Mitts, Gloves, Boots, Coats for the North?

[RocksAndProps]

Which winterwear is the best for walking around an airplane in -40. What is your go-to winterwear?

[Bede]

Excellent question. When I worked in the Arctic, I wore my coveralls with long underwear and a hoodie underneath. I wore a regular ski jacket on top, big snowmobile mitts and a beaverskin felt hat. If it was windy, a neck warmer or balaclava. Canada Goose parka was too warm to work in, however I carried a down parka in a stuff sack beside my seat in case something bad happened and I needed to stay warm while not moving.

[helicopterray]

Wear layers.
I use Helly Hansen cover-alls. With a sweater underneath. T-shirt under that.
Sorel boots. Arctic series rated for -40.
I've worked at temps down to -46, and it was survivable.

[Donald]

Depends on where you are working, what aircraft you are flying, and what type of job it is/who you are working for.

[HansDietrich]

I highly recommend the "SWAT" boots, Canada Goose parka and a nice warm hat with "ears" as well as two pairs of gloves, one for the outside, one for inside the cockpit (something like a batter's glove). The "Russian Style" one.

https://originalswat.com/

[GyvAir]

Wear layers.

Exactly.

There are days when the venerable Snow Goose parka is your best friend the whole day. Most days however, start out cold and then as the sun and the temperature go up and down, the activity levels vary, you need to shed or add insulation accordingly, so you don’t sweat too much. Snow pants or wind pants with sweaters and jackets that you can easily take off are the ticket.
The Helly Hansens are good. If you choose them, go for the two-piece, overall and jacket combo. 1000% more versatile and useful than full coveralls.

Sorel boots are great, but they can be big and bulky for most cockpits and rudder pedals. For relatively low activity levels in cold weather, consider the -73C version. (My feet have never, ever been cold in these) Basically they have an extra layer under your foot and a little more all around. You sacrifice a little stability for the extra insulation. The -40 or 50C versions may be better for situations where you keep moving all the time. Whatever boot you choose, invest in an extra set of liners right away, so one can be drying by the heater while you’re wearing the other. Nothing will ruin your day faster than starting a -40 morning with boot liners still damp from the day before. It will also keep the funk level down!

[EPR]

I worked the ramp in the Arctic for a couple of years and I wore a two piece "Tough Duck" insulated coveralls as well as a "tough Duck" winter jacket.
I wore a hoody underneath the jacket, a tuque, and on wicked cold days a balclava. The coldest temperatures I worked outside was -56 degrees wind chill, and it was totally doable in the Tough Ducks!
I had a Haley Hanson hoody, but it wasn't any good at keeping me warm, I wasn't impressed with their product at all!

[Sharklasers]

Get a pair of toughduck insulated work gloves, Write your name across the knuckles in sharpie. Baffin and Sorrel boots are too big to work in. When I was flying in the high arctic I carried them around in the back. I went through a couple pairs of insulated hikers before in found one where the soles didn't become hockey pucks at minus 30. All the cheap ones will do that.
You need a fur hat with the ear flaps. A pair of medium weight ski pants and wear them when you fly, it's hard to put on ski pants with 2 broken legs.

[valleyboy]

Ironically it is the footwear that sucks these days. No one makes a boot that the soles don't freeze. the I wore the Acton boots for years and they never had issues with the soles. Even at 50 they were pliable, soft and warm with screens and insoles. Damn, recently cold feet seem the norm.

[Mr. North]

I'll share what has served me well on the coldest of days.

Base layer thermal underwear: tight fitting kind that wicks away moisture.
Fleece pants: not too tight, not too loose.
Wool plaid shirt: there's a reason all the old guys wear them. Not only are they warm, they stay warm when wet (sweat).
Wool socks: leave your fancy gym socks at home.
Insulated carhart bib overalls: these babies are as tough as they are warm.
Canada goose parka: look for one that is mid length cut. Too long and it gets in the way, too short and you get that burst of cold air up the back when you're loading or putting the engine tents on. I cherished my heli-arctic but I don't think they make it anymore. Another good thing about CG is that after years of wear you can send it in to get refurbished, they do an excellent job!
Cold weather hiking boots: sorels are good backups in the survival bag but winter hikers are best for flying. I own both saloman and keen winter boots.
Mountaineer gloves: some guys like the big mits. Personally I always went for the technical leather insulated climbing gloves. First Ascent made a great pair for a while. They're expensive but I enjoy the dexterity as I grip the ice cold throttles.
Wool scarf: neck warmers are good but a well wrapped scarf can't be beat.
Toques: whatever works here, I always tended to lose mine.
Ski goggles: anything to cover the eyes during a blizzard or blowing snow.

A couple other points. Merrino wool is the warmest stuff out there, worth the extra money. As you layer up, also remember to layer down. Flying in the arctic involves lots of standing around with short bursts of activity. If you're about to do some work like rolling drums, take off your jacket first - before you start sweating. If you dress properly you will never be cold in the arctic. Enjoy the north, so few people ever get to see one of the largest regions of Canada.

[whits]

I can second the tough duck insulated coveralls or overalls. If you get a carhartt jacket make sure it has a zipper. Canada Goose Resolute Parka is great for walking around in the cold but I wouldn't recommend for working or wearing in a plane, it's too hot.
Another must is Raber Garbage Mitts, you can get them from Weaver & Devore in Yellowknife. They are definitely warm, good to work in (mine are covered in grease now, but still work great) and very reasonably priced.

[Rudy]

Wow I had no idea those things were called Garbage Mitts. I originally bought them as emergency backups to stick in my pockets but after trying them they became my main mitts for years. If they got too saturated with grime/oil/fuel you could just get a new pair at the Northern for cheap.

I agree that Canada Goose are very warm but are not for a working pilot. I put holes and tears even in my tough ducks pretty easily. If I did that to an $800 jacket I'd be pretty upset.

For boots I wore what valleyboy wore, Acton Prairie boots. My boss used to wear hers without even socks.

[pelmet]

It is minus 35 and windy and you are going to be working on an aircraft like a Twin Otter. This means that you will be outside the aircraft doing things such as a walkaround and exterior preparation and inside loading which builds up heat. Then you will be putting it away for the night doing things such as wrapping up the engines, plugging it in and putting away the battery.

You have to be prepared for the very cold, for prevent excessive heat buildup, and the rare occasion when you can be out for a while in extreme cold.

My personal concerns were wearing stuff to stay warm but also wearing less at times so I will not sweat which mostly has to do with layers of clothes that can be added and removed. One could divide things into half, being the upper and lower halves of the body as well as the half inside and half outside my coveralls

For the lower half of the body, I started with long underwear, then my regular pants and then wind pants. These stayed on all day as legs rarely sweat so that part of me never got overly warm(windpants could be removed if required). For the top half I wore a carefully purchased thin shirt that would be able to breathe(not hold heat in very well when doing heavy work). On top of my upper and lower half was my regular company supplied coveralls.

For the outer layers on the upper body was a small jacket, thinner than a ski jacket but the type that would keep you warm in fall weather around the freezing point. Then there was the outer regular parka with its big fur lined hood and many pockets large and small. This stuff was worn for the work outside the aircraft. The parka is removed once inside the aircraft to start loading. If I am really working up heat, the small jacket comes off as well and the coveralls can be partially zipped open if really needed. Then one or both jackets back on as needed.

For gloves, I had regular ski gloves. Hands can get fairly cold quickly in these but they can be put in pockets when walking across the ramp. A very thin pair of glove liners can be kept in one of the many pockets for occasions when in a somewhat cold place like a still somewhat cold cockpit(which is just warming up) where dexterity is required. When outside for a while, the thin gloves can go inside the ski gloves as an extra warming layer during the time period that you are doing something outside. At this point, you don't have fine dexterity but enough dexterity to help put on and engine blankets and tie them up tight.

Thin socks that can breathe were critical for me as my feet sweat and I want to minimize that. I had some winter boots that had a bit of cold weather capability but not too much as these are used to fly the aircraft. A spare pair of thicker socks are ina pocket in the parka. For the hands and feet, the above means that if you are outside for an extended period of time, you WILL get cold and miserable. That is where one super big moon boots and the super thick mitts that I had stuffed in my moonboots came in. I just carried them around on each flight and rarely used them. But on those rare occasions that I did, they were worth their weight in gold.

The last thing is the head. I typically just wore a headband and used the hood to cover my face. A spare tuque was in the parka when needed. But, for the occasional time when it is really cold and windy and I had to do stuff outside, I had a full face mask that fit right over my head. It made me look like a bank robber but it works incredibly well. The only problem is.... I wear glasses but not when I was in Arctic Twin Otter winter ops. I wore contact lenses. Otherwise they will fog up and frost over after the first breath in the mask or even in the hood and it is a miserable experience trying to prevent them from fogging-frosting or clearing them.

Over several winters, I never got particularly cold. Things just take longer due to putting stuff on and off. The many pockets on the parka house most of the stuff except the big pair of boots with the mitts. But, I was fortunate to have good bleed heat near my feet in flight so I could take my small boots off and dry my kind of damp socks on each leg.

It is all about preparation. I did wear less stuff once on the bigger turboprops but you still want to be prepared.

[propfeather]

My go to for the Arctic and Antarctica in the cold months is:
Base layer - merino wool or synthetic. (Merino keeps you warmer with a lighter fabric and smells better but doesnt deal with getting sweat away from the skin quite as well as synthetic)

Mid layer - Usually a thin fleece or hoodie but for colder days I go with a light weight insulated (down or synthetic) jacket like a Patagonia Micro Puff or similar (whatever is a decent price. Fleece pants if it's colder than -10.

Exterior layer - Either an insulated canvas jacket (Carhartt/Dakota/Tough Duck) for days around 0 to -25 or a down parka (Eddie Bauer/Canada Goose/TNF) for below -25 or really windy/blizzard days. I always keep my parka in the plane incase of an emergency or if we get stuck somewhere in the field for a few hours. For the legs - Arctic Insulated Carhartt Overalls.

Gloves - I use Kinco gloves for working, theyre cheap ($25), warm, and waterproof if you wax them. Always keep an extra pair or two in the plane incase a pair gets soaked with fuel or too sweaty. I keep an extra pair of super warm mittens in the plane for emergencies.

Headwear - a plain old toque and Buff is a good combination for most days, sometimes I need a balaclava. Ski Goggles work really well, especially for fuelliing in blowing snow.

Footwear - Hiking boots and insulated (composite toe, steel toe is way too cold) work boots work most days but I also keep a pair of super insulated Kamik rubber boots for the extra cold days. Socks are very important, get some good merino wool or synthetic socks - no cotton! Thicker ski socks work well.