Examples of Cold-Weather Clothes

Introduction

Having understood how clothes keep you warm and decided on a layering strategy, it’s time to go shopping.

These links illustrate the kinds of garments that are available from well-known outdoor brands; they are not recommendations of things to purchase. For casual use, high-powered mountain climbing gear isn’t necessary. Use the descriptions and images of the examples listed as a starting point to understand each category of clothes.

Examples

Body Part	Layer	Useful Range	Examples
Torso	Base	Always	Mammut Sertig ECWCS-III Level 1
	Insulation	Always	Arc'teryx Kyanite Montbell Climaplus
	Insulation	Below −15°C	Arc'teryx Proton LT MH Kor Strata
	Protective	Always	Montbell Tachyon Arc'teryx Squamish Outdoor Research Ferrosi
	Protective	Stationary in rain / Sustained rainfall	Outdoor Research Helium II Arc'teryx Zeta SL
	Static Insulation	Stationary below 0°C	Montbell Down Parka NW Alpine Belay Jacket
Legs	Base	Always	Saxx Quest ExOfficio Give-N-Go ECWCS-III Level 1
	Insulation	Stationary below 10°C / Active below −10°C	Arc'teryx Rho LT ECWCS-III Level 2
	Protective	Always	prAna Brion Outdoor Research Ferrosi
	Static Insulation	Stationary below −15°C	MB Thermawrap
Hands	Base	Below 5°C / Wind / Rain	Montbell Glove Liner Rab Power Stretch
	Insulation	Below 0°C	Arc'teryx Covert Rab Xenon Mitt
	Protective	Below 5°C / Wind / Rain	Montbell Shell Mittens OR Schuck Mitts
Feet	Base	Below −10°C / Hiking	Injinji Liner Wigwam Liner
	Insulation	Always	Darn Tough Light Hiker Smartwool Ultra Light Hike
	Protective	Above −10°C	Shoes
	Protective	Below −10°C / Snow	Hiking / Winter Boots
Head	Insulation	Below 0°C	ME Powerstretch MH Micro Dome
Head	Others	–	Hoods from torso layers
Face	–	Below −10°C / Wind	Balaclava
Eyes	Protective	Above −10°C	Sunglasses
Eyes	Protective	Below −10°C / Wind / Precipitation	Smith Squad Goggles Julbo Glasses / Goggles
Neck	Insulation	Below 10°C / Wind	Neck Gaiter Montbell Muffler

When considering which clothes to buy, you may wish to calculate the required insulation for the conditions and compare that with the insulation of the clothes.

Further Reading

Outdoor Gear Lab is a trusted source of reviews. Their picks are tailored for physical activities like backpacking, hiking, skiing and mountain climbing; people looking to stay warm and dry while sight-seeing or travelling will likely be able to settle for apparel that has fewer features and is consequently much less expensive.

For more general information, Keeping Dry & Staying Warm (Part 1) is a good read about the principles of garment construction, insulation, and layering. The explanation of different hood designs is particularly useful – it turns out that many people who think they hate hooded jackets just haven’t used a good one.

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