Northern clothing and footwear

[Castorero]

I recently flew for a couple of hours over the jungle of Venezuela in a C-206 and I couldn't help but think about how no one would ever find you if you were so unlucky as to poke a hole through the green canopy, never mind surviving the myriad of creatures out looking for a meal.

It struck me how different, yet how inhospitably similar, this environment is to North of anywhere Canada when Winter is in full flight.

I think I would much rather take my chances North of 60 than South of 0, in the event of a forced landing in mid winter.

To that end, what personal gear and clothing do you wear daily when you fly or have flown in the Arctic?

What hat, inner and outer clothing such as shirt, pants and underwear you find most comforting?

What about a jacket, parka, snowmobile suit and footwear?

Has anyone gone Native, resorting to Caribou, Polar Bear, or other natural garments? How did they compare to today's garments for comfort and margin of survivability in the elements?

I fear a stint North of 60 may be in the offing, and I could use some sage advice on surviving a prolonged exposure to the elements...


Castorero

[Johnny#5]

Good Baffin or kamik boots, quality thermal underwear and Tough Duck winter coveralls, Snow Goose jacket(and you'll be hip in the city!), good gloves for working but if you can get seal-skin mitts your golden...

Not a bad idea to have a good face mask or even ski goggles - great in cold wind....and maybe grow a beard

[ragbagflyer]

Sorel Glaciers are great boots; rated to minus 73 Celcius. I've stood/walked around for hours at 40 below and slept outside (beside a fire) at 25 below and not felt the cold. They are quite bulky and can be difficult to drive a stick shift with and they can take a bit of getting used to as far as toe brakes go but you'll get over it. The rubber on the soles is VERY soft so if you have to walk out on a wing to brush off snow they are about as grippy as you will find anywhere.

[Bede]

I get hot easy when I work so I used to wear my flight suit and a work jacket over long underwear and a sweater. I had a really good down parka in a stuff sack beside me when I flew in case something happened.

[Lost Lake]

I wear the basic minimum. If I crash, the faster I can freeze to death the better. Plus I look good.

[The Mole]

Bunny Boots hands down. The best winter boots i've ever owned. You can buy them in all sizes and widths making them super comfortable. There 100% water proof and the inside can get soaked and your feet still stay toasty warm. There are two types, black and white. The white are for below -25c. Found them at two army surplus stores in vancouver area. They run about $100..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_boots

[Castorero]

Those Bunny Boots look pretty neat and they look warm, too.

Has anyone used those new fangled neoprene looking boots called Mugs, Bugs or Bogs, I am not sure which.
Apparently some of them are good to minus dead cold.

I am going to look into the Bunnies and these neoprenes.

I am still very curious about the Caribou or polar Bear wear, if anyone has had any experience with that...

Cas

[GreenStar]

I'll give another nod for the bunny boots, have been wearing them for years, they keep your feet warm under any conditions.

[just curious]

If I am going to be doing ski work and flying science types (Beakers) around I wear these:
http://www.actoncanada.ca/fr/produit/a4440-13
I've gotten 30 years out of one pair. Just now I'm at 68 South. In another 2 weeks I'll be at 68 North. I've never found them to be not warm enough.

When I'm not flying Beakers around I wear sealskin or caribou kamiks made by one of my regular passengers. Actually... When I'm not flying beakers most of my stuff (boots mitts hat) is beaver muskox or seal.

Polar bear has a couple problems. If it isn't tanned fur then you have to keep it in the freezer when you aren't using them. And you can't wear it across the border. If you aren't Inuit it will cost a fortune to buy. Hunters in Greenland still wear polar bear pants. That marks someone as a grown up hunter since they have to get the bear themselves. They don't sell them. Realistically, they are too warm to fly around or roll fuel drums in.

[pelmet]

Here is what worked for me when on the Twin Otter. And I never had a major problem.

I really wanted to avoid sweating yet stay warm. Sometimes you need less clothing when working such as loading. Other times you need more stuff such as wrapping up the aircraft in -30 and winds.

For my feet, unfortunately they sweat a bit in warm boots. So I wore regular boots without a felt liner with regular socks. Normally you are not out in the cold too long so it is OK. Remember that you want the type of sole that retains a good grip at cold temperatures(ie the sole doesnt freeze) or else you will frequently slip and fall on your ass on smooth hard pack snow. But, I carried in the plane a huge set of moon boots in case of emergency or the occasional time that you needed them. I stored a thick pair of socks and my huge mitts in the boots. During flight, my regular boots frequently came off to allow bleed air heat to dry any dampness in the socks.

Hands: regular ski gloves allowing dexterity. You can keep your hands in your pockets for a cold walk across the ramp and on the rare occasion that you need the super big mitts, you take them out of storage from your super big boots.

Lower body: Long underwear then wind pants then regular pants, then the company issued coveralls. When you include your regular underwear and the lower portion of your parka....that six layers over your butt. I find the lower body doesn't sweat much so it was not an issue.

Upper body: A thin normal shirt to allow any heat buildup when loading to dissipate instead of being trapped. Then my coveralls. Then a late fall(relatively thin jacket), then my big super parka. This way when loading the aircraft, I could quickly takeoff the parka to prevent heat buildup but still have a jacket on as it was cold and windy near the entrance door and still cool farther in while loading. If necessary, the light jacket can still come off but when loading is done and you have to go outside, the parka goes back on quickly. It is nice to have lots of large pockets on your parka(on either side, inside, at chest) to store gloves and other items temporarily or most of the time. Plus the parka should have one of those giant fur lined hoods allowing you to tighten it up so there is just a long tunnel for you to look outside and minimize wind going onto your face.

Head: I find a full ski hat heats up my head too much so I had on stored in one of my parka pockets and normally wore just a headband. Headband could quickly come off to be stored in the chest pocket if starting to sweat and of couse, every time you go inside somewhere warm. But I also had a full face mask type head cover with just holes for the eyes and mouth(you look like a criminal). Occasionally worn when it is cold and windy and you are wrapping the engines, etc. By the way, contact lenses really help over glasses which have a tendency to frost over.

Bottom line....when it is really cold, things just take longer to do. I like lots of layers that can be quickly removed so you can adapt to the situation with the heavy duty equipment available for occasional use when they are worth their weight in gold.

[sky's the limit]

Whatever you choose, be sure you are wearing it - none of these things do you any good if they're not on and you end up with a couple broken legs or arms. I see so many people in harsh environments show up with all the gear... in a bag.

[Castorero]

Thanks for the feedback people, I really appreciate it. I dont have time enough to learn to keep my ass from freezing in the short time I will be up there so your suggestions will not fall on frozen ears...

Castorero