Specifically, a wool or fleece watch cap. On a cost/ space ratio its easily one of the easiest ways to keep warm. One (or two) goes in each Car Kit, backpack and Winter EDC.

You might even consider carrying two or three. If you're stranded with other people, it's a lot easier to hand them a 2-oz cap than to deal with hypothermia.

There are still a lot of people out there who don't know the value of covering your head. I've got one on now while the wood stove heats up! Light snow just thinking about melting in the sunny spots.

Sue

"Are your feet cold? Put on a hat."

Never did make sense until I tried it...

I remember that 40% of body heat can be lost via your head.

Stu remembers it at 60%.

Either way, that's a lot of body heat loss until a hat is applied.

Not just your head.

The critical area's are your upper chest on a line from your armpits upwards (heart & lungs), neck, head and, oddly enough, your wrists.

Your neck and wrists are the points at which your major veins & arterys come closest to the surface. If they are not insulated then you can suffer drastic bodycore cooling and/or frostbite to your extremities.

The obverse is that you can remove hat's, gloves, neckgaiters and roll your sleeves up to prevent sweating.

For those who are interested this is called thermostating.

I can survive without my hat. I can't survive without my cashmere scarf. I can go outside in cold weather in a short sleeved shirt and still be comfortable as long as I have that scarf wrapped snuggly around my neck. If I had to, I could even wrap the scarf around my head, but I couldn't wrap my hat around my neck. ;-)

That is the difference in pre and post male pattern baldness......

You mean a toque don't you?
I get the fairly thin synthetic ones. They will fit in a parka pocket until you need it.
I like the lightweight balaclavas the best. You can wear them rolled up like a watch cap but you can pull them down when it is cold.
A pair of fairly light mitts is good to have too.
Mitts because they are much warmer than the same weight of gloves are.

Agreed. And in deep cold, several thin fleece balaclavas, matched with several mid-weight fleece toques. Mix and match as needed; and have one set drying (if possible) while you wear the others.

Staying warm is not really about insulation; moisture management is the really big deal. Multiple layers make it easier to adjust to the conditions, and dry things out on the fly.

Outer layers will often have an impressive layer of frost from the moisture that's been pushed out. Whip that off and your headgear is almost halfway dry.

Mitts are ideal for warmth, but they're too darn clumsy for most tasks. I often shove gloves inside a mitt-style outer shell. A practical compromise, mostly. Currently, I'm messin' with some very dextrous neoprene ice fishing gloves; wonder what outer shell would suit them.

[BTW, tonight's forecast: -33C. Over the next couple of days, theory and practice will have a chance to compare notes.]

Yes, get a hat. I love wool. A thin wool cap is what I use most of the time - too thick and it is too warm for most conditions. (My hood goes on if it's windy or too cold).

The latest year I've also grown very fond of a thin wool buff. It can be worn as a scarf (which I do most of the time), but can also be worn in all possible ways that a regular buff can. Protect your face and so on. It can also be worn as a cap, if you like.

The thin wool cap and the even thinner wool buff have become my favorite garments. Except for mid summer I never go anywhere without them. Particular the buff is so small that it will fit in any pocket. The multi uses of my wool buff makes it the perfect emergency item for cold conditions.


As for gloves or mittens - the search continues. I've probably used most solutions on the market, and a lot of them will work, within limitations. But I've yet to find the perfect pair of gloves or mittens.


As for the other critical heat loss areas (torso, wrist, groin and so on) - they're usually covered by clothes appropriate for the season anyway. At least for most people, most of the time... But most people won't protect their hands and head unless they're forced to.