Clothing for trip to Norway (Tromso, within arctic circle)

fret_wimp2

For our honeymoon we have decided to do a once in a lifetime trip and are heading up to the Arctic Circle near Tromso in Norway.

Im trying to sort out enough suitable clothing for one week without spending a fortune in an outdoor store, but am not fully sure what go to for, particularly regarding trousers.

Main goal is to avoid cotton. We are renting Jackets, mittens, snow boots & snow pants up there but what i could do with advice on is:

- are standard polyester tight baselayers ok if i layer them?
- what type of trousers to get, avoiding cotton?


Im trying to do it in an affordable way, so although goretex everything would be nice, its really not possible on our budget.

any advice appreciated!

Tabnabs

Try TK Maxx for Craghoppers Kiwi Pants or similar "hiking" trousers. Get good quality bass layer, eg helly hansen http://outdoorsports.ie/products/hellyhansendrymensthermalbaselayerset

Get a good hat too!

Alun

What are you going to be doing. i.e. fairly active/energetic or a lot of standing around?

Here's a thread discussing what to wear on a dog sledding trip in that part of the world, with some of my experiences for what it's worth ...

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=81808205

In short, if you're being supplied with outer wear these are usually pretty heavy duty, so you only need to concern yourself with base layers and maybe some fleece layers, no Gore-Tex required.

fits

I spend a lot of time in Finland and you don't need to go mad buying stuff. For normal day to day stuff you don't need to avoid cotton.

On a cold winters day here, say minus 25 I would wear cotton leggings, a long sleeved cotton top as base layers. These are freely available to buy in the supermarket and that's what the Finns wear under their clothes. Over that you have your regular clothes and over that again you'd wear a down jacket and insulated pants. A ski jacket and pants would do the job. (although downhill pants might be too thick even). On your feet, wear winter boots. You might need to buy a pair. Sorel boots are cool, but there are lower cost options here also. You can also buy insulating insoles for your shoes. Mine are just a regular leather pair with fleece lining. On your head, wear a thick wool hat, pull hood up over it and wrap your scarf around the hood and over your face. On hands I wear thin gloves and then a pair of leather fleece lined mittens over them. You can take off the mittens and leave the thin gloves on if you need dexterity for any reason.

For sports activities obviously its different. I'd wear surprisingly little when xc skiing. If you are standing outdoors looking at aurora, more heavy duty options may be required.

fret_wimp2

fits wrote: »

I spend a lot of time in Finland and you don't need to go mad buying stuff. For normal day to day stuff you don't need to avoid cotton.

On a cold winters day here, say minus 25 I would wear cotton leggings, a long sleeved cotton top as base layers. These are freely available to buy in the supermarket and that's what the Finns wear under their clothes. Over that you have your regular clothes and over that again you'd wear a down jacket and insulated pants. A ski jacket and pants would do the job. (although downhill pants might be too thick even). On your feet, wear winter boots. You might need to buy a pair. Sorel boots are cool, but there are lower cost options here also. You can also buy insulating insoles for your shoes. Mine are just a regular leather pair with fleece lining. On your head, wear a thick wool hat, pull hood up over it and wrap your scarf around the hood and over your face. On hands I wear thin gloves and then a pair of leather fleece lined mittens over them. You can take off the mittens and leave the thin gloves on if you need dexterity for any reason.

For sports activities obviously its different. I'd wear surprisingly little when xc skiing. If you are standing outdoors looking at aurora, more heavy duty options may be required.

Thats really good advice, thanks! We will be out to see the Aurora if it makes an appearance, and "may" get to try ice fishing. Il mention this to the guys in the clothing rental store.


So, plan is to hire the following, and bring the rest with me (below). please let me know if that looks ok:

Hiring:
Snow boots.
Insulated trousers.
Heavy Jacket.
Mittens.

I will bring the following with me:
2x synthetic baselayer top and pants.
2x light fleece
1x medium weight zip up fleece
1x regular hoodie.
3x thick wool socks.
1x jacket (non waterproof, inner portion of waterproof columbia jacket)
1x hiking boots for about the town
2x wooly hat
1x scarf/flece neck warmer

fret_wimp2

Just back from my trip and thought id add a followup post to help advise what i got right and where i could do better next time. I was there for about 10 days and the below got me through without any issues or feeling of being unprepared:

Lessons:
Layer Up. Dont have one heavy jumper and heavy jacket. Layer up so you can remove layers if you get too warm. Baselayer, fleece, insulated jacket & outer waterproof shell (can use two fleeces if your jacket doesnt have internal layer.

Keep cool while walking: if you get warm while out and about, remove a layer. Its better than sweating which can cause you to get quite cold when you stop moving. try not to be too warm.

What I Brought
-Long Johns - are a must and without doubt the best thing you can bring! I got two merino wool pairs in tkMaxx for 15 quid each.
-good base layer - preferably merino wool. I got one very cheaply in Lidl that was fantastic, and one on wiggle that was not much more expensive. you dont need to spend 80+ quid on merino wool if you look around. Avoid synthetics if possible. I had one with me. It didnt feel quite as warm, and got smelly in less than a day. 4+ days wearing the lidl merino wool top and it still smelled like new.
Boots - I had my standard leather Meindl hiking boots. They should be more than good enough for most activities.
Socks - Good thick hiking socks. Dont scrimp and go for heavy sports socks. pay a few quid and get decent hiking socks, your feet will thank you ( i learned this a long time ago, not on this trip). 4 good pairs are fine, if they are good, they wont smell and you wont sweat much anyway.
-Jacket - I had a columbia parka. warm inside layer and a removable waterproof shell. It was fine for all but the heaviest rain.
-hat - get a good hat, one that has flaps that cover your ears. a normal beanie no matter how heavy will not do. I bought a good hat after our first night there and it made walking about infinately more comfortable.
-gloves - mittens. dont use regular gloves. get decent mittens, again, you will be much more comfortable and last much longer on your excursions.
-fleece - a few zip up fleeces are useful. you dont need super expensive patagonia or north face ones. I had two Trespass ones that worked perfectly and were less than 20 quid each.
-ski pants. again got in Lidl for 20 quid. good for the colder days where normal hiking pants were just a little light.
-buff - normal scarf is not as useful. I picked up a cheap buff that was light and perfect for keeping my neck or head warm when moving.

If i was to go again Id make the following changes:
-waterproof insulated pants. It rained heavily one day and the insulated ski pants were not waterproof. I would spend a few extra quid to get some waterproof ones.
-more waterproof jacket. the columbia jacket was fine but in heavier rain its not so good. Id probably shell out for a goretex jacket with interchangeable insulated liner next time around.
Gaiters: I would prob bring my gaiters when i go again, stepping in deep snow can result in snow getting in around your boot, not a big issue but easily preventable by some cheap gaiters.


Hope that helps someone and demonstrates you dont have to spend hundreds of euros on branded outdoor clothing to be prepared for a trip up north!

peteeeed

i was in the arctic circle (nothern sweden ) a couple of years ago, long johns , really thick thermal socks and multiple beanie(fleece) hats as they can get damp