Cold Weather Prep

[5hady_man 3]

Doesn't anyone have any further tips on cold weather prep for this Op?

 

Mainly looking for tips on how to stay warm (Currently layering with compression shirt/shorts, thermals, combat uniform, then a fleece jacket), staying hydrated (Heard Camelbaks freeze), and other misc things I should get ready for. Any help is appreciated, thank you.

[Dave 781]

Dress in layers, have a backpack to dump your excess clothing into, and stay away from puddles.  Sounds like you are already good to go.

[kooler 11]

 I am a big fan of wool clothing ( I am old school) it is tough and keeps you good and warm.

At the very least wool socks with a light cotton sock first.

We play often in the cold up here in ny ,and have found G&G green bucking work best.(lets not start a better bucking thread just an opinion )

[5hady_man 3]

Will definitely look into wool socks. Hydration wise, keeping your water from freezing over, anyone have tips?

[Alex AMS 614]

Will definitely look into wool socks. Hydration wise, keeping your water from freezing over, anyone have tips?

When your done drinking blow the water out of your hydration tube and back into the bladder.  Put a couple of hand warmers in the pouch with the bladder.  It's usually the water in the tube that freezes when it's that cold. 

[Guest Specs]

As Alex mentioned above. ^^^

 

I would also recommend getting a hose sleeve/ insulator cover. Should help a little with the tube's temperature. Also be sure to always lock your bite valve lock, as that'll prevent most cold air from entering through the mouth piece. You can also add some insulation to your bladder area. I've had good success with a layer or two of bubble wrap around the bladder itself. 

 

Also from a more simple perspective, keep it filled. The more water, the longer it'll take to freeze over. 

 

 

In regards to clothing, I'd be sure to bring a second set of socks if your boots aren't waterproof. It's also smart to have an outer layer with openable vents to better regulate body temperature. Sweating and hypothermia and all that.

[5hady_man 3]

Thanks guys, all of this definitely helps.

[Jawbone 4]

I've been looking at weather projections. Yeah, it's still a ways out to be certain, but I'm not seeing anything indicating freezing weather for that region. Is frost expected for that time of year, or is the temperature a bit warmer?

[Alex AMS 614]

The storm that came in last year wasn't on the radar (so to speak) until about 5-7 days before the event.  Generally it will be cold, but not always that cold.  This happens in North Texas about once a year, lasts for a few days and then it's just regular cold.  It just happened to happen during Reindeer Games.  It's not uncommon to drop down to freezing or below with the wind chill at night for that time a year.

[sexyd 49]

Last year rdg was like something out of a movie that morning. We honestly flipped a coin to decide if we were going to take the trip. What the coin said we did. So a hour and half drive for us took....five hours and six hours home

[ttsupra98 39]

We play often in the cold up here in ny ,and have found G&G green bucking work best.(lets not start a better bucking thread just an opinion )

 

IIRC, at last year's event, someone had talked about keeping a small hand warmer on your person to put on and heat up the hop-up unit so the rubber didn't freeze.....

Can't remember who it was that said it though.

 

Last year's was Cold (for those who weren't there, that is an Understatement) though, so be sure you have Plenty of warm clothing and batteries to last through the event

[Sisu 288]

Better living through SmartWool and Underarmor.
(That's coming from someone who lives in NH and spends more time outside shoveling snow that I care to admit)

[FroJoe 11]

Because this is Texas we are talking about, layers will be your best friend. It could drop below freezing at night, and then be up to 70-80 degrees at the hottest point of the day. As Dave said earlier, a backpack to store extra layers when not needed will be helpful.

[RoninKiros 27]

I'm from Wichita Falls which is roughly 60 miles to the North of the AO and I can tell you that the best thing you can do for this event is to prepare for the cold but be ready for it to be warm.  Keep a close eye out on the weather forecast about a week out and you can get a decent idea of what it'll be like.  Usually, we get our first snowfall of the season around the early part of December but this year is far from typical.  We've already received a dusting this year so what's typical may not really apply.  In December, our lows usually run in the upper 20s to lower 40s (depending on the arrivals of cold fronts) so at night, it will be cold for those camping.  During the day, we have had days where it would be in the upper 70s to lower 80s only for a cold front to snap through the area mid day and drop the temps to around the 30s and 40s.

So, my advice from experience living in this area, is to make sure you're ready for both warm weather and cold.  To give you the best example possible of the extremes here in this part of Texas, take a look at these statistics:

 

3 DEC 2013 - Mostly Sunny Skies (78 High / 33 Low)
4 DEC 2013 - Party Cloudy Skies (67 High / 41 Low)
5 DEC 2013 - Snow Flurries (40 High / 24 Low)
6 DEC 2013 - Snow (28 High / 21 Low)
7 DEC 2013 - Mostly Cloudy Skies (23 High / 16 Low)

6 DEC 2012 - Partly Cloudy Skies (71 High / 44 Low)
7 DEC 2012 - Mostly Sunny Skies (69 High / 44 Low)

3 DEC 2011 - Rain (60 High / 48 Low)
5 DEC 2011 - Snow Flurries (41 High / 32 Low)
6 DEC 2011 - Overcast (32 High / 28 Low)
7 DEC 2011 - Mostly Sunny (46 High / 19 Low)

Hopefully this weather data from the past three years helps to give you all insight as to what could happen leading up to RDG.  I wish I could be at RDG this year but barely missed out on getting a ticket to CoST so instead, I'll be cheering you guys on looking for that win close to home!  Just remember, here in North Central Texas, our weather can change very quickly.  Hope you all have a great time at RDG (yes, even for you guys in the UFS - I'm not a COMPLETE hater lol)

[sniper1 0]

Honestly guys, it usually doesnt get below 30 around here so I'm pretty sure nothing will freeze.

[Alex AMS 614]

You commented on a post from 3 years ago when RDG was in north Texas, and it did get that cold.  People had water freeze in their camelbaks.