Kilt in cold weather

[lschwartz]

I wear my kilt for casual attire. At home, going shopping or to the mall, and of course to celtic events. I see it as just another part of my wardrobe, like jeans or dress slacks. My question is, while most of this is during the Spring, Summer, and Fall I don't see any problem with wearing a kilt with woolen hose and whatever shirt and jacket I would normally wear if I was wearing jeans or slacks when Winter rolls around. My wife, however, sees it differently and keeps saying that I am going to freeze in a kilt. No more than she would in a skirt or dress, but you see the problem here.

So, how many of you wear the kilt when the temperature hits the 40's F or below?

Larry

[kiltedcontractor]

I find that it is the wind not cold that will make me put on pants. I wore my semi traditional usa kilt and one of my 5.11 kilts all weekend in new hampshire. Temperatures ranged from 10 deg.f to 28deg.f.

Let me add this. I was in and out of places......not outside all day.

[Steve Ashton]

I wear a kilt every day. All last week the temps. were well below freezing with snow and ice.

Yesterday it warmed up and all the snow is gone but I still have my kilt on.

[estimaa]

So, how many of you wear the kilt when the temperature hits the 40's F or below?

I keep getting asked by the girls "aren't you cold in that", then they show me their leggings and all kinds of gear (usually they're wearing jeans! - Tallinn on saturday).

I guess you mean here, 40's in F = a few degrees above 32..?

Here it's -6C down to -10C at night.
I will routinely wear the kilt down to -25C.
There's a few observations that need to be made.

I realised the smart thing is keeping a constant steady temperature, and taking off as much stuff as possible the moment the temperature shoots up inside.
I simply DO NOT get it, when people don't adapt.
They really want to be uncomfortable and sweaty?

To take an extreme example I see people get on the metro in Moscow/St Petersburg, staying fully clothed in winter furs, and not making any effort not to sweat.
In the metro it's typically 20-25C, while it can be -20C outside.
Where's the logic?

1c2340eb2b124c7f859e05e6c65cb285.jpg
(btw that's a posy artificial picture, because the women deliberately have no hats, so it can't be cold, and guy is clearly a foreigner..)

The synthetic chinese stuff, which is sold everywhere today is 6x worse than natural fur.
No wonder they freeze when they back outside, the poor fur or plastic coat, is full of water vapour.

1/ If you get cold, it will always be through your FEET first.
If you have shoes/socks that are not warm enough you will sooner or later get really cold (Been there, know how it is to wait for a tram in inadequate footwear at -30C).

2/ If you don't wear a woolly hat in a cold climate, you will DIE.
Add to that, people will look at your strange masochism and wonder what on earth you are doing.

3/ Had a good think about this.
The reason people usually get cold, is because the bottom of the back - using jeans / T shirt even under a thick woolly jumper is where people really sweat under any exertion.
You don't get cold from your stomach back, you get cold from your back FORWARD.

One thing is certain.
If you sweat in a cold climate you WILL get cold.
There is nothing worse than the cold air being recycled at the very imperfect joint between the T shirt and the top of (almost invariably) ill fitting jeans.
You have to take every possible measure NOT to break a sweat.
This way you stay warm.
It might sound counter intuitive, but the biggest enemy is trying to stay too warm!

Wear some jeans, you will have a shock!
Go measure the skin temp some day with an infra red gun, when you've been out in the cold doing some big stuff on a freezing rooftop.
You will be sweating like mad in the shoes, your hat & gloves and underwear.

Your lower back will be freezing, and hey presto that evening you're all stiff!

Enter the Scottish kilt, the only thing you have to fear is slipping on the ice, and cutting your knees to ribbons, but you can do that in jeans anyhow!

I wore a "boiler suit" over the kilt and couldn't be warmer, then I fell on the ice and took a 110V transformer direct on my lower leg.
Did the overalls help?
NOPE!

I must admit, that maybe I started to understand the clever bit about the kilt.
There's up to 1.5kg of thick material, EXACTLY where you want to keep the back warm, and it's worn some 2-3" higher than jeans in a totally different front to back profile.

The T shirt disappears into and under the top of the kilt, so NO DRAUGHTS, and at least an ability to adjust straps so the thing fits properly, then you of course have the choice of material, wool, acrylic, length, 5yr or 8yd, heavy or light etc etc.

I wouldn't wear a 5yd in winter unless of course you are warming up from extreme swimming, but that's another story.

[Geoff Withnell]

Since from the waist up, with sweaters and so forth, the kilt outfit is much the same as trousers, it's from the waist down where the difference occurs. The kilt provides two layers of wool, while the kilt hose provide a thick layer of warmth. Jeans are only a thin layer of cotton or blends, and not much protection. The knees are exposed, but typically, knees don't have a lot of meat in them, and don't get all that cold. If wind and temp pose a risk to bare skin, just roll the kilt hose all the way up.

[Stoff]

I have worn kilts in the depth of winter, 1979, while stationed at NTC Great Lakes, IL. And I have worn it in the most miserable heat of summer here in coastal North Carolina. I have always been as comfortable, or more so than when wearing trousers.

Just my two cents worth.

Christoph

[estimaa]

..from the waist up, with sweaters and so forth, the kilt outfit is much the same as trousers, ..

The kilt provides two layers of wool, while the kilt hose provide a thick layer of warmth.

Jeans are only a thin layer of cotton or blends, and not much protection. The knees are exposed, but typically, knees don't have a lot of meat in them, and don't get all that cold.

If wind and temp pose a risk to bare skin, just roll the kilt hose all the way up.

Beg to differ with pretty much all of that.
For a start I don't have an 8yd wool kilt, it's synth material.
It's not as warm as wool, but incredibly tough.

2nd the waist on a kilt is loads higher up, so the kilt is the thing keeping the bottom of your back warm, and the shirt tucks into with about 4" dropping further down.

This prevents "leaks".
It's the leaks make you cold, which you find out first hand if you ever try to sleep in a car at below -15C.

As for knees these ARE the bit that gets cold.
If you ever had a serious sports injury in there, you will know the criticality of the internal temperature, hence whether or not it gets inflamed after doing a lot of heavy donkey work or extreme ski.

As for bare skin.
What are you worried about?
The number of temperature receptors in the lower leg are really minimal, and they get turned off pretty thoroughly below 5C.

You won't feel the cold in shins, or lower leg, so the thick socks don't actually do anything for you, apart preventing a little cutting yourself on sharp ice without being able to see it start to bleed or hurt.

Ie.

Thermoreceptors are rapidly adapting receptors, which are divided into two types: cold and warm.

Thermoreceptor responsesWhen you put your finger into cold water, cold receptors depolarize quickly, then adapt to a steady state level which is still more depolarized than the steady-state. Warm receptors do the opposite: hyperpolarize quickly, then adapt to a slightly hyperpolarized state.

When you move your finger to cold to warm water, cold receptors (which are already slightly depolarized), don't respond very strongly. Warm receptors do, and the response is stronger than normal, because they are slightly hyperpolarized. The brain perceives the warm water as hot because it is receiving more information from hot receptors than from cold.

The opposite response is observed from the thermoreceptors in the finger that is moved from hot to cold (greater response from cold receptors than warm).

The major point is that most receptors (including thermoreceptors) respond most strongly to a CHANGE in stimulus. Therefore a preceding experience that hyperpolarizes the receptor will cause the brain to interpret a new depolarizing stimulus as being stronger than if it "actually" is.

TempModel.jpg

Receptor Sites

Most of body area is covered with skin which is normally sensitive to heat and cold. The most sensitive heat receptors are found on the elbows, nose, and fingertips.

Meanwhile, cold receptors are found on the chest, chin, nose, fingers, and the upper lip. Hence, the nose has both sensitive heat and cold receptors which is why it is generally the most receptive sense.

However, the fingertips are the most sensitive when it comes to the rate of heat conduction.

Different body parts have different temperature sensitivity levels; causing their respective thresholds to vary as well. According to Stevens et.al., the most sensitive body part to temperature is the face, particularly the face and cheeks, while the least sensitive ones are the thigh and calf.

Cold receptors start to perceive cold sensations when the surface of the skin drops below 95 ° F. They are most stimulated when the surface of the skin is at 77 ° F and are no longer stimulated when the surface of the skin drops below 41 ° F. This is why your feet or hands start to go numb when they are submerged in icy water for a long period of time.

(eg. Like if I go for a swim in +5 > sub zero water temps).

Thermoreceptors are found all over the body, but cold receptors are found in greater density than heat receptors.

The highest concentration of thermoreceptors can be found in the face and ears (hence why your nose and ears always get colder faster than the rest of your body on a chilly winter day).

[Geoff Withnell]

Well, we are talking about two different things. You are talking the perception of cold, and I am talking about being cold, maintaining core body temperature and preventing frostbite. On the latter, the lack of thermoreceptor function is a serious problem, because one will become frostbitten without feeling any pain from it - until later of course. So at sub-freezing temperatures, covering the knees can be crucial. On maintaining body temperature if you are out in the cold doing things, walking, working, etc, it is the parts of the body with muscle tissue such as the calves and thighs, which will have blood flowing through them to maintain their function. If they are not insulated, this blood gets chilled, and is carried by the circulation back to the body core, and chills the whole body.

[lschwartz]

Thanks to all for the responses, but let's get back on track here. I was wondering how many wear their kilt outdoors when the temperature is in the 40's F or lower? No need to get into body mechanics and how we sense cold and temperature; I know that stuff, I teach that stuff in survival courses, we can move on.

Larry

[Taskr]

The wind chill was brutal here the past few days; -30C to -40C (-22F to -40F) range. In those kinds of conditions, one does not venture outdoors for any length of time without making sure skin is protected. Since I've no fur to wrap 'round my legs, the kilt was left on the hangar for last Saturday's social event. I could have gone door/car/door - but you can't predict what might happen in transit. And pants with kilt on a hangar to change into on arriving just a bit awkward. But, I have worn my kilt in sub 32F temperatures, to -5F ish (-20C). I didn't find it uncomfortable at all. As has been said, with torso suitably robed and a good hat, warm hands and suitable footwear the wee chill on the knees wasn't bad at all during a short stroll. That the kilt was 8yd heavyweight was probably a help in staying comfortable.