Cold Weather Survival Book?

[Vlad]

They still make them, http://www.amazon.com/Large-Platinum-Flame...r/dp/B000CGG5EC ... a few more versions linked under that one. I couldn't tell a bad one from a good one without using them.

[kimel]

If you really GOTTA have a dot Duane then have your character keep the dot separate from the rifle in an inside pocket. Then he can slap it on the rails right before he goes in the door. Should keep it from fogging up too badly.

OR you could have him using a propriety "heated lens" version prototype. A small thermal heater to keep a lens warm would be simple to build (think something like a ni-chrome wire around the outer perimeter that warms up and keeps the lens warm due to thermal coupling from the wire).

[EricW]

Well, the CompM2 came out of the freezer still working like a champ. The problem, however, was that once it was out in the warm room it fogged so heavily it took 15-20 minutes for the lenses to clear to usability. Since my story has the character coming in out of the cold into a building and thence shortly into action, I think it's an iron sights kinda day.

You need Cat Crap: http://www.rei.com/product/197843.htm

Available at virtually any sporting goods shop that sells ski equipment.

Edited December 23, 2006 by EricW

[Nik Habicht]

If you thought the Aimpoint coming out of the freezer and fogging was fun, you should see camera lenses going from the trunk of a car into an indoor pool sometime ---- in the middle of Winter....

Tip: Either know the school had hand dryers in their bathrooms, or move the lenses you need to the floorboards of the car, and turn the heater on full blast. You'll still need to wipe the front element and eyepiece off --- but not nearly as much.....

[XRe]

If you thought the Aimpoint coming out of the freezer and fogging was fun, you should see camera lenses going from the trunk of a car into an indoor pool sometime ---- in the middle of Winter....

[Nik Habicht]

If you thought the Aimpoint coming out of the freezer and fogging was fun, you should see camera lenses going from the trunk of a car into an indoor pool sometime ---- in the middle of Winter....

No Dave, not into the pool water ---- just into the tropical atmosphere of the room housing a high school pool. We covered varsity swimming during the Winter months....

[Duane Thomas]

You need Cat Crap

Does it really work?

Thanks for the pointer toward the hand warmers, guys. This is one of those things I've wanted to have for decades, and never knew where to look.

[Ron Ankeny]

I read an article about lube testing by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police a few years back. They pretty much settled on FP10. I have used FP10 down to around 35 below hunting coyotes and it works. I am now using some of Sam's turbine oil and I like it a lot, but I have only used it to minus 10.

As for clothes, I have been involved in winter rescue as well as other winter activities for many years. I am a huge fan of synthetic next to the skin followed by wool layers and maybe a little Thinsulate topped of with a quality GoreTex shell of some type. A couple of years ago I made the transition to the super synthetics from Mauldin Mills and I haven't looked back. Mauldin Mills is the maker of "Polar Fleece", "Polar Pro", etc., and they supply the material for the military's Extremely Cold Weather System.

[Les Snyder]

Mr. Thomas

you might consider a change of scope to a 1.5x16 ACOG...fiber optic and tritium, red triangle...wide field of view... good out to 200m... just like a dot scope without batteries... regards Les

[EricW]

You need Cat Crap

Does it really work?

Yes. I've also read that liquid dish soap works as well, but the Cat Crap is easier to fit in my pocket. I think all Cat Crap really is is condensed dish soap. Once your lenses get wet (i.e. it's snowing or you do the ol' Charlie Brown into the snow), you have to reapply the Cat Crap.

You have to do *something* to the eye piece of a scope in the winter. Otherwise, every time you exhale you go blind.

[Nik Habicht]

You have to do *something* to the eye piece of a scope in the winter. Otherwise, every time you exhale you go blind.

Putting your eye close to the viewfinder of a cold SLR can be enough to fog it......

[Duane Thomas]

Mr. Thomas

you might consider a change of scope to a 1.5x16 ACOG...fiber optic and tritium, red triangle...wide field of view... good out to 200m... just like a dot scope without batteries... regards Les

Les,

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm actually working, even as we speak, on an article on non-magnified optics for AR-15s. An article on very low-powered magnified optics like the 1.5x16 ACOG is on the horizon. For my story, the problem is not the batteries - I've found - but the fogging. Like I said, it's an iron sights kinda day.

[MBaneACP]

I have 3 IditaSport human-powered ultramarathons in Alaska in February; climbed Denali in '95, a few other Big Mountains...far too muchy experience in subzero camps!

1) Water...huge issue...I carry my Camelback AGAINST MY SKIN if I'm looking at -20 or more temps. Also, get the latest insuated tube and consider wrapping it with pipe insulation. You've got to get use to blowimg back into the tube after you drink so you don't leave water int eh tube to freeze.

2) I made a "shoulder holster" for batteries under my arms...even lithiums have shortened life in extreme cold. You got to have about 3X the number you think you need and rotate them in or out.

3) Be aware that some older Gore-Tex shells can be compromised in extreme cold (-20 or lower) if you're moving and generating a lot of sweat, which can freeze between the layers of the fabric and you're basically screwed. It's happened to some of my stuff, which is why I vet EVERY SINGLE PIECE of cold weather gear close to home before I take it into the Wild.

4) There is NO SUCH THING as cotton! The modern layers are excellent, and they don't smell nearly as bad as the old one did! I like 200-level stretch fleece tights, vecuase they have a very wide temperature range, like 25 below to 30 above.

5) If it's really really cold, don't screw around...it can hurt you quick.

6) And DO Not UNDER ANY CONDITIONS lick your gun! Your tongue will get stuck, and we'll have to take a propane torch to it!

Michael B

[Duane Thomas]

6) And DO Not UNDER ANY CONDITIONS lick your gun! Your tongue will get stuck, and we'll have to take a propane torch to it!

Actually, all joking aside, that brings up a question I've been meaning to ask. At what temp does flesh start to stick to steel if you touch it with a bare finger? Could my character come out of the cold into a building, after having had himself and his rifle out in cold, say, below freezing but above zero, for eight hours or so, strip off his gloves and not have his finger stick to the trigger when he fingers it?

For gloves, what's the deal on the aircrewman gloves that I saw so often when I was in the Army? They seemed to do a great job allowing you to actually still feel things, but would they provide enough protection in the sort of cold we're discussing?

[Duane Thomas]

Anyone? Anyone?

[Merlin Orr]

There has to be some servicemen who have done the extreme weather training thing who can personally comment about this type of situation..? I would think Every serviceman in the Nordic regions go through this in training.

[EricW]

Duane,

It all depends on the amount of moisture on your fingers and on the metal surface. Generally this only becomes an issue when the temps drop below maybe sub 15F or so. It's also highly dependent on the amount of metal you're talking about. The trigger has so little mass that it will warm up quickly to match body temp. A steel flagpole has so much mass that it's unlikely that your body heat will do much to alter it's temperature.

This is one reason why they invented liner glove. I have about 4 pair of Manzella Z-Base Power Dry liner gloves floating around my truck, pockets, and ski bag. Plenty of mobility and dexterity, but plenty warm and prevent conduction heat loss well enough. Mine all have holes in the right thumb from loading mags.

Edited January 1, 2007 by EricW

[shred]

Good points from McBane.. he knows his stuff. I totally forgot about the 'blow back into the camelbak tube' routine, yet I do it all the time when out on the slopes.