winter warmers (1 Viewer)

My wife and I both get very very cold in the hide even with 3 layers of paramo on. The top layer however is lightweight and we now think that we need to do a michelin man job for the warmth - but still be able to move .
I have looked at down v synthetic but as virtually all tests are for mountaineering I'm not sure about the relevance to sitting still for long periods.
What are recommendations please ?

Having briefly worked in an outdoors shop, living in Snowdonia for several years and knowing professional Mountain Guides and Mountain Rescue Team members and spending a lot of time myself out in all weathers I am more than a tad skeptical about all the latest materials, kit and designs to hit the market. A lot of it of it is overrated, expensive and ineffective after any period of real use! You have to remember that 'outdoor gear' is a big fashionable profitable market with all the associated HYPE!

One MRT member I met who was a hard core climber bought mainly the cheap but very waterproof Gelert jackets (i know I have one) as a top layer as he was sick and tired of having hundreds of pounds worth of garments ripped to shreds on difficult routes in the hills. He simply replaced them when knackered.

Having said that I dont mind paying for quality gear that really works.

There are few products that really impress me but the one material that has done the most in recent years for dealing with cold weather has been merino wool. I have several tops now in various thicknesses and a pair of the long johns. My favourite is a heavy weight Patagonia top but the other Icebreaker gear I have is great. It really is lovely warm stuff!

If it's really freezing I'll stick a fleece on top followed by my old Mountain Equipment down jacket and if it's blowing a blizzard/gale in the mountains I might even wear my battered Sprayway goretex shell on top.

I'm not sure about the merits of the latest down jackets - mine is a relatively cheap mid-weight model (but fantastically warm); most of the serious climbers etc I know swear by the Rab range. I notice that Patagonia are currently advertising a new range of lightweight down jackets etc.

Seawatching this week I've worn a base layer of merino top followed by two fleeces, a soft hemp scarf, tilley hat and a ventille jacket which really is the canine's testicles for keeping the wind off when you're sat hunched over a scope for 6 hours at a time!

Incidentally, I was talking to a couple of other birders the other day about Paramo and was again impressed by their comments about it's waterproofing qualities in prolonged rain, something which the ventille is not so good at as a little leaking occurs after hours in the wet.

It would be interesting to hear your and others' comments about the above as there is nothing worse than being cold and wet when birding!

All the best

Andrew

my paramo certainly stops the wind and rain but unfortunately not the cold.
Paramo's can be reproofed as well - in fact if you wash them you have to .We also just love the softness and looked at their halycon jcket which I think is their top one but not really insulated.
I have thought of going back to my old barbour but it is very heavy and inflexible.

Paramo Torres - I prefer the smock to the jacket - ignore all the stuff about it being a mountain belay jacket - I've lived in one for years (in Winter).

Don't forget some good winter lined troosers! ||

For the last 3 winters I have been wearing Craghoppers winter lined trousers and they are great. Even last year, on early morning jaunts in temps about -10C, which involved a lot of static time, they were superbly warm. Didn't even need the longjohns once as they were so good.

Never bothered with all the fancy jackets either. I have a Deerhunter jacket in European woodland camo which has a waterproof lining, under which I wear my old Berghaus activity fleece, and for those colder mornings a merino wool long-sleeved vest from M&S.
In fact, M&S have a good range of winter underwear! :t: