Sarah Holland
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 01/99) - It's not only what's on the inside that counts, but also what's outside.

At least when it comes to winter clothing. You can find jackets, gloves, socks and other items in a variety of materials, but only a few will keep you warm when you're on the land.

Starting at the bottom, boots are important, as it can be difficult to keep your feet or any extremity warm when you're outside for a long period of time.

The Northern Store in Fort Good Hope sells mostly Acton and Sorel brands, according to store manager Jim Craig.

"The Actons and Sorels have felt linings and are good to -73 C, and if you get the top-of-the-line boots, you won't need extra lining."

In Iqaluit, Bera Naulaq of the Arctic Survival Store says the Actons are a bit better quality than Sorels in that the duffel socks are better. Duffel socks are triple-insulation liners made of wool and polypro that come with the boots.

And what should you put under your boots? One choice is a pair of kid mohair socks, called Thermohair, which are wool but not itchy. Browning makes socks that are good to -34 C.

As for parkas, Craig says the most popular are the Snowgoose models.

"Snowgoose parkas are filled with duck down, which is exceptionally warm when dry, but loses insulating power when wet.

Synthetic fabrics, such as Primaloft and Polarguard 3-D, insulate well and they stay dry.

"Polarguard is a continuous filament, it's compressible and very resilient, it lasts a long time, although down lasts indefinitely," adds Craig.

Aside from the Snowgoose line, Columbia and Brooks, with removable fleece liners, are also big sellers.

In Pond Inlet, many people make their own clothing from animal fur and hides. However, the co-op offers down jackets with fur around the hood, according to Jeeteeta Angnetsiak, a salesperson at the store.

"These new jackets are selling good, the down feather ones with fur trim," says Angnetsiak. "The hoods are popular and they come in different colours and brands."

In Iqaluit, "the Woods or Snowgoose brands are the warmest that we sell," says Naulaq. "Woods are very similar to the Snowgoose."

For those hard-to-keep-warm hands, Craig says that mitts with a felt liner -- as long as the outside is leather or nylon -- works well in cold weather. And mitts are usually warmer than gloves, so choose carefully.

Angnetsiak also says that mittens are the choice, mostly leather with good lining and in different lengths.

According to Naulaq, gloves are the hand warmer of choice in Iqaluit. "We have at least 10 different styles of gloves. The fleece are popular, but I don't think they're very warm. The warmest we have are the Bushline. They go over your parka and are quite thick and very warm."

When it comes to the area where heat loss is greatest, your head, there are a number of options. If you like the softness of fleece hats, Craig suggests you add a hood or something to block the wind, as fleece doesn't.

"Fur is also popular up here," says Craig. "We carry fur (hats) such as muskrat and beaver, and fox is very warm, too."

The Pond Inlet choice is often fur-trimmed hats or "knitted black hats that fit close to the head, and scarves that are round and knitted (neck-warmer style)," says Angnetsiak. The scarves come in all kinds of materials, including wool and knits.

The warmest hats at the Arctic Survival Store are the bomber hats lined with rabbit fur, says Naulaq.