Getting ruffed up
How do the coyote, wolf, wolverine and others survive a long winter of biting cold and intense wind? It's in the fur. Density of fur gives wind resistance, coarse outer hairs protect the softer, down-like inner fur and natural oils on the fur keep down the ice build up by repelling outer moisture.
Attaching a fur ruff to your hood is one of the best things you can do to keep ol' man winter out. A fur ruff will slow the creep of an Arctic wind into your eyes, your cheeks and that protruding, frostbite prone nose that can go from soft and pliable to waxen and dead in seconds.
If you're someone who spends a lot of time out in the cold, having an arsenal of coats to choose from is key. You'll have your wind jacket for high-activity and moderate temperates, and you'll have a heavier parka for those days when the temp falls and the wind picks up - or you're parked on a bucket, hovering over a hole in the ice. To make Winter your playground, you'll also have a couple other jackets to fill in the gaps between these two extremes. The question is, do you really need a ruff for every single coat? No.
A removable ruff that you can transfer from one hood to another is brilliant. Not only will you avoid forking out the cash for an expensive fur ruff for every coat, you'll also save some weight if you're packing for a long trip. To make it all come together effortlessly and efficiently you need a system to get that ruff to your coat of choice. I've examined a couple different options for transferring a ruff from hood to hood. Here is what I've found:
Zippered attachment - arguably the most secure way of getting a ruff attached to a hood and still remain removable. With a good zipper you can move your ruff from one hood to the next and keep it there. A zipper, even the best zipper, loves ice and this can lead to a lengthy process of transferring your ruff, often without mitts, and a risk of frostbite on your fingers. In addition, all zippers are not created equal and I have two jackets that use two different zipper styles making them incompatible.
Velcro attachment - Bergan's of Norway gave me my first look at using velcro to attach a ruff to your hood. At first glance it seems a bit like a cost saving method to use velcro over zippers. They're definitely not as secure, but when it comes to transferring your ruff to another hood, velcro makes it quick and easy. There is no fumbling with zippers, getting the fur caught in the track or having ice build up in the zipper and making it difficult to swap out. Another trick of the velcro option is that you're able to move the ruff around your hood to best fend off the wind on a long ski.
A good friend, John Huston, Forward Expeditions and Victorinox North Pole '09 expedition member, says this of the velcro attached ruff, "Zippers are a pain if you take the ruff off often. Also zippers are harder to fix, bulkier, harder to attach in the first place and don't allow you to affix the ruff off to oneside. In a windy place it's nice to be able to have more of the ruff on the left side if the wind is blowing from your left."
The above might seem like over thinking a simple thing, but when it's a matter of frostbite, or not, it's a big payoff to spend the time finding the solution that works best for you. It's really a no-brainer when it comes to adding a fur ruff or not and even the staunchest of animal lovers will see the reasoning behind this ancient addition to your favorite parka - although they still might not agree to sporting a luxurious wolverine ruff. If you want to extend your time out of doors, get a ruff and the denser the fur the better.
I have six coats and three ruffs that use either zippers or velcro. Before Winter sets in for another season I'll be packing these up and heading off to get everything using velcro - www.gettheredesigns.com.
What is your system?
[Images: (1) Myself on Baffin Island, 2008, (2) John Huston on Greenland with the "Race to the Pole" expedition]
"Never stop because you are afraid - you are never so likely to be wrong." - Fridtjof Nansen
