Arctic Gear: "Exercise Moosehorn" ~ 1956 US Army The Big Picture TV-334 (Patreon)

more at http://quickfound.net/

'This film shows the inside look at the Army's latest ideas in Arctic wear, from fur caps to thermo-boots, all designed to keep the soldier comfortable and ready for anything which might face him.'

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extreme_cold_weather_clothing

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Extreme cold weather clothing refers to clothing for arctic or mountainous areas. Its primary function is to trap air as an insulator to prevent heat loss from the wearer's body. Secondary and necessary is to conduct water vapor away from the body to keep the insulating layers dry. A shell keeps the wind from disturbing the still air in the insulating layers. In warmer conditions, the shell protects from water intrusion.

The U.S. National Weather Service defines extreme cold as −35 °F (−37 °C) with winds less than 5 miles per hour (2.2 m/s). In these conditions, the unprotected skin of a healthy adult will develop frostbite in ten to twenty minutes. The Canadian standard includes lower temperatures...

Principles

A vacuum is the best insulator, but its use in clothing is impractical. Dry air is a practical insulator. Extreme cold weather clothing uses still dry air to insulate the body, layers of loose air trapping material are most effective. The inner layers should conduct moisture away from the body. Outer layers should be windproof as well as suitable to the harsh terrain.

Materials

The original cold weather clothing was made of furs. The fibers of the fur trapped insulating air; lanolin on the fur repelled water. Knitted wool was an effective insulator, but ineffective when wet. Goose down is the lightest insulator, and still used today. Its quality, called loft is a measure of its low density. It is tragically ineffective when wet.

Artificial fibers have good loft, and do not lose it when wet. One effective fiber is Hollofil a hollow fiber of polyolefin. Outer garments are often made of nylon, which is strong and abrasion resistant. To the nylon is often bonded to a layer of polytetrafluoroethylene (trade name Teflon) in a form that has holes small enough for moisture to escape, but not allow liquid water to intrude. This material is trade named Gore-Tex.

Best practices

The U.S. Army describes cold weather best practices by the mnemonic acronym COLD.

Clean

avoid Overheating

Loose

Dry

The protocol is aimed at keeping the insulation dry, so that it may be most effective.

Layering

Best practice indicates that for extreme conditions, clothing should be layered and loose. Near the core of the body, a soft, wicking layer is best. Wool or silk underwear is preferred. Then, by preference, a knitted layer of wool or synthetic fleece. A massive insulating layer and a windproof layer complete the ensemble...