Most parts of the country have entered late autumn, and the cold winter is coming. It is necessary to choose one or two pieces of winter clothing to withstand the severe cold weather in winter.

Many friends often ask a repeated question: “Who is better, a jacket, a cotton-padded jacket or a down jacket?” Keep warm?”. This question can be said to be a correct question, or it can be said to be a problematic question.

According to the scientific theory of “three-layer dressing method”, the outer layer is a protective layer. The functions are: windproof, rainproof, and breathable, which are mainly provided by jackets, cotton-padded jackets, or down jackets; the middle layer is the thermal insulation layer, whose function is to keep warm and prevent body heat from dissipating, and is mainly performed by fleece jackets, cashmere sweaters, or rib down jackets. ; The inner layer is a sweat-wicking layer whose functions are: sweat absorption and breathability, mainly performed by quick-drying clothes and functional underwear.

According to the above theory of “three-layer dressing method”, we can know that whether it is a jacket, a cotton coat or a down jacket, it is a protective layer. It cannot keep warm or generate heat by itself. The real warmth is provided by the middle layer. But in a popular sense, in severe cold weather, the protective layer of clothing and equipment can determine whether it can withstand various harsh, complex and changeable climates and environments. There is no problem whether the protective layer of clothing is “warm”.

Let’s analyze the advantages and disadvantages of these three types of clothes.

1. Jackets

The advantage of the jacket is that it uses waterproof and breathable technical materials, such as Gore-Tex, eVent, etc., to achieve the purpose of waterproofing and breathability. On the premise of keeping the body dry, Increase body warmth.

The disadvantage of the jacket is: if the body is wet, the body will take it away and quickly respond to heat The air loses its ability to resist.

2. Down jacket

The advantage of down jackets is that down jackets are warm because the down filled with down jackets is full of air, which can form a layer of warmth that is separated from the outside world. Down is very soft and light, and there is a certain amount of air in the gaps between the downs. However, because the gaps between the downs are very small, the air convection effect is not good, making it difficult for the cold air from outside to reach inside; on the contrary, the hot air on the surface of the human body is not easy to escape to the outside, so that the temperature on the surface of the human body is maintained for a long time. .

The disadvantage of down jackets is that the down has not been processed or weaved. , so once the down of the down jacket is intruded by water or gets damp, the down will shrink or even collapse into a ball, and the thermal insulation effect will be rapidly reduced, or even the thermal insulation function will be completely lost. After a down jacket is soaked in water, it is difficult to return to a dry state within a short period of time.

3. Cotton clothing

With the continuous emergence of technological materials in recent decades, cotton-padded clothes are no longer traditional clothes made of cotton, but chemical fiber cotton clothes filled with chemical fiber cotton.

Among the many chemical fibers currently available, the best is PrimaLoft (P cotton), PrimaLoft’s P cotton It is a man-made fiber thermal insulation technology material that imitates the structure of down. The original intention of the research and development of P cotton is to replace goose down material and find a material that can continue to retain heat in a humid and cold environment.

The main advantages of chemical fiber cotton are:

Not afraid of water. In the case of water intrusion and humidity, chemical fiber cotton can still maintain about 90% of the thermal insulation effect, even if it is completely soaked In water, after squeezing it dry, it dries quickly again.

Because chemical fiber cotton is not afraid of water, the main cold-proof clothing purchased by the armies of various countries are cotton coats.

Because chemical fiber cotton fiber is a poor conductor of heat and electricity, the thermal conductivity coefficient is extremely low. It has the characteristics of porosity and high elasticity, so a large amount of air can be preserved between the fibers, thus having good thermal insulation properties.

The disadvantages of chemical fiber cotton clothing are:

Chemical fiber cotton jackets cannot achieve the fluffy effect of down jackets, so they can only rely on thickness. Therefore, they cannot achieve the compressibility of down jackets and are not easy to store.

Summary

The main function of the jacket is its strong waterproof and breathable performance, which is suitable for wearing in more strenuous outdoor sports; the down jacket is suitable for extreme low temperatures in static and dry conditions.It has the strongest thermal insulation ability under the weather; and the biggest feature of cotton clothing is that it can still maintain a strong thermal insulation effect even if water enters, so it is more suitable for dynamic low-temperature weather.