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Fundamental Elements of Polar Clothing
The styles of clothing may have changed but the underlying principles of polar clothing have remained the same during the period covered by the Freeze Frame project.
The fundamental principles are:
- Maintain a warm layer of air next to the skin
- Avoid damp clothing next to the skin
- Keep out the wind
Trapping Air(top)
Suitable cold weather clothing is not warm in itself - it is simply a good insulator and a poor conductor of heat. Heat is lost from the body through radiation and conduction. Air is an excellent insulator; therefore those clothes that trap air work well to keep the body warm. Several thin layers of clothing have the advantage of trapping multiple layers of air and so are more effective than one thick layer.
Dampness(top)
When a person becomes too warm they sweat - this is the body’s own way of cooling itself and regulating temperature. Sweating can be especially problematic in the polar regions where strenuous physical exertion may cause a person to become too hot in their polar clothing. The layers of clothing topped with a waterproof layer will slow down or prevent evaporation, resulting in clothes becoming damp. This will result in the stable insulating layer of air being replaced with water and, as moisture is a much better conductor of heat than air, the insulating capacity of the clothes will be reduced. These clothes will now act to conduct heat away from the body and their wearer will become cold.
It is vital that anyone living and working in the polar regions wear exactly the right amount of clothing, allowing them to remain warm without sweating. They will need to adjust what they wear so that less is worn in strenuous activity and more when being still. This is an added benefit of wearing layered clothing.
If clothes do become damp it is vital that they are allowed to dry fully before they are put back on, so that they are able to recover their insulating properties. This is especially true in the case of woollen clothing, which works very well as an insulator unless it is wet.
Wind Factor(top)
Insulating layers are the best way to trap warm air, keeping the body warm. For the insulating properties of air to be effective they need to keep air next to the skin between 25 and 30°C. When the external temperature is very low, or a very strong wind is blowing, or clothes are damp, they will fail to maintain the temperature of this layer of air.
To reduce the effect of the wind chill factor and prevent any air circulation removing warm air, these layers need to be topped with a windproof and waterproof layer. This prevents strong winds blowing heat away from the body by encasing the layers.
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