> An issue with keeping yourself warm with clothing is some hotspots get too warm, and others too cold. Like the armpits usually get too warm, but your exposed hands too cold.
We can sit and imagine problems with every course of action, and never step forward.
In my life, I've never had the quoted problem and I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem. On my list of things to worry about, this ranks near the bottom. No clothing I know of has special cool spots, beyond outdoor recreation equipment (e.g., mountaineering gear with pit zips), yet somehow we all do fine. I expect our bodies adjust fine to such variations.
> While if the room is all one consistent warm enough temperature, you don't get these cold & hot spot effects.
That doesn't add up: No clothing (with the exception mentioned above) has such cooling spots. If our bodies couldn't adjust, a constant temperature would be the same, sweater or not.
EDIT:
> If your slippers have sheep's wool in them, like ugg slippers, then they often sweat a lot or feel a little wet while simultaneously feeling cold at times, or warm enough.
>We can sit and imagine problems with every course of action, and never step forward.
Well, you assume these are fake problems, and so the GP is being disingenuous.
The problems he mentions basically only happen if you stay at a computer, or such unphysical activities that form the basis of modern work.
As you properly notice, these problems are mostly nonexistent if you do "real" physical activities, but you can still suffer from them.
E.g. while doing inconsistent physical exercise in cold winters , your temperature will rise up a lot, so you may sweat a lot and then get cold fast again in your wet clothing.
Any construction worker knows this can be quite a hassle.
He then mention "cold hands". This is called "Raynaud syndrome", and affects 4% of people.
This is very difficult to deal with, especially if your primary work is typing at a computer.
There are many types of gloves you can buy: compression gloves, fishermen gloves, spandex ones, with 1 to 5 exposed fingers.
Each has particular downsides to deal with, none are perfect.
You can get silver-threaded clothing too, although that is quite expensive.
Managing good comfort while minimizing room-heating is not easy at all, and that does not even address other "house" issues (at an extreme, water-pipes exploding because of freezing water).
> The problems he mentions basically only happen if you stay at a computer ...
That is what most people I know do for a living, and often during personal time, including me - it's probably the most common job activity among HN readers. And what are we doing now to post these comments? And yet, I've never heard those complaints.
Also, I think you have things reversed: Active people are the ones who like to buy clothes with pit zips.
> your temperature will rise up a lot, so you may sweat a lot and then get cold fast again in your wet clothing
Tangentially: You can avoid this problem with the proper materials: Don't wear cotton in these situations - it is worse than nothing if damp; it chills you. Wear breathable materials that insulate when wet and dry quickly. Wool is probably best, and then 'fleece', which is effectively synthetic wool. Down (e.g., from geese) is even better but if it gets wet, it clumps up into useless balls; however, I've never seen it do that from perspiration, only from external water sources (rain, falling in a river, etc.). Synthetic down can be very warm and still insulates when wet; I suspect it's warmer per liter or per gram than wool, but I'm not sure.
Also, wear a wind-proof outer shell. Preventing the convection of wind does as much as anything to keep you warm.
> Managing good comfort while minimizing room-heating is not easy at all
In fact, it's very easy and people have been doing it for most of history: Put on a sweater. Are we really debating how hard that is? I mean, we can make anything hard, but ... wow.
>Put on a sweater. Are we really debating how hard that is?
You are either very disingenuous, or have trouble with reading comprehension. The point is, if your hands get cold easily it's not possible to go too low in temperature without discomfort. Of course while having sufficiently warm clothing to have a warm core, as you said earlier.
The 4% figure I mentioned is from the Wikipedia abstract; I haven't bothered to check the research, but I believe it grounds this firmly in the "common" territory instead of the "I never heard of such a thing in my life".
Yeah I am already wearing a sweater, warm pants, wool slippers with socks and a beanie / hat. The hands are unexposed and I'm thinking at this point I need a different slippers that are bit more breathable. Also staying warm with breathable fabrics can be somewhat deceptive, because your dehydrating yourself faster via sweat your not perceiving.
Wool doesn't work well for me due to skin issues unless I cover it with a layer of nylon / cotton. Yes I've tried good merino wool, and it's still minorly irritating. I've given up on most wool that touches my skin.
Also my apartment is in a fairly temperate place, and what is hot / cold is a bit weird. The floor is a fairly cold hardwood floor, and I think it sucks a lot of heat out somehow. I'm not in a place that is consistently cold, it's only cold for like 4 months, so places here are not very well designed for it. It's also not carpet which probably solves a lot of the cold floor problems via it's built in insulation.
Also I'm more perceptive about my body state than probably most people and try to avoid wearing antiperspirant when I know I'm not going out that day with WFH. Your are probably blocking a lot of the sweating your armpits would do in this modern age as a result, and I believe we should making clothing that keeps that area a little bit more cool.
My internal body temperature can run hotter if I start eating a lot of carbs and more calories, but then I start consistently gaining weight so I don't do that.
I'm also more doing this as a challenge, I can definitely afford to just heat my room to t-shirt levels and put rugs everywhere, but I'm trying to figure out clothing that would work well without it while using a computer for hours. I'm not raynauds level of issues, but it makes sense this is mostly an computer worker issue too.
> In my life, [...] I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem. [...] yet somehow we all do fine. I expect our bodies adjust fine to such variations.
Take the commentor you replied to and myself as people with this problem. Its not for not trying - growing up counting pennies, not in poverty but money was tight, lead to a layers based heating mentality. One of the greatest benefits of the extra wealth afforded to the software career is to heat the space I'm in.
On the flip side I'm also sensitive to hot spaces - I keep my house in the 16-19 celcius range during the day, and colder at night.
> In my life, I've never had the quoted problem and I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem.
I have the quoted problem. Sitting working at the computer at home. Armpits especially. Groin can be similar.
Think about the problem. In a proper typing position with elbows by your side, the part of your upper body where flesh touches flesh is the side of your chest and your upper arm. It's no wonder the armpits are warmer than elsewhere.
I ameliorate the armpits by using a gilet over thinner layers. It keeps my core warm, but does nothing for poor circulation in my hands. And I find even the thinnest gloves slow my typing.
> Do you wear gloves indoors? If not, aren't your hands colder?
No and no. The temperature in my home is set just warm enough that a sweater (and let me add, shoes - insulation from the coldest air and surface in the room) keeps me comfortable. My hands don't get chilled at that temperature.
FWIW - from wilderness experience - it is widely believed that the best way to warm your hands is often to warm your core. Your body naturally prioritizes your core (probably better to keep your heart at 37 C and let your hands get a little chilly than vice versa!); keep that warm enough and energy/blood will be diverted to keeping your extremities warm.
I wear fingerless compression gloves when coding. They are usually sold for arthritis/carpel tunnel/raynauds. If you get cold fingers these might be life-changing for you as they were for me.
Another factor is just getting up and doing some light exercise every 30 mins or so. 5 push ups, or jogging up and down the stairs a few times, is enough to keep your circulation reasonably balanced.
We can sit and imagine problems with every course of action, and never step forward.
In my life, I've never had the quoted problem and I've never heard anyone else say it's a problem. On my list of things to worry about, this ranks near the bottom. No clothing I know of has special cool spots, beyond outdoor recreation equipment (e.g., mountaineering gear with pit zips), yet somehow we all do fine. I expect our bodies adjust fine to such variations.
> While if the room is all one consistent warm enough temperature, you don't get these cold & hot spot effects.
That doesn't add up: No clothing (with the exception mentioned above) has such cooling spots. If our bodies couldn't adjust, a constant temperature would be the same, sweater or not.
EDIT:
> If your slippers have sheep's wool in them, like ugg slippers, then they often sweat a lot or feel a little wet while simultaneously feeling cold at times, or warm enough.
It's incredible that Ugg sells any slippers!