50 Cold Weather Survival Tips

1.Wear a hat in cold weather. Did you know that nearly half of your body heat (approximately 40 – 45%) is lost through your head. This simple tip is very effective and will put you well on your way to winning the battle to stay warm.

2. Wear a balaclava to keep your head, face and ears insulated.

3. Don’t rely on one bulky coat to keep you warm.

4.Dress in layers, this will help you to trap heat close to your body and prevent it from leaking out into the atmosphere. Wear a vest, t-shirt, pullover, and good waterproof and preferably windproof jacket. You can then strip layers if you begin to overheat.

5. Ideally wear numerous thinner layers as opposed to a few thick ones.

6. Ensure that your outermost layer of clothing is waterproof and windproof.

7. Consider wearing wool. Although this may not have some of the advantages of more modern and hyped up materials, it will keep you warm even when wet, a property which not many other materials can boast.

8. Avoid cotton, this loses almost all its ability to retain heat if it gets wet.

9. Keep your neck covered. Do this with a scarf, alot of body heat is lost through the neck as the blood comes to the surface and in turn radiates a significant amount of heat. Also zip up your jacket tight as high as it will go, just dont choke yourself!

10. Wear a good pair of waterproof, breathable and well insulated gloves. Again alot of heat is lost through the hands due to reasons similar to the above.

11. Choose a coat with Velcro fasteners.  This will help seal in even more heat not only preventing leakage from the torso but also with fastener’s on the wrists and neck this can be very effective.

12. Make sure your boots are waterproof, breathable and well insulated. Goretex is a good fabric for this. Your feet are another point on your body through which alot of heat is radiated and being an extremity they can become very cold very fast.  This can be accentuated when they become wet and as we have all experienced at some time this can be very painful.

13. Wear woolen socks, again this can help keep your feet warm even if they should get wet.

14. For a low-tech waterproof method wear plastic bags over your socks. Double or triple wrap them for added protection.

15. Take a change of clothes. If you get wet make sure you have a change of clothes in your kit and change immediately. Nothing saps heat from your body quicker than being wet and this can lead to the onset of hypothermia and often be fatal in extreme conditions in a matter of minutes.

16. Ensure that all your clothing is completely dry before setting out, boots in particular may still be holding some excess moisture from your last outing.

17. Watch out for hypothermia. Symptoms include disorientation, feelings of confusion and a tendency to become somewhat clumsy.

18. These symptoms are often not apparent to the individual suffering them so keep an eye out for this in others.

19. If you suspect hypothermia then get out of the wind, this can sap heat at an astonishing rate. Change any wet clothing.

20. Do not apply direct heat. If possible avoid warming the arms and legs, just focus on the torso, preferably with a heat pad or lamp. Focusing on the torso prevents cold blood from the arms and legs moving to the brain and vital organs which can be fatal.

21. Make yourself a good hot brew. This will boost your core temperature and raise moral no end.

22. Take fire-lighting materials and a stove.

23. Store hot drinks in a thermos flask.

24.Do not drink alcohol. Although this gives a temporary feeling of warmth it will be short lived and cause you to loose even more vital heat.

25. Aviod sweating if possible. Sweating causes us to cool through evaporation.

26. Camp in low lying ground. This is generally warmer.

27. Make use of any man made structures to provide shelter.

28. If none are available then use whatever materials are available as a windbreak.

29. If it is snowing then build a snow wall to keep minimise any wind chill factor.

30. Get a quality, well insulated sleeping bag.

31. Sleep inside it in a bivi bag to keep the water out. Again opt for a bivi bag made from goretex.

32. The human body can sweat well over a pint of water even on a cold night and so a breathable bivi will help minimize this as they will let moisture escape but at the same time keeping it out of the bag.

33. Add a sleeping mat to your kit. This will prevent heat being drawn away from your body and absorbed into the ground and will also prevent any tears in your bivi bag from rough surfaces and the like.

34. If you need the toilet in the night avoid getting up and losing the heat you’ve built up, go in a bottle.

35. Consider the benefits of goretex clothing and sleeping equipment.

36.Goretex is breathable but still keeps moisture out which will help vent any sweating and is also windproof which can stop a large amount of heat from being sucked away from your body.

37. Breathe through your nose not your mouth. Breathing through the nose warms air.

38. If your hands are starting to become painful through the cold then let them dangle by your sides and vigorously complete a cricket bowling motion. This will help send warm blood from your upper arm and armpit into the fingers. Not too sure about this one to be honest!

39. Don’t eat snow. You will lower your internal body temperature.

40. Don’t eat yellow snow!

41. Heat any snow until it is fully melted before drinking.

42. If you happen to fall in the snow get up as fast as possible and wipe the snow away to prevent it melting on you.

43. Use hand-warmer pads for a quick boost of heat.

44. If  you are lucky enough to see the sun come out then use the opportunity to dry any wet clothes.

45. Keep spare clothes dry by wrapping them in plastic bags in your pack for extra insulation.

46. Don’t smoke. You will lose heat breathing through your mouth and may have to take off gloves whilst messing about to get the damn thing lit!

47. Before you set out on a trip check the weather forecast. If it’s shocking then don’t be afraid to postpone your trip.

48. If the weather suddenly takes a turn for the worse when you’re out, turn back unless you are fully prepared.

49. Always make sure that other people know where you are and when you are likely to return so they can raise the alarm should you fail to do so.

50.Finally, if everything here fails, then think warm thoughts! Imagine you’re lying on a beach in the Caribbean, looking up at the palm trees and blue sky with the sun shining warmly against your skin, whilst you wait for your next beer. It could always be worse, if the last warm thing you have is your thoughts then make them good ones!

If you made it this far then please feel free to give your opinions and add your own ideas!

Thanks for reading!

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