I'm glad to see that many of these issues are being discussed and debated. Not that you need me to point it out but everyone's comments are welcome and valid, the problem arises when we confuse "opinion" with "fact". Anyone is welcome to disregard the experts and continue to believe anecdotes or a one time personal experience but If you chose to do so, Isn't it your responsibility to point that out and prevent confusion?

You start with a claim that hospitals are keeping track of hypothermia data for post operative patients and that the .6 degree difference is vitally important, great, if that's the case more power to them, but what does that have to do with the benefits of drinking a calorie laden cold drink over a cup of hot tea in a survival situation? I suppose if your BOB is equipped to handle open heart surgery this may be an issue but I would bet that for the majority of us this isn't the case.

Then you go on to make this statement:

Originally Posted By: TomP
Also the "fact" is that surface area is not the common denominator for heat loss. Due to differences in radiation, insulation, conduction, convection, blood supply and autoregulation your head loses a lot more heat under almost all circumstances than your fat ass.


If this is in fact true, I would love to see what you base it on so I can re-evaluate my position, until then I will stick with the experts in this field.

Quote:
There are a variety of myths regarding human response to cold exposure. These myths are explained and debunked by Dr. Murray Hamlet, DMV, Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, PHD, and Frank Hubbell, DO.


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We recognize that even though there is abundant scientific information, there are still many old wives’ tales and misinformation that are being taught, passed on, and utilized in patient care. There appears to be some bad data in education which is causing rescuers to provide inappropriate patient care that can be deleterious to their patients.


Quote:
The rate of heat loss is relatively the same for any exposed part of the body, not simply the head. You do not lose heat significantly faster through the scalp than any other portion of the body with the same surface area.