Heat Transfer and Layering are Required for Outdoor Activities

You can be in serious danger if you are in harsh weather conditions without the right clothing on. Everybody should without a doubt know about these two essential subjects, because it is vital for your survival in the outdoors.

Layering and heat transfer both come together hand in hand. But first you need to know about heat transfer. The first focus is on “dead air space”. It does sound like a pretty weird subject but it is essential to understand this. Dead air space is simply when you are wearing two different types of materials and there is air trapped in between both resources. You need that air space to keep you warm in cold harsh weather conditions because you need air coming in AND out of the insulation for you to stay warm and to not perspire. Another subject in heat transfer is wind. Wind is an issue when trying to stay warm. If wind is passing through your clothing then there is no way you can keep warm. That is why a wind breaker jacket can be one of your layers to stay warm on windy weather conditions. MOISTURE!!! Ah!!! Another issue to sort out! The first thing I have to say is to NEVER EVER wear cotton materials in rainy or wet conditions because cotton will absorb water and take forever to dry. The Cotton will then feel very uncomfortable and heavy to wear. It will start to smell pretty bad as well. So as you can see, you would never want to wear cotton in wet weather conditions. Another issue with moisture getting into your layers is that you will never be able to contain heat inside your clothing. Therefore, wear waterproof materials instead of cotton materials.

I have already gotten into layering a little bit in the heat transfer section but there is much more to cover in this subject. There are 5 layer sections that you have to be aware of, underneath, wicking, clothing, insulation, and finally, the shell layer. The first two layers have to be relatively tighter around your skin then all the other layers. Again, all of these layers come hand in hand with each other. The underneath layer should wick away moisture that is penetrating in or out of your skin (sweat). The next layer (Wicking layer) should also wick away any moisture coming into your clothing. Next is the clothing layer which says what exactly it means in its name! The only thing you wear in this layer is just your everyday clothes. This clothing just acts as another layer to keep you warm. But make sure that this layer doesn’t fit too tight around your body because this layer should feel comfortable to you. The insulation layer has a very simple concept. The clothing you put on in this layer should be something like a fleece material that can insulate warmth against your body so you are not cold in harsh weather conditions. Last but not least is the shell layer which protects you from the sun, rain, and wind. So in this layer you can possibly wear a wind breaker if you know that you are going to be in windy weather conditions.

So as you can see heat transfer and layering are vital for your survival in harsh weather conditions.