Is your winter holiday to Lapland just around the corner and you’re unsure of what to pack for the cold? We think that there is no such a thing as bad weather, just wrong clothing for it. We have a couple of principles that we follow when dressing up for the workday in the wintertime, and want to share our best tips with you! Read our best winter clothing tips below!
Why the right clothing matters
Knowing how to dress up for cold temperatures is crucial if you want to enjoy your winter experience in the North. Feeling warm during cold weather is not only a question of comfort but also safety – cold injuries are dangerous and can cause a lifelong nuisance. The body loses a lot of heat through the head, wrist and ankle areas. Combined, these areas can approach 60 percent of the lost body heat. Face, ears, feet and fingers are the most common places for cold injuries but the whole body should be covered properly so that no heat is lost.
winter clothing tips layer by layer
It’s all about layers! It is important to wear enough clothing not to feel cold, but little enough not to start sweating. We love layers, as you can always take something off if you start feeling too warm.
Body
The first layer of clothing should be thin and preferably made of merino wool (Artificial fibers cannot absorb the moisture from the skin as well as natural fibers).
We use a set of fleece underwear as the second layer if the weather is below -25°c.
The third layer depends on the temperature. We wear either a wool sweater or an ultra light down jacket.
Jacket
We use Fjällräven’s Polar guide parkas as working jackets. We recommend a similar very warm jacket that is long enough to cover some of the thighs but short enough to enable moving easily.
A faux fur lining on the hood blocks wind effectively.
Pants
Padded skiing pants with snow locks are a perfect choice for winter activities!
Feet
Socks
We use two pairs of socks: thin socks that have a high wool content, and thick woolen socks on top of them.
Shoes
Make sure that your winter boots are:
Taller than ankle high (preferably at least mid-calf high)
Preferably water-tight
Preferably have a removable inner boot
At least one size larger than your normal shoe size
This is extremely important, because a thick wool sock must fit in. You must also be able to move your toes inside the shoes. The socks that you are wearing will have no heating effect if your shoes are too small.
Hands
We recommend using either knitted wool mittens or leather loves that have a fur inside. You can wear two wool gloves on top of each other if the weather is below cold (-10°c or colder).
Head
A proper warm winter hat is a must! Your body loses most of its heat through your head (up to 40-45 percent).
We use different kinds of hats depending on the temperature. We mostly use woolen beanies and traditional Finnish fur hats. A faux fur lining on the hat blocks wind effectively.
Consider investing in a merino wool tube scarf. It can be a good idea to have two tube scarfs so that you can switch them when they get moist. If the weather gets very cold, you can use a tube scarf as an inner hat as well.
We hope that these winter clothing tips were of use to you! If you’re booking a tour with us and are still unsure about the right kind of clothing, you can send us a message beforehand and we’ll do our best to help you out.
