Cold Weather Angling Essential: Chocolate!!

[CaseyP]

read the following on another thread, posted by our buddy flybugpa:

I really hurt this morning, typing is even tuff, i hit a bridge , had hypothermia from fishing in the rain all day and fell asleep on the way home.i think the Bug is totaled

his experience reminds me to tell you: when fishing in the cold, carry a bar of chocolate. eat it. it will keep you warm and awake. when i was a kid, i wanted to grow up and be an Arctic explorer because they ate 1/2 a pound of chocolate a day to keep warm. seriously, folks, it works. milk or dark, either one.

and a prayer that flybugpa recovers soon!

[J Castwell]

lol, damn near killed my self eating a candy bar. Had it an outside pocket. It was very cold out, Hunger hit, I opened it and bit down. Nothing happened. Almost busted all of my teeth. The thing was hard as a rock. It was 19 below zero. Be careful.

[rockthief]

caffeine in chocolate

[ELKHUNTER]

Several years ago I was a member of a search and rescue group. We had a weekend training session once with a couple Army survival experts. They told us that chocolate does work to keep your energy up and keep you awake. But jelly beans work better they said and had the avantage of not melting in your pocket. They also advised the energy rush you get from the sugar in both will not last as long as you might hope it would.

Rocky

[CaseyP]

the energy rush you get from the sugar in both will not last as long as you might hope it would. Rocky

could well be. my Russian buddies believe in fat to fight the cold, so that's why they think chocolate is good.

and JC: take M&Ms. they melt (ultimately) in your mouth, not in your pocket!

[Big Bad Wulff]

It can't create "heat" other than by it's digestion. In that case any food would do the same.
Your best bet is to have a HOT DRINK available. They make drink canisters now that you can activate and they heat it's contents on it's own in about 5 minutes.

[CaseyP]

but only because of prior experience, and scientific evidence of the highest order:

on a particularly hot and humid summer evening a few years back, i made the mistake of eating a chocolate bar after supper. a large dark chocolate one, right out of the freezer.

in about 20 minutes i found myself sitting in a puddle of perspiration, and it took for ever to get to sleep that night!

an orange would not have had the same effect.

N. B. The foregoing was written by someone whose tongue has been permanently scarred by too many cups of scalding hot cocoa in her life. But that doesn't mean you're not partially right!

winter vest-pocket-ration: dark chocolate M&Ms (see JC, above!)
summer vest-pocket-ration: crunchy granola bar
remembering to clean out that pocket as the seasons change--priceless!!

[Heritage Angler]

These things always go with me while cycling, and I've started to stuff a few in my fishing vest as well. They supply energy like you can't believe!

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...itional%20Gels

The vanilla ones rule....

[Flyrodde]

Fat has 9 Kcals per gram

Carbs = 4 Kcals per gram

Protein = 4 Kcals per gram

This means fat has more energy per gram. More than twice as much energy. You can carry much more energy in the form of fat than in protein or carbs. In the winter this is especially important since MOST of the energy you expell is to keep you warm. On a day trip it may not be too important, but on extended or in survival situations fat is the way to pack.

Chocolate has a great balance of sugar and fat to keep you going through the day, plus it tastes good and is easy to eat. I'd much rather knaw on a frozen chocolate bar than a frozen cliff bar.

[pspaint]

These things always go with me while cycling, and I've started to stuff a few in my fishing vest as well. They supply energy like you can't believe!

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...itional%20Gels

The vanilla ones rule....

So that's why you're always biking. lol.