Why do baggy pants keep you warmer than tight pants?

  • Context: High School 
  • Thread starter Thread starter naab
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the thermal insulation properties of baggy versus tight pants, exploring how air trapped in clothing affects warmth. Participants consider the mechanisms of heat retention and transfer in relation to clothing fit and material properties.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that baggy pants allow for air to be trapped, which can be warmed by body heat, potentially making them warmer than tight pants that have little air space.
  • Another participant emphasizes that insulation relies on trapped air, which has low heat conductivity, and questions whether excessively loose pants might lead to heat loss due to air exchange.
  • A later reply draws a parallel to wetsuits, noting that they function by trapping a thin layer of water that warms up, allowing for extended warmth in cold water conditions.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effectiveness of baggy versus tight pants for warmth, with some supporting the idea of trapped air as insulation while others caution against excessive looseness leading to heat loss. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the optimal fit for warmth.

Contextual Notes

There are assumptions regarding the effectiveness of air as an insulator and the impact of clothing fit on heat retention that are not fully explored. The discussion does not resolve the complexities of heat transfer mechanisms involved.

naab
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Hey

I just wondered.. You normally say that if you wear pants with a little air in between the legs and the pants you will warm up the air and that will make them warmer. If you wear tight pants there will be almost no air in between and therefore they will be colder.

Or similar with other kinds of insulation, its the AIR you warm up..So know I just thought; is it because the heat from your legs radiate out and gets reflected by the pants, that the air is hot (in the baggy pants)? And is it because you can transfer heat by the vibrations of the molecules in the tight pants that they aren't hot? Is that also a factor for the coldness of the tight pants? Because in the baggy pants you can't lose heat by "vibration transfer" (what is it called?)...

hope you understood the question, and sorry for my bad English..

:)
 
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Can't anyone help ? :)
 
Insulation by layers of clothing means air is trapped in the the clothing. Air has a very low value of heat conductivity, so if you have a STILL layer of air, or lots of air trapped in the weaving you will have a fairly poor conductor of heat.

I do not think that extremely loose pants will help much as there will be excessive exchange of outside air, thus heat lose.

You need trapped air for insulation.
 
Just a note to say that this how wetsuits (for regular scuba diving, surfing, jetskiing etc) work, except that they keep a layer of water instead. Once the water layer (less than a mm because the suit is practically in contact with the skin) is warm, the wearer can stay much longer submerged than without a wetsuit.
 

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