How to dress for the arctic

Nobody likes being cold. It can ruin your trip if instead of enjoying the beautiful surroundings you’re just focussed on how frozen your toes are, or how your nose feels like it might drop off. But don’t worry after years of living and working 300km north of the arctic circle I’ve got some good tips on how to keep you warm in the winter months in Lapland.

With temperatures ranging from 0 to -38 degrees you need to be prepared for this wide range of temperatures. For many of us the idea of these minus degrees sound crazily cold, but the winters here are different to those in the UK. It's a dry cold, and in my experience there isn’t as much wind so as long as you are layered well you can easily be comfortable in cold temperatures.

Layers Layers Layers!!

The best way to keep warm is to use a lot of layers of clothing. The idea is that the air between the layers keeps you warm and dry. The humidity is supposed to move through the layers away from the skin. This is how your maintain your body temperature. You can adjust your temperature easily by adding or removing layers yourself easily. A number of thin layers is much better rather than a couple of thick ones. The outer garment should be windproof and special attention should be paid to the feet, fingers and face.

“ A number of thin layers is better rather than a few thick ones”

Step 1 | Base layers

Synthetic underwear, wool or silk are better than cotton. Skin-tight underwear removes moisture from the skin. Merino wool is our favourite and we will normally just use one/two sets during a week long trip. Merino doesn’t hold smell as much so you can wear it for multiple days (so its great for any layers that you wear direct on your skin - base layers, underwear and gloves)

Extra cold / when the temperatures from to -20 or more then I add an extra pair of merino wool shorts. As a woman my butt/thighs really feel the cold so I layer them more than other areas. You can also get down shorts/skirt which cover the same area which are great for keeping you extra warm.

What I wear: Mons Royale Merino Base Layers

Step 2 | Mid layers

Fleece or wool garments are good. This is where you want to have multiple different layers that you can add and remove to get the temperature right. When you are moving and doing activities you will be surprised how warm your body stays and how little you need on - think about putting them on over each other and make sure it’s not all super tight or there won’t be room for the air to keep you warm.

Extra layer

When you're active you’re nice and warm but you will need an extra layer to put on once you stop moving. A big down jacket or something similar that you can throw on to keep you warm is always needed.

What I wear: Fjallraven Bergtagen Merino wool Hood & Patagonia R2 Fleece and my extra layer is a Mountain Equipment Lightline down jacket (which is 1x larger than my usual size)

Step 3 | Outer Layers

Your last layer should be something windproof to shelter you from the elements. A ski jacket or waterproof coat (as long as you can fit 2/3 layers underneath without it being tight) and shell trousers or ski pants/trousers.

What I use: Billabong Bib Trousers & my Fjallraven Singi Anorak which I love. It’s made for arctic life with a big fur hood to protect from the elements.

Step 4 | Head

You lose a lot of heat out of your head so a good hat which protects the ears well is essential. Also think about a jacket with a hood so if it’s windy you have extra protection. A balaclava/ buff is essential - I tend to wear two and rotate them so if they do get wet from condensation you can shift them about.

What I use: Sidetracked Merino wool beanie (of course!) & Mons Royale Double Up Merino Buff

Avoid using cotton - it’s not good in cold temperatures.

Step 5 | Hands

Mittens protect your fingers better than gloves. For the breaks you can have another pair of big mittens to be put over the others. We suggest a pair of liners are so if you need to use your fingers you can put them on and sort any fiddly things out, then have a pair of leather/thick mittens to go over the top. Having these close to hand (literally) is essential.

What I use: Hestra Army Leather Heli Ski Mittens and a pair of Ejendals Tegera Thermal Waterproof Work Gloves (these are just £5 and are great for skiing in and making fires etc. I also always have a pair of Hestra merino wool liners to go under both pairs.

Step 6 | Feet

Socks made of 100% wool or mixtures are the best choice. Cotton socks are not good for the cold weather! The best combination is a thin liner sock, and then a thick wool sock to go over the top.

Make sure you factor wearing two pairs of socks when choosing boots. Again it is the air around your feet that will warm up and keep them warm. If they get squeezed into a tight pair of boots then you will find it very cold. A good check is make sure you can wiggle your toes.

Wool liners are useful to add into your boots, it gives you extra insulation from the cold below. You can pick these up for under £5 and are worth it.

What I use: Sorel Caribou boots ( 1x size bigger than normal) handmade 100% wool socks and Bridgedale liner socks.

What to Invest in.

All this kit isn’t cheap, and I understand that most people don’t spend half the year in arctic climates so the kit that I use isn't always going to be what everyone else can afford to invest in. So what is the best gear to invest in and what items does it not matter as much? Here is what I recommend:

Invest in: Good merino wool base layers and 100% wool & liner socks combo.

Places you can save money:

Rent gear: Most resorts in Lapland will have somewhere you can get winter layers - for example in Saariselkä you can rent overalls, snow boots, wool socks, balaclava, leather mittens for €75 per week.

Bargains: Search for second hand gear, it’s always worth checking out places like Vinted, Ebay, Facebook Market Place etc.

Borrow: If you’re just heading over for a week, and have some friends who ski or have a load of gear it worth just checking if you could borrow the odd item for the week.

Everyone is different.

Hopefully this has been helpful for you, but also remember that body temperature and dealing with the cold is quite personal. So the best thing to do is to understand how you normally react in cold places. If you feel the cold, then come prepared with lots of extra layers. Women have a lower metabolic rate, so we tend to produce less heat than men do, which makes us feel colder.

So one size definitely doesn’t fit all, but hopefully, this is a good start.

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Our Winter trips

From our multi-activity Lapland Adventure week to hut-to-hut skiing in the Arctic wilderness we have the perfect trips for everyone. See our full winter schedule here

How to dress in Lapland | A guide to layers in the arctic