Better to be too hot or too cold.

[BurnitBlue]

Prefer too cold to too hot. Burns extra calories too!

Like Graham376 I am tending more to heat because cold temperatures give difficulty because of poor circulation as one gets older. BUT, heat brings other nasties like malaria, deng, heat stroke, etc. I reckon that an honest diary kept during a typical summer would make interesting reading if the choice between heat or cold were made on a daily basis.

 

[nortada]

Heated blankets used on mains voltage controllers are flying off the shelves in our local department stores. Unfortunitely they are also flying into the nearest dustbin . The quality is very poor. I bought one which lasted about six hours. The replacement lasted the same.

In theory, the blankets can be mains or 12 volt mobile. Run off a car 12 volt cigarrette lighter socket depending on the model. They are 120 watt so will last all night on the car battery. They are overblanket and not very robust. In my opinion the ones I tried would be death traps. The instructions even warn against using them while switched on which in Nordic temperatures is useless. My experience is based on decenber purchase and usage of just one brand. My earler experince of UK usage was very positive. I guess that a wéll manufactured product with good specification is good.

I suspect that Skandinavia has become a dumping ground for factory rejects. The quest for profit etc.

UK has a long tradition of manufacturing heated blankets both under and over. The quality is very good.

Heated jackets: agree there is a lot of poor products on the market.??

I have the one in #20 and it is reliable and works well.

One big attraction the usb option give is mobility and you are unlikely to get a shock from a 5v source.

 

[nortada]

Considering the majority of subscribers to this thread have migrated to warmer climates, it is a bit of an irony finding a thread on cold weather survival located in here.

 

[Cheery]

When considering rehydaration little and often is a good rule. Use the pee test as well: if it is dark and smells strong, you are dehydrated. I used to coach junior football and I stressed this to the kids frequently. I remember telling one player to take a drink on a particularly warm day and he said he didn't want one. I said perhaps not, but you need one. This was taught to me on a rehydration course run by Lucozade/GSK.

 

[RobbieW]

Rule of thumb picked up from a park ranger in the Grand Canyon when walking from top to bottom and back; drink
enough so that you pee every hour

 

[Cheery]

At my age if I waited that long I would have peed myself.

Seriously though, we had a long walk for 7 hours one summer and I had one pee but drunk several litres of water.

 

[BurnitBlue]

Just come across a strange fact about dehydration. To back off a bit, one of my sailing heroes suggested that if drinking water was running low than Sea water soaking into the skin can slow down dehydration. Hang from the boarding ladder or fill the cockpit for a long soak.

This is apparantly dead wrong because, sea water on the skin will do the exact opposite and draw fresh water from the body and increase dehydration. The skin goes wrinkly during the process.

Live and learn.

 

[ChromeDome]

..freezing my butt off in Sweden..

When in Sweden do like the Swedes (which is very different North/South due to the size of the country).

 

[BurnitBlue]

When in Sweden do like the Swedes (which is very different North/South due to the size of the country).
View attachment 148451

The story goes ... if you knock a giant nail into south coast of Sweden. Then, using this nail as a pivot point, grab the north of Sweden and swivel the whole country round until the Arctic Circle rests over Greece then you can get on your bike and go for a swim.

Not many people know that.

 

[ChromeDome]

The story goes ... if you knock a giant nail into south coast of Sweden. Then, using this nail as a pivot point, grab the north of Sweden and swivel the whole country round until the Arctic Circle rests over Greece then you can get on your bike and go for a swim.

Not many people know that.

Approx 1040 miles in a straight line

 

[billskip]

The story goes ... if you knock a giant nail into south coast of Sweden. Then, using this nail as a pivot point, grab the north of Sweden and swivel the whole country round until the Arctic Circle rests over Greece then you can get on your bike and go for a swim.

Not many people know that.

Yeh right...I've been in Greece when its snowing....had hailstorm and lumps of ice size of house bricks at times plus evil rain storms and lightning...I gave the swimming a miss...