3 clothing tips for skating a tour on the Weissensee

Swinging temperatures on the Weissensee call for smart clothing choices. These three clothing tips keep you out of unsafe situations. They also keep you nicely warm. That way you will be completely ready for it.

1. Wear layers: layers are sacred

Sometimes the temperatures on the Weissensee rise and fall ridiculously fast. One reason for that is the remarkable microclimate.

Wearing your clothes in layers makes it easier to adapt to different weather. Hence: layers are sacred. Go for several layers of base layers and outer layers.

A tour on the Weissensee: the base layers

Let us start with the thin base layers. It matters that these layers wick sweat away easily. That keeps your skin dry, so you get cold less quickly.

• Popular among skaters is ‘polypropylene’ or ‘polyamide’, which is used in a lot of thermal clothing.
• Over or under that you wear clothing made of cotton, ideally, one or two layers for instance.

These layers wick sweat away on the one hand and hold on to some warmth on the other.

The outer layers

Wear a skating suit over your base layers. But be careful: a thinner lycra suit can quickly be too cold on the Weissensee. Certainly when you are out on the ice all day.

• Choose a supple thermal suit, as that fabric is just a bit thicker and a bit warmer.
• You can also go for a comfortable salopette or zip trousers as an extra outer layer.

Now we come to the layer that keeps your body temperature up. Along with a layer that effectively blocks moisture and wind:

• A water-repellent and windproof skating jacket. Wind and water are treacherous enemies. It is rather nice to be able to shut them out.

2. Air ambulance versus a tough-looking skating helmet

A few daredevils think they can skate perfectly well without a helmet. Tough. But a kind of karma is lying in wait. Unexpected falls do go wrong rather often.

Land badly on your head and you are further from home, literally and figuratively. This is not Thialf… This is a pure nature park with varying ice conditions and challenges. Consider yourself warned.

The air ambulance should not be a familiar sight. So get that helmet on, that is what is really ‘tough’. Often it is not a question of of you fall, but when. All because of the sheer number of cracks.

3. Prevent snow blindness and eye injuries with snow goggles

Snow goggles may well be, like a skating helmet, one of those items you would call not always ubersexy.

Even so, snow goggles (or ski goggles) are quite simply indispensable. Especially when white blankets of snow go on a date with the fierce sun. Being blinded is the last thing you want.

On top of that, without goggles your eyes can freeze at lightning speed, particularly when the wind picks up and it gets colder. Without goggles you run a serious risk of eye injury.

In last Friday's blog we shared one more clothing tip:
The ultimate protection against wind and cold on the Weissensee