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Outdoor Instructor Workwear Profile

Welcome to our Outdoor Instructor "What to Wear" page, a Helly Hansen Workwear guide to what workwear you should be wearing to keep you comfortable throughout the day or night.

Outdoor Trade Professional

Diverse and rewarding, arguably a vocation rather than an occupation, and not as well paid as the professionally required qualifications would have you expect. Unfortunately with high premium prices attached too much of the outdoor clothing industry’s high street offerings, it come as no surprise to us that we manage to attract lots of Outdoor Professionals looking for Pro-grade substance on meagre budgets.

Helly Hansen invented many of the garment systems copied and used by its outdoor competitor brands. Helly Hansen itself has a well documented sport & leisure arm to its business, but what is little known is that it has a Pro-grade Workwear division that Outdoor Professionals have been tapping into for many years. The products are small in number but have a huge reputation amongst those who choose to spend their money more wisely. The principal methods of manufacture are the same as outdoor leisure clothing; the difference has more to do with the attitude of the person wearing the clothing rather than a person posing in the clothing. Outdoor staff need and want clothing that works, that’s tough, that’s affordable and recognises the limits of the claims you can make about your clothing when you’re working every day in an instructional outdoor environment.

So what to do and where to start?

It’s fair to say that comfort and performance come top of the wish list.

What is Comfort?

We are all born into this world naked spending much of our time looking to find a comfort balance in the clothes we wear for the activity we are engaged. The Holy Grail of comfort is to find equilibrium between heat generated by the body & heat lost due to environmental conditions (When you are neither sweating nor shivering) what we call 'Thermal Balance'. If heat loss is too high: We feel ‘cold’, our body temperature drops causing Hypothermia. If heat loss is insufficient: We feel ‘hot’, our body temperature raises causing Heat stress, neither extreme desirable. When taking into consideration factors that regulate comfort it is safer to say that Workwear clothing does not provide “comfort” in reality it merely allows us to control the elements of "discomfort".

Well, the best advice we can give is to think about the work clothes you wear in three stages or layers: The same as you tell your clients.

  • 1st Baselayer: What to wear next to your skin.
  • 2nd An insulating: Thermal layer that sits on top of that.
  • 3rd A protective outer-shell to keep the worst of the weather out.

Click on the following links to see our workwear suggestions for you.

If you have a particular workwear problem or query please do not hesitate to call our sales team on +44(0)1925 848997 who will do their very best to give you the best advice possible.

Associated Industry Bodies:

The Adventure Activities Licensing Authority (AALA)
www.aals.org.uk

The Association of Heads of Outdoor Education Centres
www.ahoec.org

The National Association of Head Teachers
www.naht.org.uk

The National Association of Head Teachers is the largest organisation of its kind in Europe. It speaks with authority and strength on educational issues covering primary, secondary and special school sectors.

Teachernet
www.teachernet.gov.uk

TeacherNet has been developed by The Department for Education and Skills as a resource to support the education profession.

The Foundation for Outdoor Adventure
http://reviewing.co.uk/foa/appeal.htm

The Foundation for Outdoor Adventure is a national body committed to research, education and the promotion of the values of outdoor and adventurous experiences for young people.

European Outdoor Adventure
www.eoe-network.org

The European Institute of Outdoor, Adventure Education and Experiential Learning

The National Association of Field Study Officers
www.nafso.org.uk

National Association of Field Study Officers - the only organisation in the UK, which represents professionals employed in teaching, developing and promoting Field Studies.

British Caving Association
http://british-caving.org.uk

The National Body for Caving in the UK

The Royal Yachting Association
www.rya.org.uk

The UK National body for all forms of boating under sail or power including disabled sailing.

The British Canoe Union
www.bcu.org.uk

The governing body for the sport and recreation of canoeing and kayaking in the United Kingdom.

Mountain Leader Training UK
www.mlte.org

Mountain Leader Training UK is the co-ordinating body for all mountain training schemes in the UK.

The British Mountaineering Council
www.thebmc.co.uk

The British Mountaineering Council is the representative body that exists to protect the freedoms and promote the interests of climbers, hill walkers and mountaineers, including ski-mountaineers.

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