Staying warm while exploring a winter wonderland

Some years, I look forward to winter, and all the snow (or maybe just Christmas!). And other times, I find myself seeing winter as being nothing more than a downright depressing time. I mean, the sky is grey and overcast, and the snow is a blinding white while the bitter bite of cold seems never ending and harsh. Therefore, I am stranded inside, unable to explore Nature, unable to find my happy place among the forest as I do through all other seasons. There are just some years that I find myself struggling to keep my head up through the doom and gloom. But this winter, I’ve made a conscious decision to tough out the cold and the snow, and to do my best to fight off that blah feeling.

There is a vast forest not far from my Ohio home, and one winter day last month, I made myself get over the seasonal funk. I wanted to venture out into the winter wasteland where I normally found peace during the warmer months. The only problem was that it was nearing zero degrees fahrenheit, and I was ill-prepared for spending a long time out in those kind of harsh conditions. Well, that is, until I found a product by the fine folks over at Torch, who specialize in making coat heaters.

Sure, I knew the basics of proper layering, but even then, winter can make the toughest of men crumble and scurry back indoors. So I layered my pants with long underwear and a double layer, and I wore three top layers along with the coat warmer attached to the inside of my warmest winter jacket. Feeling like the little boy in A Christmas Story, I drove to the start of the forest to begin my trek.

Minutes into the forest, I felt the cold on my face, but my body was happy and warm. And I could feel the heating power of the Universal Coat Heater. Although, my feet perhaps suffered most of all – maybe Torch should make foot warmers next?! For hours, I trekked through the woods, and found the peace I so needed. I heard the true sound of silence in Nature, and I was able to find a peace of mind that had alluded me in winter.

The Torch Universal Coat Heater is a new take on fighting the winter cold, but I found it allows me the ability to fight the winter blues as well. The coat heater wraps around the back and to the inner sides of the coat, and can be used on any number of coats, due to its helpful velcro attachment. To install it, you simply peel and stick the velcro into your coat and attach the Torch. Turn it on and you’re ready to go! Torch is planning on releasing a new generation version of their coat heater, and I can only wait for next year. Because if anything allows me to get out of my own head, and out and about and abroad during the wintertime, then I think it’s a winning idea.

If you would like to find out more about the Torch Coat Heater, click here.


(Main photo by _maekke_ via Flickr + Torch product image © Torch)

Article written by Brandon Scott