Freeborn kit is striking, bold and colourful. It is not inherently warm. I have definitely made mistakes, like not wearing enough layers between me and my chainmail at an April event with no sleeping bag being some of my biggest! People regularly post in facebook groups pictures of their up coming kit for their first event, and they always look amazing. But people often ask how they are going to keep warm on long exposed nights, or just events that fall foul of the PD weather machine.
So here is how I don't die from hypothermia while playing freeborn.
Socks
Good socks are some of the most important kit regardless of nation, and changing them regularly especially at wet events does keep you warmers for longer. I personally have seal skins but I know others have football socks (brightly coloured and long) to be more on brief.
Gloves
Bright coloured fingerless gloves are not only a throw back to my emo teens but also really useful and easy to get hold of. At player events or extra cold main line events I have even added regular cycling or running gloves under them to keep my fingers warm.
Layers
The top layers of kit are floaty and lose to fit the brief, under that lies many many layers. I always has a base layer of a Primark (or similar) t-shirt, long or short sleeved depending on the event. I love these are they are cheap, and easy to come by in bright colours.
Snood
This is my complete secret weapon and something I would not be without, I had a black knitted one when playing in Navarr and it is a game changer, I knew I had to have one for my freeborn character. It took a little more hunting and some luck with seasonal products but I have a thin mustard yellow one for the warmer events and a knitted mustard yellow one for the cooler events. You can get them really easy online in some truly freeborn colours.
Thermals
With enough hunting on the internet you can get some really bright thermals, (mine are royal blue) they work really well as an under-layer at colder events. Any thermals are better than none so if on your budget you can only get black or dark grey or they are the only ones you can find- don't stress warmth > on brief under laters.
Hand warmers
I have a stash of instant hand warmers that I keep in my tent these are perfect for when I start to get a bit cold and want to stop getting colder. Off to monster and know you are going to be standing for a while doing not a lot? Grab a hand warmer. About to go and sit in a really long meeting (looking at you conclave!)? Grab a handwarmer.
This is by no means a full list, but just a few things I do to help keep myself warm while in a field.
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