Norwegian Ski Clothes, and OT Norwegian Work Clothes

A regular discussion that I have with a Norwegian friend as we head out to
ski tour is his insistence of using cotton anoraks and pants when ski
touring in exposed areas. Being American I wear Gore-Tex. He predicts I'll
die in that stuff out there. I trust what he says because there are a lot of
Norwegians still alive after using this traditional red garb. What is this
red stuff called, and is there a web site for the major brand? I do see it
on sales racks in Norway, but don't remember the "brand".

I've been meaning to ask this question for a while. I used to have a shirt-
a traditional work or carpenter's or farmer's shirt- that was called
something like "Bisaru". It had no collar, a belt in the back, pewter
buttons, and was blue with white stripes. I think they were made in other
colors too- like red and beige.
The better ones were almost like denim. Are these still available off the
shelf, and what is their proper name?

Thanks.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY where depending upon what report you want to believe it will
be either snowy or sunny and mild for the next five days.

Gary Jacobson wrote:

A regular discussion that I have with a Norwegian friend as we head out to
ski tour is his insistence of using cotton anoraks and pants when ski
touring in exposed areas. Being American I wear Gore-Tex. He predicts I'll
die in that stuff out there. I trust what he says because there are a lot of
Norwegians still alive after using this traditional red garb. What is this
red stuff called, and is there a web site for the major brand? I do see it
on sales racks in Norway, but don't remember the "brand".

Norrøna is the brand I and my wife wear, ours are actually blue instead
of red btw, but you're right, it it basically just heavy, impregnated
(i.e. somewhat waterproofed) cotton.

This probably breathes a little better than goretex when it gets cold
(GT stops breathing when the micropores freeze), but otherwise there's
not that big a difference, and unless you renew the waterproofing
regularly, you should make sure you never get caught in an old anorak in
something like sleet.

Terje
PS. Yesterday our third snowfall of the season tirned into sleet/rain in
downtown Oslo, but it should have packed the base pretty nicely up in
the forest. I'll go out with a headlamp tonight. :-)

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"

Thanks guys.

What about the second part of the question. Any ideas?

" I used to have a shirt-
a traditional work or carpenter's or farmer's shirt- that was called
something like "Bisaru". It had no collar, a belt in the back, pewter
buttons, and was blue with white stripes. I think they were made in other
colors too- like red and beige.
The better ones were almost like denim. Are these still available off the
shelf, and what is their proper name?"

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY where 20 years ago we had a similar balmy Thanksgiving

(Lars) wrote in message . com...
Hi Gary
I don't think you'll die in a gore-tex jacket :-) someone think they
don't breathe good enough when they keep you so very dry.

The red jackets all Norwegians are wearing are probably those called
"fjell anorak" (jackets). Maybe the red Norrøna Artis Anorak is the
one you are looking for. Very common here.


Lars, I'm looking forward to meeting you and your friends at the
American Birkebeiner in 2005! Did you secure lodging at Lakewoods
Lodge near Cable, WI?

Greg Fangel

Gary,
I have read online about a "waxed cotton". This is a waterproofed
cotton that is breathable.

I cannot recomend 100% Gore-Tex for any aerobic winter activity. It
simply cannot let water vapor pass through fast enough when cross
country skiing. For winter bicycling, it does work well for front
panels. For downhill skiing, Gore-Tex works great blocking the wind
riding chairlifts.

I have Sporthill XC 3SP pants and full zip jacket. This is a
fantastic fabric. It dampens the wind just enough, and it easily handles
the huge amount of water vapor produced during cross country skiing. It
is also very soft, and very tough to tear.

I do have the Norwegian "Super Brynje" fish net long johns and
T-neck. This is also a very fantastic fabric. Worn under 3SP, those two
layers alone can keep me warm in cold open windy areas, yet keep me dry
when it gets warmer.

By the way, the two best cross country ski stores in Michigan say
they keep selling more Sporthill 3SP pants every year.

Cheers,
Bruce Freeburger


Gary Jacobson wrote:

A regular discussion that I have with a Norwegian friend as we head out to
ski tour is his insistence of using cotton anoraks and pants when ski
touring in exposed areas. Being American I wear Gore-Tex. He predicts I'll
die in that stuff out there. I trust what he says because there are a lot of
Norwegians still alive after using this traditional red garb. What is this
red stuff called, and is there a web site for the major brand? I do see it
on sales racks in Norway, but don't remember the "brand".

I've been meaning to ask this question for a while. I used to have a shirt-
a traditional work or carpenter's or farmer's shirt- that was called
something like "Bisaru". It had no collar, a belt in the back, pewter
buttons, and was blue with white stripes. I think they were made in other
colors too- like red and beige.
The better ones were almost like denim. Are these still available off the
shelf, and what is their proper name?

Thanks.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY where depending upon what report you want to believe it will
be either snowy or sunny and mild for the next five days.

Hi Greg,
we were two groups that did planning. In the end I joined the other
group and made some changes to their plan so we both were pleased. We
are not staying at the lodgings I found, there were some extra with
another place.

We are a group of 50. Half of them from west Norway (where I'm from)
and the rest from east. A lot of classic skiers. Classic ... :-)

Only problem now is that many of our skiers have good results from
www.Sesilami.no (53km classic Birkie lookalike) which is a valid
qualifying race for Norwegian Birkie but not US Birkie :-( Many good
skiers in wave 10 is not so good for them. I've tried to get this race
accepted but with no luck.

We're doing classic Keskinada on the same trip.


(Greg Fangel) wrote in message . com...
Lars, I'm looking forward to meeting you and your friends at the
American Birkebeiner in 2005! Did you secure lodging at Lakewoods
Lodge near Cable, WI?

Greg Fangel