Cold weather work wear?

DimeStreetSaint

DimeStreetSaint

New member
Hey everyone,

I'll be making my move to maine this weekend and if everything goes as planned, I'll be starting my new job on Tuesday. I'll be mostly working outside doing construction (commercial garage doors) and need to keep warm. What I wanted to know is if any of you work outside? and if you do what kinds of clothing do you wear to keep warm?

 
purple Washington sweatshirt

Columbia winter/snow coat from LL Bean

jeans (probably a no-no if you're spending real time outside)

Smart Wool socks (a must! See if you can still get in on Pedro's Friends and Family discount at Timberland)

Cheap winter gloves. I wish I had gloves that were both warm and easy to move in.

Sometimes some snow-pants as an extra layer and as anti-wind.

Works for me down to about 15 degrees.

 
^^^ I was going to say that. I spent some time doing construction in the winter. A insulated jump suit is nice. Especially if your are forever going in and out. You can wear normal work clothes and slip this over for cold work.

 
Carhartt insulated work overalls.
http://www.carhartt.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?storeId=10051&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&categoryId=10908

I spent 9 hours outside Tuesday helping a friend with a timing belt job. 8 degree weather with -10 wind chill. I just wore 3 coats and 3 pants and put chemical hand warmers in my shoes. Buddy had the Carhartt insulated suit, he was fine most of the day. I'm sure you can find other brands of insulated one pieces as well.
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Spent sometime looking through their website and think I found everything I need. The reviews helped out a lot with choosing what would be best for my situation.

Thanks for the help!

 
Spent sometime looking through their website and think I found everything I need. The reviews helped out a lot with choosing what would be best for my situation.Thanks for the help!
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Glad I could help.

 
Carhartt insulated coveralls > Maine winter (usually)

fleecy undies under em and u are good to go, a fleece hoodie is teh schiznitz, plus a good warm hatt

 
Yup I just got a set of Carhatt insulated bib overalls. I love them. Then for the top I have a insulated Carhartt jacket. Good wool socks, and long johns you'll be good!! I work outside everyday, and I stay pretty warm

 
Military surplus cold weather drawers and top, then choice of jeans and a shirt covered by dickies insulated coveralls..... that's my recipe.......... it would have to be -60 outside to even feel a slight cold air...

 
Carhartt Jacket, Carhartt Insulated Jeans, My insulated chippewa work boots, leather gloves with glove liners.. and I'm warm all day.. overalls are a great idea too I use them for ice fishing but alittle bulky for doing construction like I'm doing.. oh and my Yukon Hat
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if you want to be extra warm add some smartwool baselayer to your closet. I wear the stuff all the time. it is incredibly warm.

 
Military surplus cold weather drawers and top, then choice of jeans and a shirt covered by dickies insulated coveralls..... that's my recipe.......... it would have to be -60 outside to even feel a slight cold air...
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Lobstah is the man for a reason. I have the polypropylene thermal pants and undershirts from the Army, and those under my Carhartt bibs and jacket, you can forget about the cold.

 
Under Armor and Fleece is what I go with for my base and 2nd layer, freakin toasty with that combo and of course smart wool socks.

 
Labonville chopper coat and full-zip pants. Buy the pants like 2-4 inches bigger in the waist than what you normally wear. They will fit over your regular pants. I like the versatility over two seperate pieces as opposed to the onesie. As others have said a good synthetic, wicking base layer helps. Labonville or Kinco gloves are pretty good. I suspect you are going to have problems with your keeping your hands warm and having the dexterity to work with tools. bolts, nuts, etc. When I used to do electrical work I used a pair of fingerless noeprene glove I got from Cabelas. The tips of your fingers get cold at times, but I could get them into my coat pockets with the gloves on to take the edge off.

Boots/feet are the hardest IMO. It's always been tough for me to find a warm enough boot, but not too hot so my feet sweat too much. Especially if you are in and out of the cold/warm.

Best idea is get an inside job
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I have done construction for 9 years outside summer/winter. Carhartt is great, only I found that it gets in the way and limits your movement because it is so thick, but it DOES keep you warm if that is all that you are after.

I wear a set of upper and lower long johns, then a t-shirt>flannel shirt>sweatshirt and then a zip up thicker hoody and jeans with thermal socks on the lower half. This seems like it would contradict what I said above, but it is all about the layering of thin items of clothing so when you warm up you can take a layer off and not sweat cause that is the worst. I have installed garage doors to and you keep moving so you will get warmer then you think.

For gloves I usually wear normal work gloves because as long as your hands are moving they don't get cold. The regular work gloves just keep the wind off and the things from sticking to your hands, but still allow you to grab nuts/bolt/nails from your work belt.

These are the gloves I wore and they were great AS LONG AS YOU KEEP YOUR HANDS MOVING:

https://www.ironclad.com/www/productDetail.jsp?prodID=120&catID=65 - these give good grip with the most flexibility.

Hope this helps, hey maybe I will see you on a job somewhere!

 
I went to Reny's today in bridgton and picked up some wigwam wool socks, a pair of bibs, some thermal pants and a carhartt heavy thermal shirt. I picked dickies bibs over carhartt cause they were easier to move in and less restrictive but also seemed to be warmer. I also picked up some dexterity gloves and a jacket so I should be able to figure out a good combination that works. I start work monday and I know we have a few jobs in bridgton, sweden and N.conway so maybe I'll run into some of you. I'll post back and let everyone know if I kept warm or not. Thanks for all the help!

 
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