Me in my Ski Mask
I get cold very easily in cooler temperatures. Anything under 65F (18.3C) and I am reaching for a coat. Anything below 45F (7.2C) and I have my whole kit on, which is made up of the following.
Me in my Ski Mask
The first and probably most important is my neoprene spandex mix “dive hood” that is designed for cold weather tactical use. I cannot wear a hooded coat or anything thicker than this because of the laterals on my Stealth 2QCR headrest, wearing something thicker would make it impossible to get the laterals to lock in. With this we are able to still lock in the laterals almost as normally, it’s just a bit of a tighter fit in the headrest for my head, which I don’t mind. I have to have this dive hood since I get cold on my head extremely easily.
Silky Polyester Shirt
I avoid wearing cotton, cotton sweats, becomes wet and then causes chills. Wearing polyester has always helped for me as I don’t sweat in polyester as much as I do in cotton, for most people its the reverse of this. I use the specialized polyester wicking shirts quite often, they are especially useful on warmer days when my back is likely to sweat in my wheelchair, that way I don’t wind up bathing my back in a wet cotton T-Shirt of sweat. The polyester shirts are also silky and soft which is a feeling i really like. I also wear polyester pants (not shown) but no matter what I do I still sweat in my private area’s due to the vinyl incontinence cover on my wheelchair cushion, which I am definitely thinking of removing as I am not incontinent, and if I do get the suprapubic catheter I will likely ask them to clamp my urethra shut so that no urine can pass through to my penis and it all be routed through the suprapubic tube.
NRS Mystery Neoprene gloves
These are my newest addition to my arsenal, they are Mystery Neoprene gloves that are available at Altrec through this link. I buy a lot of my gear through Altrec for two reasons, I have a close friend named Aubrey who works there, and she keeps close tabs on my purchases. Altrec as a company is also easy to deal with with great prices and an awesome customer service team which Aubrey is a member of. But thats enough of the Altrec plug. I got these Neoprene gloves which are 2mm Neoprene like my Neoprene shirt, on the back its 1.0mm Mystery Neoprene which is patented to the NRS company that manufactures them, on the palm its 0.5mm hydroskin Neoprene. My Neoprene shirt is 2mm Neoprene everywhere so I was a bit nervous as to if the gloves wouldn’t be warm enough to handle the cold temperature. Definitely yes, in fact they are a bit too warm. Yesterday it was a 29F (-1.6C) degree day and when I came home and took off my gloves my hands were slightly sweaty! So these gloves are perfect for the ultra cold weather we get sometimes and whenever my hands are freezing. They are a very tight fit which allows me to type and do things that you normally have major difficulty with gloves on, with minor difficulty. The only thing I am trying to figure out is how the heck to get them to work with the stupid touch pad on my laptop.
Me in my NRS Neoprene shirt
I have not worn my Neoprene shirt out of the house yet, I am saving that for sub zero conditions that need an extra warm layer under the coat that retains any heat you put into it. However I currently tend to wear my Neoprene shirt when I am sleeping since it is tight and warm and gives me an odd sense of comfort. I also love how smooth and rubbery it is to the touch, I like to lay on my side and rub my arm till I fall asleep. This is one of my ultra cold weather gear pieces. Wearing neoprene clothing is becoming common in some autism groups, especially ones that I am in. I wonder what causes it to be so dang comfortable.
My Rubberized Nylon Coat
SHown above is another good piece of my cold weather gear, it is a microfleece lined rubberized nylon coat. Although it is very thin it is extremely warm, even in 29F (-1.6C) degree weather yesterday. I also like that the outside is rubberized nylon since those kind of materials feel good to me and on warmer days i like to wrap that around my hands when I don’t necessarily need gloves but just some shielding from wind and some warmth. I also like that the inside is microfleece since some of the furrier things can cause my neck to spasm when you put it on my neck. It is hooded but we just stuff that inside and or have it positioned in such a way it protects the front of my neck.
My scarf on my chair
Attatched to my powerchair is a nice black scarf that is about 4-5 inches wide and is made of very heat retentive micro fiber or something. Either way it is extremely comfortable and almost looks like it came with the chair. we keep this on the chair all the time in the winter. If it’s not cold enough we use it more to keep the back of my neck warm.
So now all of you know how I keep warm in the cold. How do you do it. Tell me in your comments!
Photo gallery is attatched, click any picture to go to it!
