legcoats

November 22, 2006 11:04 AM

clothesfilter: Why don't we wear coats on our legs?

This recent bout of cold weather in NYC has gotten me thinking about why we don't wear coats on our legs. If I'm wearing some cotton pants or whatnot its like wearing a tshirt over my legs. And yet I've never noticed my legs being cold.

On the other hand, we dress with multiple layers over the top half of our bodies, topping it all off with down coats or whatnot.

I'm aware that people wear long underwear (I've done it too while skiing) but I don't think most people wear them on a regular basis simply because they don't feel the need.

So why is this? Do our legs not need as much warmth as our upper bodies? Is it related to our internal organs? Do they lose heat faster then our legs?

Speculation and factual information welcomed.

posted by jourman2 to health & fitness (29 comments total)

Pardon the excessive whatnots please. It's been that kind of day. Or whatnot.
posted by jourman2 at 11:06 AM on November 22, 2006

Hahaha, what?! Lots of girls wear long johns all the time. Many people have coats that come down to the knees. Most people wear long socks in winter etc. Also, most pants are thicker than "t shirts"... I am kind of baffled dude.
posted by shownomercy at 11:10 AM on November 22, 2006

And yet I've never noticed my legs being cold.

That's because your legs are less sensitive than your torso, arms to most things (touch, heat, pressure, etc). So our legs just don't feel as cold as our arms or our chests -- so we don't wear leg-coats.

As far as why... this is only a guess, but most humans use legs only for locomotion. Our arms/hands are used to sense/explore the world around us more than our feet, so they would have a higher density of nerve endings. Our inner core is where the majority of our weight/vital organs are so obviously that area cannot get too cold.
posted by ruwan at 11:13 AM on November 22, 2006

Larger Blood volume and a gravity feed would play a part. Also, when it gets cold enough, flannel-lined pants are a wonderful thing.
posted by arruns at 11:13 AM on November 22, 2006

: legs generally have more meat on 'em, have less nerve density, and get to be engaged in physical activity by default—those together seem like a good start. And shoes keep the feet warm, which helps.

On the other hand, on cold wet days I break out the trench coat in part to keep my legs from freezing.
posted by cortex at 11:16 AM on November 22, 2006

I find my legs are freezing cold a lot of the time in winter. I tend to wear tights under my pants in winter; I avoid skirts in winter; sometimes I wear two pairs of pants to and from work; I would love a long coat, but a mid-length coat seemed more versatile, so that's what I have.
posted by Amizu at 11:16 AM on November 22, 2006

Some people where legcoats. They're called snow pants or ski pants.
posted by Xalf at 11:18 AM on November 22, 2006

It's because when you're outside, your legs are usually moving and so they are a bit warmer from the motion. Some people just wear down vests in the winter - I think they are crazy, but I think the most important parts to keep warm are your chest & head. Arms & legs are secondary.
posted by tastybrains at 11:19 AM on November 22, 2006

Chaps and hip waders are also kinds of legcoat, although they're for protection and not warmth. Think of them as the smock and raincoat of the pants world.
posted by nebulawindphone at 11:23 AM on November 22, 2006

Your torso houses most of your vital organs. If your core temperature drops, your body decreases blood circulation to your extremities to keep you alive.
posted by electroboy at 11:24 AM on November 22, 2006

Most of your body's warmth is in all the warm blood in the organs of your torso. Keep your torso ( and your head) warm and it will continue to send that warm blood to your limbs. If your body's ability to keep warm is stressed by cold weather the brain will protect itself and the essential body functions in the trunk by keeping the torso and head warm at the expense of your extremities, limiting blood flow to the limbs. So your toes and fingers get cold first.
Also, when you are outside you are usually moving around, and the muscles in your limbs generate heat that help keep them warm.

Old outdoorsy saying: if your feet are cold, put on a hat.
posted by pgoes at 11:26 AM on November 22, 2006

If your torso is warm your body keeps on pumping warm blood to your extremities, if it gets cold your body abandons the extremities and tries to keep the vital organs warm. So as long as you have a big coat/vest on your limbs don't feel cold because they are full of warm blood.
posted by zeoslap at 11:28 AM on November 22, 2006

I wear either long johns or flannel-lined pants all winter. It's cheaper than firewood.
posted by waldo at 11:28 AM on November 22, 2006

(what they said while i typed too slowly)
posted by zeoslap at 11:28 AM on November 22, 2006

So, it's not such a big deal because your legs don't feel cold as much (at least I don't).

Most people don't wear extra pants because they're a pain to take on and off and you'll overheat wearing them around inside (again, at least I do).

But on cold days I do kind of wear leg pants: I might wear long underwear, I might wear flannel/fleece-lined pants and yes, if I'm going outside to play with the kids in the snow, I do wear outerpants over my regular pants. It's too cold otherwise (not to mention wet).

Having said all that, I once saw a TV clip of a woman who made skirt-coats. They were made for women doing outdoor movie/TV shoots (she was a costume person). She took a standard puffy parka, removed the arms and hood and sewed up the front so it was essentially a thickly padded overskirt. Apparently the crew members who hand to stand around (doing nothing as film crews are wont to do) four hours in the cold loved them.
posted by GuyZero at 11:30 AM on November 22, 2006

Because we'd all look like little kids, running around in our snowsuits. Although, I for one, would gladly wear one.
posted by clh at 12:00 PM on November 22, 2006

Seconding cortex: cold and wind is what God made long coats for. It really does make a big difference in dealing with inclement weather.
posted by furiousthought at 12:15 PM on November 22, 2006

It seems a lot of people have never really never noticed their legs being cold. Huh. When I lived in Boston, my legs were frequently cold to the point of distraction. I got into the habit of putting my thermal underwear on in November and not taking it off until March. I even wore it under long skirts, tucked into my knee-high boots.
posted by mostlymartha at 12:25 PM on November 22, 2006

It seems a lot of people have never really never noticed their legs being cold.

I think it's a female thing. Maybe because ladies pants are less substantial? Or maybe the general coldness thing -- some women at my office wear sweaters every day of the year. (Not saying all women are cold.)
posted by smackfu at 12:46 PM on November 22, 2006

Your genitals act as an accessory thermostat for generating extra heat in the lower extremities. It's felt to be a vestigial task that the labia majora [femmes] and the dong [hommes] carry out on colder days. In fact, as an experiment one can briefly dangle one's unit in the cold breeze for a moment or two to increase blood flow to the lower extremities.

Go try it right now.
posted by docpops at 1:11 PM on November 22, 2006 [1 favorite]

Wow, docpops, that totally works.

Can you cover my bail?
posted by cortex at 1:21 PM on November 22, 2006 [1 favorite]

You got it champ.
posted by docpops at 1:43 PM on November 22, 2006

Good question; some animals use countercurrent flow heat exchange systems, which in the most developed cases, such as in seals and arctic foxes, consist of networks of veins surrounding arteries to the limbs, to cool down blood going and heat up blood coming back. Adaptations which would allow the limbs to function well at lower temps than the body would seem to be likely to be selected for at least in those animals. Cows, about which I have no countercurrent flow information for the legs, have a special fat in their legs which is liquid at lower Ts (the 'neatsfoot oil' you may have rubbed on your baseball glove).

I've looked for images showing proximity of arteries and veins in human legs, and again for this post, but found nothing terribly suggestive. If I had to, I'd bet arms and legs are congenitally less likely to register pain or distress from cold than other parts of the body.

Oh by the way, on preview, countercurrent heat exchange offers one explanation for the way testicles are sometimes pulled up tight and sometimes hang loose: spermatogenesis is inhibited even at body temperature, so when they're dividin', they're not high ridin'.
posted by jamjam at 1:47 PM on November 22, 2006

there's several reasons that people have mentioned, but i have to say that if it gets cold enough, a person damned well better wear an extra layer of clothing on his legs ...

-70 below zero wind chills are no joke ... thank god that doesn't happen very often where i live ...
posted by pyramid termite at 2:01 PM on November 22, 2006

I wear leg coats all winter: thick stockings and knee-high boots. (Also, I hate weearing pants in the winter because they are sooooo cold, especially when you walk and the cold fabic keeps touching you. Thick stockings + thick skirts + coat to you knees = warmth.)
posted by dame at 2:08 PM on November 22, 2006

Electric powered pants
posted by ardgedee at 4:28 PM on November 22, 2006

good lord ardgedee that is the geekiest/coolest thing I've ever seen.

(thanksgiving presents anyone?)
posted by jourman2 at 5:56 PM on November 22, 2006

I wear longjohns.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 6:55 PM on November 22, 2006

I used to buy light-weight longjohns at Penny's. They were about the weight of a tshirt. This worked fine to keep my legs warmer without over heating in the office. Tucked into socks for extra warmth, leave a gap between for more cooling. If needs be, they can be removed in the bathroom then they fold reasonably small.
posted by Goofyy at 9:21 PM on November 22, 2006