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Simple Items That Might Save Your Life: Spare Warm Jacket

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"Had my leg break been so severe that I could not stand, I would quickly have been in dire trouble. I was very cold and shivering within a minute." Injured and under-dressed, Nick Small learned a valuable lesson the hard way...

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 TheGeneralist 06 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Is dissapoint. Was hoping to find a review of the best options with weight details. Do you have one?

38
 compost 06 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I was running on the Pennine Way a few weeks ago. I didn't spot a missing flagstone under a puddle and smashed my shin on the edge of the next one. I thought it was broken and was a long way from civilisation, with no phone reception. I was so thankful of the warm layers in my bag

edit - it wasn't broken, thankfully! Took weeks to heal though

Post edited at 11:42
 TheGeneralist 06 Mar 2023
In reply to Dan Bailey - UKHillwalking.com:

Ossum, many thanks.

Subsequent to my post I did indeed find a UKC review of a Nuclei  and promptly bought one. 

https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/clothing/synthetic_insulation/arc'teryx_nuc...

Many thanks

Post edited at 14:31
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I have a very cheap synthetic puffy (nano style), it's so light you'd never know it's in your bag but the warmth to weight is crazy. Having bought it slightly too big, it fits as a belay jacket or just over a tshirt shirt. It cost £19.99 yet it's been a trusty friend in woodland walks, skiing -33C in the Arctic, cold belays, as a mid layer during brutal winter landscaping jobs, or often being nicked by my partner when she doesn't take enough layers! There's really no excuse these days not to have a layer like that on you when in the hills. 

 Michael Gordon 06 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

Good article. Important to consider what would happen if forced to spend a night out on the hills in winter. A jacket at the warmer/heavier end of the spectrum sounds like good advice to me, and nothing wrong with down in this situation - just wear it under your waterproof.

2
 ScraggyGoat 06 Mar 2023
In reply to Michael Gordon:

Plus modern light Bothy bags are a fraction of the weight and bulk they used to be.  Blizzard packs are also worth considering and spare food to fuel the internal fire.

 tehmarks 06 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I broke my leg in Chamonix in winter, under the top of a chairlift, about 5m off the side of a piste, and getting from there to somewhere warm still took in the region of two hours. I had a down duvet in my pack and was pretty toastie (as far as memory can be trusted) in distinctly mediocre snowy weather, but without it I'm pretty sure hypothermia would have very quickly been added to the list of problems irrespective of the weather.

I'm not sure enough people are aware just how quickly cold will become a serious problem if they become immobilised in the hills.

 critter 07 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

You have to give Mark Twight his dues (Extreme Alpinism) for advocating the big insulating jacket over everything approach.

 TobyA 07 Mar 2023
In reply to critter:

> You have to give Mark Twight his dues (Extreme Alpinism) for advocating the big insulating jacket over everything approach.


Although it's not like people hadn't done it previously. I bought my first belay jacket in maybe '93. I know it was a belay jacket because it was made by Buffalo and the model was called "Belay Jacket". But some mountaineers had been doing it with down duvets jackets for generations previously.

 SNC 10 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

This is a good little video: youtube.com/watch?v=rDNPcXwS9vk&  

Shows how cold you can get and how quickly.  

 leon 1 10 Mar 2023
In reply to SNC:That is a really excellent little video Thanks

 Schmiken 11 Mar 2023
In reply to SNC:

That video was actively scary to watch, certainly makes you think! Thanks for producing it 👍

 SNC 11 Mar 2023
In reply to Schmiken:

> That video was actively scary to watch, certainly makes you think! Thanks for producing it 👍

Thanks, but for clarity I didn't "produce" it in the technical sense, someone posted it on here ages ago, and it stuck in my memory. Cheers.

 Flinticus 12 Mar 2023
In reply to UKC/UKH Articles:

I broke an ankle a mile into the Cairngorms on a late winter wild camp. Couldn't find anything to act as a crutch or splint (so litte forestry on those hills!) so I now carry an extremely lightweight SAM Splint. The only pain was movement in the ankle so securing that would have been good.

In reply to SNC:

Thanks, I've added that to the bottom of the article

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