UKC

Santa is 'hopefully' (fingers and toes crossed) putting a down jacket underneath my tree this year and I'm wondering what to wear under it??

I've heard that a t-shirt should do with a good down jacket but I'm not yet convinced! What do you think?

Also - as I suffer from Raynaud's Disease (a dibilitating response to cold in the extremities) I really struggle to find thermal gloves and socks that actually keep me warm and stop my extremities from turning blue and almost dropping off!!!!! Anyone else have this problem that can suggest anything that might help???

I don't care what I look like I just want to be warm and pain free!!!!! lol

In reply to Clio_10:

hi

depending on the weather, i usualy wear a thermal top, and somtimes a mereno wool jumper under my down jacket.
but i guess it depends how cold you get.

my wife also has raynauds. the only way she has found to reliably keep her fingers warm is a supply of small chemical hand warmer, inside a pair of mittens.

she hasent relay fond a soloution that works for feet, but sealskinz socks inside a fabric pair of winter boots works quite well.

if you want to talk to her about it, drop me a mail and i will forward it to her.

good luck

james

In reply to james wardle:

Thank you James... have sent you email!

In reply to Clio_10: there was a thread about gloves for reynauds a couple of weeks ago. Some people said keeping wrists and ankles warm was important, and chemical hand waormers were definatly recomended. I think you could probably search it!

In reply to ceri:

Here it is.

http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=215822

In reply to DougG: Thanks - had a look and there are some good tips!

In reply to ceri: Thanks!

In reply to Clio_10:

My wife has freezing fingers( not raynauds but hates the cold ) and other than good warm gloves a pair of buffalo mittens never goes amiss.

They weigh nothing work in the wet and are bloody warm - especially if you pop them on over gloves. £20 from Needlesports. Also great to slip a warmer inside - much better than gloves for that.

Sizes are very small though so if you want to put them on over gloves it'd be best to try a pair on first.

In reply to Clio_10: also being discussed at the moment on A N Other forum!
have read see if it helps
http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/forummessages/mps/UTN/15656/URN/5/dt/4/s...

In reply to gear boy: thank you! think i'm gonna try and get some buffalo mitts as they seem to be the most popular!

In reply to biscuit: Thanks!

In reply to Clio_10: You may well want to check out those battery-heated gloves Berghaus launched a while back. A bit gimmicky for general use, but might be just the ticket for your condition...

In reply to Clio_10: What down jacket are you getting? I've been after one for ages but am abit worried about washing it!!

In reply to LMB:

Easy - don't wash it!

Most people never wash jackets until they are really dirty then you can either send it off for a proffessional clean (with excellent results) or go through the hassle of washing and tumble drying it yourself with Downwash. I have known a down jacket to go through a normal wash (a mates mum thought it looked a bit grubby!) and extensive tumble drying and fluffing did sort of rescue it.

In reply to Monk: Ahhhhh!! So thats how you do it! I've been looking into getting myself an AlpKit Filo jacket, as the responses on the website have been very promising! What would you recommend?

In reply to LMB:

I've asked for a North Face Nuptse in particular because it simply fits better than the Rab Neutrino or the Mountain Equipment ones I've tried. Plus it seems to be the best priced 700 fill down jacket I can find. Other 700 fills seem to be considerably more expensive.

As for washing... I thought I'd just wear it till it starts to grow legs and walks itself to either my washer or a specialist cleaner!!!!!

In reply to Clio_10: For toasty socks try the smartwool expedition ones. Expensive and pretty thick but lovely and warm! Other smartwool ones are pretty good as well. I use their running ones (adrenalin) too which have kept my toes warm unless they've been very wet / cold eg running round open moor / boggy underfoot when it's sleeting.

In reply to Clio_10:

For two reasons, I'd suggest wearing a long sleeved base layer:

i) it will help keep your forearms warm, which will help alleviate your Raynaud's (at least in my experience).
ii) it will isolate your arms from the pertex inner of the down jacket, and provide a wicking layer. I find that some down jackets don't breathe very well, and quite a bit of sweat can build up. A base layer will help to cope with this, and help to keep the down jacket clean, thus delaying the need to clean it.