The most important precaution in the use and care of cold 

 weather clothing is to keep the clothing dry at all times. Water 

 conducts heat faster than does air. Hence, wet clothing is cold 

 clothing. Keep perspiration at a minimum. Do not wear more 

 clothing than is necessary. It is better to underdress and be 

 slightly cold than to overdress and perspire freely. Cold weather 

 clothing is designed to be worn in several layers. When a man 

 feels himself getting too warm, he should shed clothing to the point 

 at which there is just enough to keep comfortably warm. On 

 windy days, it is better to remove inner clothing than to take off the 

 windproofs themselves. If a man perspires while traveling and 

 fails to take off some clothing, he will grow cold quickly and will ex- 

 perience great discomfort on stopping at the end of the day's 

 march. Anticipate the perspiration point. Remove some cloth- 

 ing before beginning to get wet with perspiration. Train person- 

 nel to stay on the cool side! 



Though perspiration may not be noticeable, men perspire con- 

 stantly. Regardless of the outside temperature, the body gives 

 off through the skin about '^. pint of moisture a day. This is called 

 insensible perspiratio7i. There are, then, two degrees of perspira- 

 tion to contend with: visible perspiration caused by exertion or 

 overwarm clothing, and insensible perspiration, which occurs re- 

 gardless of the circumstances. The moisture condenses and forms 

 hoarfrost somewhere on the garments. 



In cold weather the point of condensation may depend upon how 

 much clothing is worn. If the dress is light, the frost either will 

 form in the surrounding air and drift away as fog, or will form 

 in the windproofs. When it forms on the garment, brush it off. 

 On more heavily clad personnel, the frost will form somewhere 

 within the layers of clothing. Later, in the warmth of a camp 

 (unless precautions are taken) the frost will melt. Still later, 

 when the resulting moisture is exposed to cold it will turn to ice. 

 To deal with this problem, and keep perspiration at a minimum 

 at all times, wear the smallest amount of clothing necessary to 

 keep comfortable and adjust it to allow for ventilation. This will 

 reduce the visible perspiration resulting from physical activity 

 and warm clothing. Dressing lightly reduces perspiration. Thus, 

 most of the frost forms on or near the outside of the garments 

 rather than in them. 



There are many little tricks to practice in keeping the body below 

 the rapid perspiration point. Taking off gloves or wearing only 



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