It’s Cold! Should I Wear a Thick Sweater or Layers?
When it’s cold, the trick to staying warm is to pick clothes with different thicknesses that will create a cozy bubble of insulating, warm air around your body.
The clothes that keep us toasty do so because they trap a cushion of air around us that is warmed up by the body. It’s the air, rather than the fabric itself, that keeps us warm, so think twice before splurging on high-tech clothing. As strange as it sounds, stagnant air is better than almost anything else at retaining heat—that’s why there is a gap between the panes of double-pane windows.
It’s not the number of layers or the thickness of the material that is most important; the key is to create the biggest, most stable, blanket of air all around your body that won’t be blown away by the wind. This is why baggy T-shirts and flowing pullovers are no good, even if you wear lots of them.
layering up
The best way to keep out extreme cold is to wear a thin layer next to the skin, followed by two progressively thicker layers, to trap maximum air.
bracing yourself for the chilly outdoors?
1
Wear wool or synthetic fur because they trap lots of air between their fibers, which forms another layer of insulation around your body.
2
Layer up with a well-fitting thin layer close to your skin to lock in air, covered by one or two looser, thicker layers.