How to dress during winter in Lapland?

Legitim questions we all wonder before coming to Lapland during wintertime: how will you feel the cold, and how to deal with the low temperatures? How to dress for a stay in Lapland?

Quite normal to wonder, as the winters in Lapland can go down to –30°C (-22°F).

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that the cold is dry, which means that humidity doesn’t infiltrate the clothes. Therefore, the feeling of the -10°C itself is not the same in European countries (such as France or England), and here in Rovaniemi.

A word about how to dress in Lapland in winter

Though we can provide overalls made to keep you warm in cold winters, and winter boots, we still recommend you to take suitable clothes with you. The golden rule you should respect is: it is more comfortable, and easier to take off a piece of clothes if you feel too warm during a safari, and we can’t add any during tours. It means that it is better to wear ‘’too many’’ clothes than not enough. Remember also not to be too tight in your clothes or boots: air is a natural isolator! Keeping some space between your different clothes will help to keep you warm and dry during your snowmobile or husky tours for exemple.

The 3 layers rule

When you are packing everything for your trip to Finland, you should remember the three layers rule:

• • The first, closest to your body, must be hot but “breathing’’: materials such as wool or synthetics. This layer but must breathe enough to evacuate your sweat (and not to retain it),
  • The second will keep you warm, then it depends on the activities you will have during your stay. Having a snowshoe excursion, or skii afternoon, you need something quite breathable, such as a fleece for exemple. On the contrary, for a snowmobile or husky tour, you could choose a windbreak or synthetic sweater,
  • The last layer will be the winter overall we can provide, but for short walks in Rovaniemi city center, a ski coat will be enough.

For trousers, jeans are banned: they are too thin, not warm enough, and they freeze fast. A ski trouser is perfect to walk around. Below, you can wear leggings, you will feel comfortable and warm: many different ones exist, some are comfortable made of synthetic fabrics, but you can also find some with fleece lining.

Finally, keep in mind that the parts of the human body feeling cold first are ends (feets, hands, ears…). We recommend wearing woolen socks (avoid the cotton): you can make layers with cotton and woolen socks, but maximum two (more would not help, and make you feel cold). For your hands, we recommend mittens rather than gloves, because the fingers help keep eachother warm (if you already have extreme cold gloves, you can take it)

Remember also to have several hats, to change if the first is wet.

Packing for a trip to Lapland

To conclude, here are the essential elements to keep in mind when you pack your case to visit finnish Lapland:

• • Chose materials such as wool and synthetics,
  • Too many clothes are better than not enough,
  • You have to dress depending on the activity of the day.

Where to rent equipment for exteme cold in Rovaniemi?

You can rent some extreme cold equipment with us: if you think you will not be equipped enough to face the cold (or if you need to lighten your case!), we can provide extreme cold clothes in Rovaniemi. Click here for further informationa bout renting equipment.