Okay, so I’ll admit, I am actually kind of a wimp in the snow. 

I snowboard because my partner does.  It is a bonding activity for us, and I can’t say that I don’t enjoy it.  I may not be a snowboard junkie, or “powder hound” as I have heard him be referred as, but I do like going out and feeling a little bit of a rush as I take a steeper slope or faster ride.

That being said, there comes a point during the ride that I give in and let the cold tempt me into the lodge for a warm beverage and a fireside lounge chair.  My friend recommended hand warmers for my pockets or foot warmers for my boots.  Does anyone else have a suggestion for how to beat the cold so that I can “shred” longer?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.  Oh, and my nose gets cold too…

It’s not something I suffer with but I do go to cold places which comes to the same thing.

You tend to focus on cold extremities like hands, feet and nose but you might want to start with the basics of keeping warm which are protecting your core and a getting a good layering system. That means looking at a reasonable base layer like merino thermals for example and so on. This is pretty simple stuff.

For the core, both Mrs Ise and I have down mid layers, I use a Rab Microlight which is a 750 fill down jacket. I wear that under my jacket in cold weather and it’s a good insulating layer. 750 is at the top end of performance and Mrs Ise, who does feel the cold more, use a North Face Thunder with 800 fill. For her that makes the difference between a good day or a miserable one. These aren’t the big bulky down jackets you might think of, they’re no thicker than a fleece so they won’t restrict your movement at all.

To keep my hands warm I use another Rab product, the Modular Mitts. Like the name suggests they’re mittens! In fact they’re a glove similar to the power stretch with an Event (like Goretex) outer. These really trap the heat in and mittens are ideal for boarding.

Hi there, my girlfriend used to always suffer from cold feet, no matter how many layers she wore they were always cold.  She ended up buying boot heaters, basically a lithium battery that heats up a thin insole.  She swears by them and has had tosty feet ever since, check out the link below.  As for the hands mittens are def the way forward, and maybe some chemical hand warmers.

http://www.ellis-brigham.com/ski-boots-accessories/store/

ise - 04 November 2010 07:27 AM

To keep my hands warm I use another Rab product, the Modular Mitts. Like the name suggests they’re mittens!

the cold is one of my top fears in the mountains.  bad circulation runs in my family unfortunatly.  i’ve had winter mountain bike rides ruined by cold feet or cold hands so i’ve got plenty of experience. some people are lucky they are a bit warmer and sleep warmer.

WOOL, and good quality gear at all levels. even tho i’ve got some 9euro decathlon plyester-crap gloves for unders which i love and i’ve just bought some 10euro winter gloves from them which are snuggly too.

i’ve got a similar pair of gloves to mentioned above, except mine are just an out, millet from au veux campeur.  depending on the warmth i’ll wear different thicknesses of liner underneath.  when its really cold, cos i got a size bigger, i can squeeze full on ski gloves inside.  the liner has no warmth to them until you build it up within yourself.  in spring i wear just them cos they keep my hands dry in slushy conditions and they are perfectly warm.

going back to wool.  i’ve got a merino wool base layer which works wonders in all conditions. wicks sweat in the heat or keeps you toasty in the cold.  its more expensive than polyester, but worth it , feels nicer too.  consider getting a long sleeve merino top and leggings.

for socks i go for mostly wool with a bit of man-made in it so they don’t wear out too quickly and on the thinner side. yeah thinner side! It doesn’t squeeze the foot and cut off circulation = keep those toes wiggling.  A good set of liners (can you get them for snowboard boots?) will help keep you warm too. intuition springs to mind, but if you browse an american blog/forum/site where they have really cold winters, such as wildsnow.com they will mention serious brands.  for denali, alaski, i think Lou took overboot covers.

i’m not experienced with ‘down’ clothes.  but they are meant to be super warm if kept dry so consider lie ISE said a mid of the gillet.  sounds toasty actually, wish i could afford one…

easy now!

OliC - 05 November 2010 12:04 AM

i’m not experienced with ‘down’ clothes.  but they are meant to be super warm if kept dry so consider lie ISE said a mid of the gillet.  sounds toasty actually, wish i could afford one…

I don’t think down is too expensive nowadays but I do admit I’m not entirely sure of the high street prices. I think the North Face Thunder that Mrs Ise has was pretty expensive but she’s delighted with it, she’s not normally one for expensive clothes so it’s high praise

I’m a fairly recent convert to down myself over the last 3 years or so, it’s no coincidence that’s the same period that I’ve moved from woking in an office to working on a mountain! I have, and still use, some primaloft stuff like a Haglöfs Barrier and a Marmot Baffin which are quite good. Primaloft can be cheaper than down and it’s very warm, if you put a primaloft layer on then you get instant heat so it’s ideal for stops or sat on belays. The other key advantage with primaloft is that it functions well when wet which down really doesn’t.

But, there’s something good about down when you start using it. The amount of heat you’re getting for weight and bulk is amazing and the big advantage for active use is the range of activity level you can wear it. By that I mean that with a primaloft layer I’m pretty comfortable stationary wearing it, going downhill etc but if I up the workload walking up a hill I quickly overheat. With down I can do more work without needing to take layers on and off, that’s handy for me but also pretty good for alpine skiers and boarders I think, it deals with that on and off chairlifts variation.

Rab, probably the major manufacturer of down clothes in the UK, have a factory shop for anyone in the Alfreton area, it’s only open a few hours a week but you can snag a bargain.

Lidl have some cute handwarmers in next week:-

http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/SID-87A15BD7-A023397F/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_15309.htm

If you get cold hands you need to wear mittens rather than gloves.

For you nose - wear a balaclava or one of those neoprene masks climbers wear.

& Aldi Switzerland have boot warmers next week. Better yet they’re doing their excellent thermals, can’t go wrong for 16 chf, my favourite thermals by far.

ise - 05 November 2010 09:27 PM

Aldi Switzerland have boot warmers next week…

+1; they work well too

Just found these:

Battery Heated Socks

These where the first pulled off a google search: Search results here