Originally Posted by
elocs
Well, I live in Wisconsin which is a freezing region, but it's not Antarctica in the winter and I've never had any reason to walk around all day in a get-up like you describe. I'm not sure if Nanook of the North would routinely dress up like that. I've lived here for 60 years and am well acclimatized and have worked outside when then temps were -20 without the wind chill being factored. But even if they're working outside here, nobody walks around all day in cold weather (cold weather here is not freezing, but at least 20 degrees colder.
It is very possible to be reasonably and comfortably dressed for cold weather, even very frigid weather, without appearing like you are on a trek to the North Pole. But in my entire life here I have never seen anyone breathe through a tube in a face mask. In fact, walking outside in even below zero weather on a clear day with no wind is very ice.
Ok, so -20F with an exposed face all day wouldn't damage your skin? I have noticed that when I have very warm clothes and hat on, my head stays warm enough to keep my face from feeling the cold, maybe because the heat is radiating out through it, but I figured if it was cold enough, the air itself would be dangerous, either on the facial skin or breathing it, or both.
But if it came to it, I could walk for hours in very cold weather--below zero--appropriately dressed in the right clothing and be comfortably warm. But in very hot weather, over 100 degrees and sun, there is no way you are going to be able to walk for hours and be comfortably cool. We do get 100 degree days here but not a lot of them as well as many frigid days with snow and ice in the winter. Living in a northern climate is not for sissies.
Extreme heat is very hard to deal with. There is an art to biking or walking so that you don't overheat. With biking it's a bit easier because of the breeze you get from relatively little exertion. With walking, it's more like floating along in somewhat of a daze. I like it, but I feel like I'm nowhere near heat stroke; and shade makes a HUGE difference.