How To Layer For Total Comfort In Extreme Cold

What to wear when it’s -30F or below, and you want to go outside

We’re headed to Yellowknife next week to see the Aurora Borealis during solar maximum with a group of friends. It’s -30 there right now. As I’m helping all of them get appropriately geared up, I figured readers might get some value from all this as well.

This trip is a unique challenge due to its relaxed nature. We’re not climbing a mountain, we’re not performing heavy aerobic activity, we’re going to be sight seeing, riding in dog sleds, probably taking some hikes, and plan to generally stand or sit around looking at the night sky. Those relatively low activity levels mean that we won’t be generating overwhelming amounts of body heat, so we need clothing that maximizes static insulation and protection from the elements.

The basic program looks like this:

Torso

• Base layers

• Mid-Layer (fleece, heavy wool sweater or similar)

• Puffy insulation

• Shell

Legs

• Underwear made from anything other than cotton

• Base layers

• Mid-Layer (fleece sweatpants or a second set of heavier weight base layers)

• Puffy insulation

• Shell

Feet

• Silk sock liners

• Insulating socks (but not too thick)

• Sticky heat pad

• Insulated Boots

• Microspikes

Hands

• Glove liners

• Puffy insulation

• Shell

• Either heated gloves or chemical heat packs on back of hand

Face

• Thin merino balaclava

• Thicker neck tube pulled up over chin/nose/ears

• Warm hat

• Ski Goggles

• Puffy hood

• Shell Hood

Let’s work through what that looks like for me. I’m already pretty well equipped for these conditions, and since I write about this stuff am free to choose the highest performing items possible. This is a best case scenario setup using the latest, greatest technologies.

Torso

• Base layers

  • I’m planning to wear a set of First Lite’s Furnace layers. These things are made form an insanely heavy, 350-weight merino with a fleeced inner. They’re way, way too warm for anything involving activity, but should be the perfect foundation for static warmth. I’m running a quarter-zip top without a hood to leave room around my head and neck for other layers.

• Mid-Layer

  • Sitka Ambient 200. If you have’t transitioned to a cutting edge active mid-layer like Polartec Alpha or Primaloft Active (what this is made from) yet, you’re really missing out. These things use lofted polyester fibers captured in a mesh chassis in order to trap a ton of dead air (what provides insulation), but also zero resistance to that warm, moist air escaping outwards as activity levels rise. So they’re both warmer and more breathable than anything you’ve ever tried, making them much more versatile. At 200 grams per-square meter, this is the heaviest option available.

• Puffy insulation and shell

  • Sitka Blizzard Aerolite Parka. I plan to explain this in an article here on Substack in the near future, but the hunting space has raced ahead of the general outdoors brands in terms of clothing technology in recent years. This parka combines a very burly waterproof-breathable Gore-Tex shell with my favorite synthetic insulation: Primaloft Gold with Crosscore Technology. That’s a mouthful, but it basically takes a synthetic insulation that’s already much warmer than down with much less thickness, and adds Aerogel to the fibers. Aerogel is the most insulating material known to man, and can’t be compressed, so including it means that you retain a significant amount of warmth even when you’re sitting down, or carrying a pack, or similar. John Barklow says he uses 133 grams of the stuff in the Blizzard Aerolite range.

Legs

• Underwear made from anything other than cotton

  • I like briefs, due to their added control. And I basically only wear REI Co-Op everyday briefs these days. They’re made from a quick-drying synthetic blend that dries quickly, and retains its shape. That makes them a great option for pretty much anything. You want quick-drying underwear because your nether regions tend to get sweaty before anything else, and any retained moisture will quickly make you feel cold.

• Base layers

  • First Lite Furnace leggings.

• Mid-Layer (fleece sweatpants or a second set of heavier weight base layers)

  • Orvis Pro HD Underwader Pants. With a slick face, lofted fleece interior, a slim cut, and great foot straps, these things are the best lower-half mid-layer I’ve found for everything form fishing to skiing, to whatever. They go on easy, stay put, move well, and add plenty of warmth.

• Puffy insulation and shell

  • Stika Blizzard Aerolite Bibs. Same deal as the parka. An insane amount of weather protection and warmth in a burly package that won’t get torn or cut, and which isn’t bulky or restrictive at all. The shell will completely eliminate any threat of convective heat loss due to wind, and maximize the warmth provided by all the other layers.

Feet

• Silk sock liners

  • Silk is amazingly warm for something so thin. Wearing it as a base layer on your feet won’t effect how your shoes fit, while adding a lot of comfort.

• Insulating socks

  • You don’t want anything crazy thick, as it will make your boots tighter, restricting blood flow to your feet. And I don’t like doubling up socks for that same reason. But Lorpen makes these socks from two layers of buttery-smooth Polartec PowerStretch, which sandwiches a layer of Primaloft Gold. They’re no thicker than a heavyweight boot sock, but offer a substantial level of reliable insulation.

• Sticky heat pad

  • I love Ignik’s toe warmers. You can either stick them to the top of your toes, over your socks, or to the inside of the boot, above the toe area. Obviously you need a boot designed to leave a little extra toe space for this.

• Insulated Boots

  • I’ve got a pair of Lacrosse’s new Alphaburly Pros with 1,600 grams of Thinsulate Ultra insulation. Your feet are subject to conductive heat loss through contact with the cold ground, which is what makes them feel cold so much sooner than the rest of your body. I believe these to be the most heavily-insulated rubber boots available.

• Microspikes

  • Compacted snow and ice are slippery, and we’ll be hiking around ice falls and over the frozen lakes. Kahtoola Microspikes are an easy way to add a significant level of winter traction to any footwear.

Hands

• Glove liners

  • I wear a set of merino touchscreen compatible ones from Hestra. They’re just what was available last time I needed as set. Liners are an essential anytime you need to handle something with fine dexterity, without getting frost bite.

• Heated mittens

  • I just put a new set of batteries in an old pair of Outdoor Research Prevail heated mittens. I’ve had those since 2016, and they’re like new, but do need fresh batteries once a year or so. I don’t generally like relying on heated stuff outdoors due to risk of failure, but figure a chill trip like this is a perfect application. OR gloves and mittens are more expensive than other heated options, but are also much warmer, and much more reliable.

• Back ups

  • But, powered stuff can still let you down. I’ll bring along a set of Stone Glacier Altimeter gloves just in case. Those pack 166 grams of Primaloft Gold with Crosscore Technology into a waterproof shell. And I’ll also bring packs of Ignik hand warmers to pair with them, should those heated mittens let me down.

Face

• Thin merino balaclava

  • I really like Filson’s 400G Merino Wool Balaclava. The hinged design can be warn fully over the face, leaving only a narrow slit for your eyes, or pulled down under your chin. Mine’s retained its shape well over two years of wear, and shows no signs of pilling after multiple wash cycles. In temperatures this cold, it’s really important to not leave any skin at all exposed.

• Thicker neck tube

  • Some old merino item that’s long since lost its logos and tags. It’s double-layered, so is plenty warm without being thick, and I can pull it up over my nose and ears, over the balaclava, when conditions are really gnarly.

• Warm hat

  • Sitka Blizzard GTX Hat. There’s a waterproof Gore-Tex shell housing a high pile fleece liner. So it keeps wind and precipitation out and warmth in, while covering your ears in a slim package that still fits under a hood. The brim helps keep windblown ice and snow out of your eyes.

• Ski Goggles

  • No exposed skin means the area around your eyes too. And while the liquid in your eyes is high in salt content, strongly resisting freezing as a result, cold temperatures, and windblown ice and snow can still feel uncomfortable, and may damage your vision. So, a set of ski goggles is essential, even if they’ll come on and off as conditions dictate.

• Hoods

  • I’ve already got plenty of material around my neck with the high necks on the base and mid layers, plus the balaclava and neck tube, but the parka seals all that up further, so there’s just no room for hoods except from the shell. Pulling that up over all the above, and the hat, is just a final layer of protection that really seals out wind, and prevents convective heat loss.

Now I’ve just got to figure out the last few bits of Virginia’s system, and make sure our friends have everything they need. More stories from this trip to come.