US Army · TC 21-3 · September 2025
The Army's handbook for living and working in the cold, rewritten in September 2025: 136 pages on clothing, sleep, cold injuries, movement and survival.
The Army PDF is free and in the public domain. The field guide comes with membership, or it's $10 as a PDF. All 9 manuals
- 136pages
- 7chapters
- 3appendixes
- 5cold zones
- 7clothing layers
- 2025edition
Searches all 136 pages of the Army PDF and opens it at the page you pick.
Two versions of this manual
The official Army PDF
TC 21-3 exactly as the US Army published it. It's a work of the US government, so it's in the public domain, and it's marked "Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited."
- All 136 pages: seven chapters and three appendixes
- Replaced the 1986 edition
- The Army's file, unedited
The Buckhorn Cliffs field guide
My 8-page overview of the same manual: the cold, clothing, sleeping and eating, cold injuries, other hazards, shelter, and ice and travel. It's written from the Army's text and is not an Army publication.
- 8 pages in place of 136
- Hypothermia by stage and the hypothermia wrap
- Snow shelters and minimum ice thickness
- Leaves out the weapons and patrol chapters
- Boxes, charts, steps and checklists you can use at a glance
- Every section gives the page in the Army PDF
- Downloads as a PDF and saves to My Manual
Only want this one? Buy the field guide PDF for $10. This page is the free breakdown of the Army PDF. The field guide is the short version to print and keep.
- A current edition: rewritten in 2025 after nearly forty years.
- Plain, practical advice on staying warm that works for anyone.
- The survival chapter covers snow shelters with drawings.
- About a third of it is military: weapons, patrol bases and a battle drill.
- The clothing chapter is built around Army-issue layers.
- One movement table has misprinted speeds.
- You live, hunt or drive where it gets cold.
- You camp in winter.
- You want the current Army thinking on layering and cold injury.
How the 136 pages break down
Personal clothing and equipment is the longest chapter by a wide margin. Each bar opens the PDF at that part.
Part by part
Introduction to Cold-Weather Operations
4 pages, starts on PDF page 9
The five temperature zones, wet cold against dry cold, wind chill, and what cold does to how people think and behave.
Personal Clothing and Equipment
30 pages, starts on PDF page 13
How to dress and sleep: the C-O-L-D rule, boots, the seven clothing layers, the sleep system, and packing.
Weapons and Ammunition
12 pages, starts on PDF page 43
Keeping weapons working in the cold and shooting from skis and snowshoes.
Optimizing Physical Care
10 pages, starts on PDF page 55
Eating, drinking and staying clean, then every cold-weather injury and hazard.
Occupy a Patrol Base
12 pages, starts on PDF page 65
Setting up and running a tent camp in snow.
Individual Movement
20 pages, starts on PDF page 77
Skis, snowshoes and sleds, navigation, crossing ice, and how fast a group can move.
Survival
18 pages, starts on PDF page 97
What to do when lost, improvised shelters, food, and six knots.
Emergency Visual Signals
4 pages, starts on PDF page 121
Ground-to-air markings and hand signals for aircraft.
Numbers worth knowing
These are the manual's own figures. Each tile opens the page it comes from.
The five cold zones
Chapter 1 sorts cold into five zones. The warmest is often the most dangerous, because wet clothing and slush pull heat away fast.
| Zone | Name | Temperature |
|---|---|---|
| I | Wet cold | 39°F to 20°F |
| II | Dry cold | 19°F to -4°F |
| III | Intense cold | -5°F to -25°F |
| IV | Extreme cold | -25°F to -40°F |
| V | Hazardous cold | -40°F and below |
Open chapter 1, PDF page 9 · Staying Warm and Sheltered on this site
Shelters without a tent
Chapter 7 covers what to build from a poncho, trees or snow.
On igloos the manual is blunt: without practice, build something easier.
Edition and history
TC 21-3, Soldier's Handbook for Individual Operations and Survival in Cold-Weather Areas, is dated 30 September 2025. It replaced the edition of 17 March 1986.
As of November 10, 2026 the Army lists it as the current edition.
TC 21-3 is a US Army publication, in the public domain as a work of the US government and marked "Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited." The Buckhorn Cliffs field guide is my own summary of it and is not an Army publication. BuckhornCliffs.com is not affiliated with or endorsed by the US Army or the Department of Defense.
Questions this answers
Tap a question for the short answer.
What is the army cold weather manual
TC 21-3, Soldier's Handbook for Individual Operations and Survival in Cold-Weather Areas, dated September 2025. It is 136 pages and approved for public release.
What does cold stand for in the army
Keep it clean, avoid overheating, wear it loose, keep it dry.
How thick does ice need to be to walk on
The Army table gives a minimum of 3 inches for one person on foot crossing once, and 4 inches for repeated use, for ice floating on water.
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