How To Stay Warm In Cold Weather? These Tips And (tech) Tools Are A Great Start.

Jennifer Jolie USA Today Special

I'm not new to the cold. I grew up in Alaska, where extreme winters are reminiscent of the extreme cold that has recently hit thousands in the south, northeast, and midwest.

In a particularly snowy February in the mid-80s, I went to school with slightly wet hair and accidentally broke my bangs while trying to brush the snow spikes out of my eyes. They just broke. A believable story.

Then we mostly had wool. Itchy, prickly - tend to get a little wet and stay that way - wool that keeps us warm. Today, a new set of relatively inexpensive devices, a variety of high-tech heated outerwear, and high-tech equipment promise to keep us safe, comfortable, and even powerful when we install the “right” freezer.

But what actually works when temperatures drop, streets and sidewalks turn into ice rinks, and power goes out? To find out, we turned to people who live, work, play, survive and thrive in cold and cold climates.

Essentials: base layer, hat, gloves, heating pad.

You can learn a lot about keeping your hands and feet warm by regularly working in temperatures below the temperature measured by an outdoor thermometer.

“I was working in minus 70 degrees,” said Dave Ashcraft, 43, who works on the northern section of the pipeline in Alaska near Prudhoe Bay. “Our work is out of the question,” he told me in a direct message. “Any exposed skin freezes quickly, so it needs to be covered. Even your eyes will freeze.

Ashcraft says he's tried just about everything, and his top picks include an anti-fog neoprene mask ($45), 313 Refrigiwire gloves ($21.50), and an extra outer layer specifically designed to be carried around. his boots

“No matter what boots I try on, when it's this cold and windy, there's never too many. That's why I wear neos insulated shoe covers and use toe warmers when needed. Neo really saves lives and without her it would be impossible to last long enough to get the job done,” he says. (Neo is about $150, and HotHands Heat Packs are $30 for a 16-pack.)

On ice and snow, belt studs are just as necessary as snow chains for your shoes. For running, I have a pair of Kahtoola NANOspike ($50) which are lightweight and fit easily into most running shoes. For ice, snow, or even black-ice-covered front steps, a pair of Yaktrax Diamond Grip IceTrakers ($55) works best.

“If you’re walking down the street and it’s minus 50 outside and the wind is below minus 70, it doesn’t matter how many layers of clothes I have on; It just cuts off,” said North Slope activist Gaylin Mertz.

In a series of direct messages, the 48-year-old Alaskan talks about the benefits of thermal packs and high-tech base layers. "When the wind (wind) is strong enough to kick up the snow, it's like blowing your face off (with a fire hose)."

Balaclavas or high-tech face masks, ski goggles and base layers are well suited for such extreme situations. Here are some of the best options:

• The Seirus Wind Pro X-Treme Balaclava ($40) keeps your head, ears and chin warm while providing four times more wind protection than regular fleece.
• The ActionHeat 5V Battery Heated Face Fleece Blanket ($100) has small electric coils on both sides near the ears. Press the fingerprint-sized button to turn on three heating modes.

I have tried several balaclavas from Outdoor Research, Patagonia, North Face, REI and many others that keep snow out even in very cold weather.

“Of course, layers, layers, layers when it’s cold,” adds ultra-endurance athlete and daredevil Frank Fumich.

McLean, V.A. The 55-year-old father of twins recently conquered the South Pole on skis. He climbed Denali - the highest peak in North America - and walked 350 miles beyond the Arctic Circle to the very tip of Canada.

“The layering allows [clothes] to open and rotate at different levels of activity, which is key to good body temperature regulation and a high level of comfort,” he says.

Fumich starts with "cool, light merino wool or something similar."

Icebreaker makes kits for men and women that do a great job of keeping you comfortable while you exercise by wicking away sweat and moisture, and keeping you warm and warm when you stop. Bodyfitzone Merino 260 Zone men's and women's long sleeve shirts and Bodyfitzone Merino 260 Zone men's and women's leggings are available from $140 to $91.

Another set I practically live in now is the Helly Hansen Lifa Merino Half-Zip Mid-Weight Top ($110) and the Lifa Active Base Layer Leggings ($55).

Last Christmas, my husband gave me the opportunity to run and ride horses (horses and bikes) outdoors in the Pacific Northwest. I can't believe how warm they keep me warm.

Are the beans warm?

Heated hats are all the rage right now, but not among north slope workers or extreme athletes because they are too hard to keep charged. But for those of us with regular access to an outlet, some of them get high reviews from verified buyers on Amazon;

SVPRO Battery Heated Cover ($63). It lasts up to seven hours on a single charge and has a maximum rating of four+ (around 200) on Amazon.

The Sun Will Heated Fleece Mattress Pad ($60) lasts up to eight hours on low heat, or three to four hours on high heat, and gets high marks from reviewers on Amazon.

Rechargeable hand warmers are great, especially when they can also charge your other devices. My top picks include:

• Celestron Elements FireCel+ ($60) because it fits in the palm of my hand and can charge another device while warming my cold fingers. It stays hot for over seven hours on continuous charging. What I don't like is that it takes six hours to charge. Far between the ski slopes.
• The 10,000mAh ($35) Ocoopa HO1 Rechargeable Hand Warmer has three heat settings and can last up to 15 hours on a single charge. I like the Ocoopa UT2 MagTwin ($43), which is two heater/charger units that can be used as a single unit or as two separate heater/charger combinations.

I have used Hothand a few times for cold bites. They are great for heating small areas like arms or legs, but don't cover a large area overall.

Touch screen gloves are another modern product. Contains several complex phrases

Moshi Digits Touch Screen Gloves ($30)

and Black Diamond ScreenTap Heavy Fleece Gloves ($50).

emergency battery

Whether you live, work, or play in a very cold climate, or are going through a one-time winter storm, cold weather drains your batteries - period.

“I sleep with my phone and battery in my -40F overalls and often hide them under long underwear pressed against my skin to keep them warm and charged,” says Fumich, who also travels in search of adventure. Take a spare charger with you.

This is a great idea for storing multiple chargers in your home and car emergency kit. Some of the best options:

• Super Mini Palm-sized Power Bank ($46) from Zendure. This was my favorite on a trip to the UK last fall. It's small and light enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet charges your phone up to 50% in less than 30 minutes. It can power laptops, tablets and multiple phones at the same time.
• I like Einova's ultra-fast 63W Eggtronic PSU ($70). Weighing just under a pound, it charges up to three devices simultaneously, including a laptop, tablet, smartphone, and most gaming devices.

Solar chargers can also be useful in winter. I like the Hilucky 26800mAh Solar Charger ($26). It can charge iPhone 8 times in one charge and doubles as an LED flashlight.

We touched on portable standby generators in last month's column, but now is the perfect time to revisit these pressing needs.

I've reviewed quite a lot over the years, including great backup devices from Geneverse, Jackery, and Ecoflow. We keep them with at least four year-round charges to keep them ready to go in an emergency.

Smart home technology : Is smart home technology a smart solution? The following must be observed.

A few more technical tools at hand

When a hurricane cuts power—as happened to more than 400,000 people in Texas recently—emergency lighting can also recharge other existing devices.

A selection of previous storm reports that I still use today:

LuminAID Packlight Max 2-in-1 emergency flashlight with charger (starting at $50).

When it comes to bright, long lasting light, nothing I've tried compares to the $100 Duro Lantern 60 day candle. Runs on six D batteries and emits soft, bright light for up to two months.

Download this must have app

Zello is a free app that turns your smartphone into a cross between a walkie-talkie and a police scanner. If you have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, you can use Zello as a radio to communicate with a predefined group. It's not as good as a satellite phone, but it's free, simple, and can be a great way to keep in touch with elderly parents.

And just because…

I used a credit card to scrape the snow off the windshield as a last resort, but if you need some real digging and de-icing in the future, check out the Yarborough S1 snow blower, available for pre-order now for $3,839. The autonomous snow blower robot hugs the brrr to clear heavy snow and ice, pulling it up to 40 feet away. It won't launch until next winter (October 2023), but it gives us all a chance to save and dream in the face of this latest storm.

Jennifer Jolly is an Emmy award-winning consumer technology columnist. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.

How to keep warm in a backpack in cold weather!