I have found the answer to warmth!

[Kelly Marks]

Not the answer to life perhaps but at this time of year 'warmth' is a good step in the right direction!

I saw these people www.blazewear.com and acquired one of their heated waistcoats (around £80) Lent it to Sarah Weston when she did Untouched course and she's buying her own now. They are really good. You don't feel 'hot' you just think 'oh the weather isn't really all that cold' as it seems to me you just feel what normal should be.

For feet (don't have anything tight on) for the freezing days the feetwarmers you can buy in tack shops really do work. And then the over trousers called 'snowriders' in my neck of the woods really do make a difference.

Sorry no really cheap options here but I feel the cold really badly and dressed up with these items (as well as other thin layers) I was quite comfortable standing around in the coolest of temperatures.

Feel free to add any other recommendations!

P.S. I have ordered Musto Heavy weight thermal jods because I saw someone recommended them on here!

[gordo]

I find standing in muck heap a cheap and effective thawing of toes option, doesn't get your jobs done and makes socialising quite a challenge lol!!

[jinglejoys]

Just had a quick glance...no Hi-Viz?
I like my Dickies hi viz fleece jacket ;D
www.dickiesstore.co.uk/workwear/hi-vis-safety-workwear/dickies-hi-vis-jackets/sa22032/0/ less than £20 and lightweight

[jill]

Hats? A great deal of body heat is lost through the head and I HATE woolly hats. So I am awaiting the arrival of one of these, just in time for the thaw cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230560974599
I might have to wear it as a sun hat

[wabuska]

Two layers of lambswool and you'll never be cold.

[Bay Mare]

Annadresseur on eBay does some lovely German breeches which are great for the really cold days. They can go over your jods or be worn on their own and are easy to get on and off as they zip down the sides. You can ride in them also as they have a clarino 'bum' and have reflective strips too

The 'losing most of your heat through your head' is a myth although, obviously wearing a hat will stop some of the heat loss:

From the BMJ:

Excess heat loss in the hatless
As temperatures drop, hats and caps flourish. Even the US Army Field manual for survival recommends covering your head in cold weather because “40 to 45 percent of body heat” is lost through the head.19 If this were true, humans would be just as cold if they went without trousers as if they went without a hat. But patently this is just not the case.

This myth probably originated with an old military study in which scientists put subjects in arctic survival suits (but no hats) and measured their heat loss in extremely cold temperatures.20 Because it was the only part of the subjects’ bodies that was exposed to the cold, they lost the most heat through their heads. Experts say, however, that had this experiment been performed with subjects wearing only swimsuits, they would not have lost more than 10% of their body heat through their heads.20 A more recent study confirms that there is nothing special about the head and heat loss.21 Any uncovered part of the body loses heat and will reduce the core body temperature proportionally. So, if it is cold outside, you should protect your body. But whether you want to keep your head covered or not is up to you.

Buffs are good too as they're so thin and adaptable. You can wear them round your neck and still wear a scarf over the top or even wear them under a hat.

Sporting Triangle sell Buffs and are also selling wooly hats with polartect lining for £5 at the moment. You have to email them with colours that you want (or don't want) so you can't choose what you get exactly but they're fine for the yard.

www.buffshop.co.uk/?gclid=COWg0-6m36UCFYpO4Qod8EF-0w

Silk thermals (from an outdoors shop rather than a ski shop) are great for layering.

Sealskinz gloves are an absolute godsend.

For hi-viz jackets the best I've found are ex-police jackets from eBay! I paid £25 for one which would have cost over £100 new, it has a zip out quilted lining and loads of pockets.

[jill]

I was listening to a doctor on TV the other day. She was saying that the only part of the body which can generate heat is the core, the center of the circulation - extremities can only maintain what the blood circulation supplies, by insulation. And once that heat is lost, it can't be generated at the extremities. For feet and hands it can be unpleasant, for the head though it is slightly more important to keep the brain supplied with blood.
If you look at residents in arctic countries, they invariably have warm head covering. And personal experience tells me if my head is cold, so is the rest of me. Good enough for me!

[sarahbing]

Dec 9, 2010 14:08:17 GMT 1 gordo said:

I find standing in muck heap a cheap and effective thawing of toes option, doesn't get your jobs done and makes socialising quite a challenge lol!!

Ha ha ha That really made me laugh ;D

[Deleted]

Robinsons waterproof overtrousers, only cost about £28 and keep you much warmer than jodhs alone can!

[Lorraine L]

Kelly, how do you wash those heated jackets ? With the heating side of things in the jackets, can you still put them in the washing machine ?

My toes have been helped this year by the toe socks and now added to that, my sister got me a pair of waterproof salopets. These come up waist height so my usually " chilly middle " is now toasty warm !

[BJMM]

I really want a blazewear waistcoat, especially as I have a horse called Blaze! Can't afford one though
You think maybe they want a nice, fat, hairy cob as their mascot??
Gordo, I am with you on the muck heap idea. I was squaring ours up today and it was like standing in a hot bath! Only not so fragrant

[anastasia55555]

One word...... jealous!

Gordo, thats about as much money as i can stretch to!! haha! My sister actually put hay inbetween her layers of socks and she said it was very toasty! So if your feet really are freezing even with layers on and ur desperate might be worth a try!

[jamesb]

Dec 9, 2010 14:08:17 GMT 1 gordo said:

I find standing in muck heap a cheap and effective thawing of toes option, doesn't get your jobs done and makes socialising quite a challenge lol!!

Something to look forward to on Saturday then! ;D

As a cheaper solution, there has to be a reason tramps always used to use newspaper. Plus, you can use the rustling noises as a form of spook-busting……

[Lulu]

Dec 9, 2010 19:20:44 GMT 1 anastasia55555 said:

One word...... jealous!

Gordo, thats about as much money as i can stretch to!! haha! My sister actually put hay inbetween her layers of socks and she said it was very toasty! So if your feet really are freezing even with layers on and ur desperate might be worth a try!

Eeek that sounds so stratchy. I had to invest in muck boots as hated straw/hay getting inside my normal wellies and pricking into my ankles !

I bought some neoprene welly liners/socks for myself and my husband nicked them for working on the farm, he says they are sooo warm and toasty everyone at work has been asking him what he's got and now they're buying them too. Luckily my muck boots are warm so haven't needed the neoprene socks.

[portiabuzz]

Dec 9, 2010 14:08:17 GMT 1 gordo said:

I find standing in muck heap a cheap and effective thawing of toes option, doesn't get your jobs done and makes socialising quite a challenge lol!!

Ditto!!!! lol ;D