Comparison of traditional and manufactured cold weather ensembles

[摘要] ABSTRACT: Inuit elders stress the importance of wearing caribou skinclothing for winter trips. Although laboratory tests for thermalinsulation values of clothing are extensive, caribou skin clothing israrely tested. The purpose of this research was to compare thethermal comfort of caribou skin clothing, military winter issueclothing, and northern expedition clothing using experimental andethnographic methods. To collect the experimental data, each subjectwore the ensembles in an environmental chamber designed to simulatetravelling on a sled pulled by a snowmobile in the Arctic winter.Skin temperatures and comfort ratings were analyzed using analysis ofvariance and multiple regression methods. Ethnographic methods wereused to collect 'traditional' knowledge from Inuit elders. Findingsindicate that the average skin temperature and comfort ratingsdropped significantly less (p < 0.05) when wearing the caribou skinensemble compared to changes observed when wearing the military orexpedition clothing ensembles. There were no significant differencesbetween the military and expedition clothing ensembles. Inuit eldersuse years of field experiences as a base for their recommendations touse caribou skin clothing for long-term protection for sedentaryindividuals exposed to a cold winter climate. They also point out theadvantages of specific style features and materials for cold weatherclothing. In conclusion, the combination of laboratory tests andtraditional knowledge has given 2 distinct perspectives which providea more holistic answer to cold weather clothing needs for peopletravelling during the Arctic winter.

[关键词] Cold weather clothing;Inuit clothing;Skin clothing .Caribou clothing;Contemporary cold weather fabrics;Scientific andtraditional knowledge;Thermal comfort