Staying Dry In A Wet Winter — 6 Practical Suggestions For Keeping The Moisture Out
When you live in a cold climate, you come to know something very important about the winter.
While the cold is terrible, it’s the wind and the wet that are the real terrors.
Cold temperatures can slowly work their way through your insulating layers, but if the wind gets at you, or your clothes get wet — it’s like being flash-frozen.
I’ve lived all my life in a cold and wet climate — and over time the people around here have developed many strategies for keeping out the dreaded moisture.
Staying Warm When It’s Dry
If you’re looking for advice on just how to stay warm, and moisture isn’t a problem, that’s a whole lot easier and my advice is simple.
- Layers
Layers are the key to happiness in cold weather, you can take them off or put them on as necessary to adjust your temperature.
If you want to be comfortable in layers, and not have them bunching up all over the place, consider some winter gear that’s designed to be layered.
It’s a little harder to find, but worth it — the layers snap together so everything stays perfectly in place, and they all fit nicely on top of each other.
Staying Warm When It’s Wet
This is where things get tricky, but certainly not impossible.
Here’s what you can do:
1. Water Resistant Shell
When choosing your jacket, the most important thing is to make sure it has a water-resistant shell.
Not waterproof — it needs to be breathable or else your own moisture trapped inside will be almost as bad.
If the jacket has a rating on it, such as 10k/10k — the higher the better.
A 20k/20k winter jacket will keep out a decent amount of heavy rain, while also letting your own moisture out even if you’re being pretty active.
2. Carry An Umbrella
Look, I know it sounds silly to carry an umbrella in winter — but if it’s going to rain, you’re going to want it.
Freezing rain is the worst, and trust me, you’ll be the envy of everyone around you without their own umbrella.
3. The Right Insulation
If your jacket is filled with duck or goose down, which is the traditional insulation — then it’s going to be worse than useless if it gets waterlogged.
Down quickly loses its insulating powers, and gains a lot of weight, when it gets wet.
Instead, consider a jacket that uses recycled plastic as insulation — they’re just as warm, but a whole lot better at resisting moisture, and better for the environment.
4. Open Up
No matter how breathable your jacket might be, you can sometimes develop more moisture in there than you might like.
Whenever you have a chance somewhere warm, open up your jacket and get a breath of fresh air.
5. Close It Down
Not to give conflicting advice here, but when you’re not letting moisture out, you need to make sure you’re also not letting it in.
Sealed seams on your jackets are important — and elastic cuffs can help to keep an entire river from pouring down your sleeve every time you lift your arms.
6. Proper Layering
The way you layer your clothes is super important, and a bit counter-intuitive.
Many people think that tight layers are the way to go — because the compression should help keep your heat in.
That’s actually not the best idea, though — what you actually want is thin layers of air that can hold your heat, and dissipate moisture.
Just like staying warm when it’s dry, you might want to consider winter wear that’s specifically designed for layering.
It will keep you a lot warmer, dryer, and more comfortable.
Staying warm when it’s wet out can be a real challenge, and it’s worth putting a little bit of planning into it.
A bit of preparation can save you a lot of time — no more getting wet, frozen, and miserable because of it.
Take the time to plan out your outfit, and you can face the elements with confidence.
