EN 342

What EN 342 is

EN 342 is the European standard covering clothing ensembles and garments for protection against cold environments. It specifies the requirements and test methods needed to ensure a garment provides adequate thermal insulation, wind resistance, and (optionally) protection against moisture, so the wearer is protected against body cooling, hypothermia, and frostbite risk in cold working conditions.

The current version is EN 342:2017, which applies to ambient temperatures of -5°C or below, while also accounting for the combined effect of low air temperature, humidity, and wind speed — since wind chill and dampness can make a given temperature feel considerably colder and more dangerous than the air temperature alone would suggest.

Scope: what it applies to (and what it doesn’t)

EN 342 applies to:

• Two-piece clothing ensembles (e.g. jacket + trousers)
• One-piece garments (e.g. coveralls)

It’s used across industries including cold storage and refrigerated warehousing, outdoor construction and logistics in winter, food processing, and any other role with sustained exposure to sub-zero or near-freezing conditions.

Importantly, EN 342 does not cover head, hand, or foot protection. The standard is based on testing with a thermal base layer worn underneath, and separate PPE (insulated gloves, thermal headwear, insulated footwear) is expected to be worn alongside the certified garment — it is not itself sufficient cold protection for the whole body.

The three key performance parameters

EN 342 garments are tested and rated against three main criteria:

1. Thermal insulation (Icler)

This is the primary measurement of how well the garment retains body heat. It’s measured on a moving, heated mannequin wearing the garment together with a defined type of thermal underwear, across different activity levels, air speeds, and exposure durations, to calculate the “resultant effective thermal insulation” — expressed in m²·K/W.

• The higher the Icler value, the better the insulating performance.
• Under EN 342:2017, the commonly cited minimum requirement is Icler ≥ 0.265 m²·K/W for certification (some older references to the standard cite a slightly lower threshold of 0.25 m²·K/W, so it’s worth checking which edition a given test certificate was issued against).
• The underwear used during testing is indicated by a letter on the label:
  • (B) — standardised, multi-layer reference underwear as defined in the standard’s Annex
  • (C) — the manufacturer’s own specified undergarment
  • (R) — indicates the insulation was measured on a static (non-moving) mannequin, an older/reduced test method

2. Air permeability (AP)

This measures how much air passes through the garment material under a set pressure, which determines how windproof the garment is — a critical factor in cold environments, since wind dramatically accelerates heat loss.

• Rated in three classes, Class 1 to Class 3
• Class 3 represents the highest level of protection (lowest air permeability, most windproof)
• Class 1 items are the most breathable but offer the least wind resistance

3. Water penetration resistance (WP)

This is an optional test, since EN 342 certification doesn’t require a garment to be waterproof — cold protection and waterproofing are treated as separate concerns.

• If tested, the fabric must meet a minimum resistance value (commonly cited as ≥ 8000 Pa)
• If this test hasn’t been carried out, the garment’s label will show an “X” in place of a class or value for this parameter, rather than a fail — it simply means water resistance wasn’t assessed
• Garments that also need genuine wet-weather protection are often additionally certified to EN 343 (protective clothing against rain/bad weather), and combined EN 342 + EN 343 certification is common for outdoor winter workwear

Marking

An EN 342-compliant garment’s label will typically show:

• The EN 342 standard reference and year of the edition tested (e.g. EN 342:2017)
• The Icler value, with the underwear code (B), (C), or (R)
• The air permeability class (1–3)
• The water penetration result, or “X” if untested

Correct use and care

The standard’s protective performance is only valid when the garment is used and maintained as intended:

• Both pieces of a two-piece ensemble (jacket and trousers) should be worn together, along with the underwear type the garment was tested with, since Icler values are only valid for that specific combination.
• Over-insulating and excessive sweating can reduce protection — trapped moisture lowers a garment’s effective insulation, so managing perspiration matters as much as adding layers.
• Thermal insulation performance can degrade after washing or compression, so garments should be inspected regularly and replaced when worn, damaged, or compressed.
• Regular breaks in a heated area, with the garment partially opened or removed, help the garment dry out and recover its insulating performance during extended cold exposure.

What EN 342 does NOT guarantee

• It does not cover head, hand, or foot protection — separate certified PPE is needed for full-body cold protection.
• It does not require waterproofing — water penetration resistance is optional and often untested, so “EN 342 certified” alone doesn’t confirm the garment will keep the wearer dry.
• A given Icler rating is only valid with the specific underwear type it was tested against — swapping in different base layers can change real-world performance even though the outer garment’s certification doesn’t change.
• It’s a standard for environmental cold, not for graded protection levels the way some other PPE categories work — there’s no “Type 1–6” tiering as with chemical protective clothing; a garment either meets the Icler/AP thresholds or it doesn’t.

Quick summary

Parameter	What it measures	Rating/threshold	Mandatory?
Icler (thermal insulation)	Heat retention, moving mannequin + underwear	≥ 0.265 m²·K/W (EN 342:2017)	Yes
Air permeability (AP)	Windproofing	Class 1–3 (3 = best)	Yes
Water penetration (WP)	Water resistance	≥ 8000 Pa if tested, else “X”	Optional
Scope	Ambient temp ≤ -5°C, accounting for wind/humidity	—	—
Excludes	Head, hand, foot protection	—	—