like a rotten, sweaty gym shoe.

I always thought of China as being advanced since their tech and school system is often touted as miles beyond the US. But hell - even our smallest hick towns gave up radiators for heat and moved to forced air systems years and years ago. China sound like a third world country with some sort of building/city controlled radiator system and burning coal for warmth.

And I don't know of any home or apartment that isn't individualized heating and cooling.

[Gamdwelf]

Cold weather has started to set in here. Hotdog, my short haired calico, has become adamant about applying warm kitten therapy.

For those of us who are drifting towards colder months, how do you like to keep warm?

The local habit is long underwear, often multiple layers of it. I don't have a typical Chinese figure, so even if I were inclined to wear the stuff I would have trouble finding a comfortable fit, but those from the south may well be wearing three layers of long underwear by winter. Those from the north may be wearing fewer layers of long underwear, but they make up for it by wearing really heavy duty stuff.

Indoor heating is often handled by radiators run off of a central heating plant. Aside from contributing to our horrible winter air quality index (AQI) by burning tons of coal, those central heating plants run on a schedule and the heat won't go on until mid November. In the interim, there will be space heaters all over the place. Some will be like radiators themselves, others will use heated ceramic rods, but there are still areas around Beijing where people burn cylinders of pressed coal in pot bellied stoves, and in restaurants I'll start seeing upright heaters that run off of tanks of gas.

Bungee will be breaking out the down comforter, sweaters, and down vests for a couple of months. Once the heat gets turned on, however, I'll be sitting around my apartment wearing next to nothing because the radiators in my apartment are strange, high tech things that are brutally efficient. The sweaters and down vests will still be needed in my office, though. Heat there is supplied by old fashioned cast iron radiators that are pretty much the opposite of efficient.

Man China sounds awful.

I turn on my own heat when it actually gets that cold.
Most of the time I have the other problem. My house has a high efficiency heater, and turning it on for a little bit almost makes it too warm.

Mostly I'm going to be glad for colder weather with the summer we just had.

[WskyDK]

Cotton does the job of whicking moisture away from the skin quite well which is what you want in an inner layer but it's slow to dry out. Wool does the job much better and is still the best inner layer for warmth. Some synthetic farbircs are OK but they end up smelling like a rotten, sweaty gym shoe.

I always thought of China as being advanced since their tech and school system is often touted as miles beyond the US. But hell - even our smallest hick towns gave up radiators for heat and moved to forced air systems years and years ago. China sound like a third world country with some sort of building/city controlled radiator system and burning coal for warmth.

And I don't know of any home or apartment that isn't individualized heating and cooling.

Wool is naturally anti-microbial.

@OP another thing to keep in mind is that you should prepare yourself by holding out as long as you can when it starts getting cool.
The better you acclimate before it's cold the better off you'll be

[Gamdwelf]

And oh yeah, mittens > gloves, even if you think you look silly in them. Goes along with the "air pockets" thing mentioned above.

Depends on what you're doing. I bike in the cold and can't shift in mittens.

[WskyDK]

Depends on what you're doing. I bike in the cold and can't shift in mittens.

You don't have the badass hand warmer pizza pocket things?

Edit:

[Gamdwelf]

You don't have the badass hand warmer pizza pocket things?

I hate those things, I mean I've never used them but they look dumb as hell.

[apepi]

Guy from Saskatchewan calls CBC raido to complain about cold.

Its shit, but pleas please please thank you and bye!

[Celista]

Cotton does the job of whicking moisture away from the skin quite well which is what you want in an inner layer but it's slow to dry out. Wool does the job much better and is still the best inner layer for warmth. Some synthetic farbircs are OK but they end up smelling like a rotten, sweaty gym shoe.

I mean, I'm not sure if it matters much based on the temp ranges the OP listed (Beijing seems rather moderate temperature wise) but I was always told that cotton as the *innermost* layer does in fact wick moisture away well, but also leaves you feeling damp. That dampness can be deadly in very cold temps.

Shrug. YMMV.

- - - Updated - - -

Guy from Saskatchewan calls CBC raido to complain about cold.

LOL. Saskatchewan is beautiful, don't move to the far north if you can't take the heat (or lack thereof)...for real though, living that close to the Arctic Circle means you're battling the elements on a daily basis. Not for the faint of heart.

[MatthewOU2015]

I live in the south so it doesn't get super cold but I usually let my heater run and wear warm clothing. Also my PC keeps my bedroom nice and toasty. Actually feels pretty good.

[Celista]

I don't even wear a sweater till it's like 30 degrees outside. It has to be close to 0 for me to wear a coat. And I live in Chicago.

Fuck that, my body is definitely not a furnace.

I walked around a lot when living in Chicago and after battling the first two winters with a pea coat and "layering" I trudged into North Face on Michigan Avenue and I told them to give me the warmest coat they had (which also happened to be their most expensive coat in stock). Close to $400 but worth it, I still have that damn parka. Which sits in my closet mostly unused, Portland might as well be Hawaii in comparison to Chicago winters.

[Bosen]

Long underwear,beanie,long socks,gloves,scarf. I like sweats over long underwear to sleep in if it's super cold,but I don't get that often.