Northern Wilds

Who says you can’t dress dapper and be warm, too?

“There was a man who I thought should have been warm on this trip, but he was really cold for the first couple of days. Finally I asked him what he was wearing.”

Susan and her husband, arctic explorer Paul Schurke, run Wintergreen Dog Sled Lodge (they sold Wintergreen Northern Wear) in Ely, and have designed winter clothing systems for extreme cold.

“He had on three layers of long underwear—he was restricting his whole body flow,” said Schurke. “He had the same thing going on with his feet. In his mind, he thought if he had more long underwear on he would be better off.”

Jen Gates, Steger Mukluks & Moccasins Store Manager in Ely, agrees that most people make one of two mistakes with winter clothing.

“It is either too big or too tight.  Too much space is wasted heat if it is too big, too tight of clothing conducts the cold.”

Winter weather demands good clothing, but with lots of choices for winter apparel, and a range of prices, what does one need to know to stay warm and cozy no matter how frightful the weather?

First, a little history.

People living in far northern climates of Greenland, Canada and Alaska traditionally used clothing made from the skins of animals they hunted. Differing thicknesses of fur was layered to regulate body temperature. As getting too hot could be just as dangerous as freezing, avoiding perspiring was crucial. Outer layers were typically worn with the fur facing out, inner layers were worn with the fur on the inside, and moisture was drawn away from the skin. Any snow or frost collected on the inside of the outer parka was scraped away prior to going indoors.

According to Schurke the same principles still apply.

“The next-to-skin layer is the most important layer. You need to have good long underwear next to your skin. If you are dry, you’ll stay warmer. After that, it all depends on the activity you are doing, the temperature and your metabolism.”

Layering is also a critical concept in cold weather comfort.

“A heavy parka alone is either too hot or too cold,” explains Schurke. “I would recommend fleece or wool—something thicker as an insulating layer to keep the body heat in. The outer layer should be breathable to keep the warmth in, but the moisture keeps passing through the shell layer. That also blocks the wind. A wind layer is equivalent to an insulating layer in keeping you warm.”

Gore-Tex and other waterproof fabrics like coated nylon trap moisture—you’ll find yourself with a layer of frost on the inside. Look for breathable fabrics if you choose a synthetic shell.

Kevin Kinney owns Empire Canvas Works in Duluth, where he sews winter garments made from natural fibers.

“We use canvas, because for our purposes, deep cold is just cold—the one thing you should be the most afraid of is being wet. When you are soaked, you are going to be cold. Our canvas shells, they know what to do with moisture. Moisture passes completely through the fibers. It is 95-96 percent breathable, but it blocks wind. It’s the shell that gives you a microclimate.”

Natural fibers have other advantages.

“Wool is a natural fiber that is hollow, so it absorbs 30 percent of it’s weight in water, and collects heat from you inside of that water, working to your benefit,” explains Kinney. “You’ve got active transport, and when your body temperature changes, ounce for ounce, pound for pound, wool is a better insulator than fleece. It’s basically acting like your fur.”

And what about your head, hands and feet?

“Keep a hat on or something around your neck—that’s where you lose most of your heat,” says Schurke. “If you get too hot, take it off.”

“Sometimes people think they need more layers on their hands and feet,” Schurke explains. “You want that dead air space between all your layers. Too many tight layers squeeze out the dead air space and you get colder.”

Besides durability and function, the right clothing will simply help you want to be outside, even on those challenging winter days - days that often provide those priceless northern wilds experiences we all seek.