Lapland Trip - socks and other layering!

[earlgreymarl]

First trip coming up with DS6. Very excited. Perplexed by layering and what socks!

For anyone who has been, what socks are best for under the thick merino ones? I saw that silk socks are good. but they are pricey, especially to have a pair for each day.

I hear cotton socks are a no no - what do others do?

Also, will we be ok with base layers, joggers or thermal leggings, and a fleece - do we need something between the base layer and fleece? We will have snow suits provided.

Thanks for any advice.

Check out Odlo. They do under layers - socks, and gloves. A good Swiss Brand for cold weather!!!

Mitten type gloves are best to retain heat as gloves expose more finger surface area but with the underlayer gloves on it does help. (As mittens aren't practical sometimes. )

You can also get insulated shoe inners which add extra warmth to your feet.

Thank you Mick! We are sorted on the gloves and mittens front!

When are you going? We're going in 3.5 weeks but no snow yet 😭

We've just got ski socks from decathlon. Also base layers, snoods and ski gloves from there too. Will be wearing fleeces and joggers or thick pj bottoms over the top and those cheapo gloves under the ski ones. I've got single use hand warmers too. Think that's about it.

Hi Wreck, we go on 14 Dec & yes I am a bit worried about the lack of snow! Fingers crossed!

Sounds like we are along the same lines in terms of kit so far.

I went when my little one was 5. It was the best fun ever but was freezing cold.....

We had lots of layers. Base layers and thermal and then either a jumper or a fleece

We had tights thermal Legging tracksuit bottoms and then the show shout provided.

For your feet we had minimum 5 pairs of socks on. Tights cotton socks ski socks and then the thermal wool socks provided

Hands we had hand warmers with us for our DD and we had base gloves then we had the ski gloves and they gave us some too.

Some people didn’t wear enough layers and their children were cold. It really ruins it. Please please wear loads of layers. You can always remove them but once you are cold it becomes miserable. There were a lot of cold crying children especially the hands!!!! Wrap up as warm as you can and make sure you take hand warmers for emergencies. I even put them in her shoes to keep her warm. Worked a treat!

CPP thank you, this is what I fear! I will add an extra layer into the mix. I did feel sceptical of the 3 layers only! Have got the hand and feet warmers.

In the hotel / restaurant did you just have the mid layers on the usual attire?

We have been to Lapland five times in temperatures varying from 0 degrees to -30.

You'll need: wicking (merino wool or synthetic NOT cotton) baselayers (good, cheap ones from Decathlon or Uniqlo)
silk sock liners (adult ones about £8 at Decathlon)
wool socks with no cotton content (John Lewis do kids pure wool school socks which are great for this and then TKMaxx for adults), fluffy slipper-type socks,
heatholder socks,
fleece round neck jumpers,
fleece bottoms (get cheap PJs from Primark for children and we've got ours from Decathlon in the past but can't see any on their website at the moment
Warmer, heavier zip up fleece

Try to avoid cotton. When you warm up you may sweat and the sweat gets absorbed in the cotton leaving you damp and cold.

Silk glove liners, then fleece gloves and finally mittens, rather than gloves on top. The best brand for kids is Heska. They are quite expensive but absolutely worth it and you'll get most of your money back if you ebay them. Decathlon or Trespass do much cheaper and perfectly good adult ones.

We also take a few pairs of cheaper, insulated waterproof gloves for the children as they get wet quickly when they are playing in the snow.

I suggest you take at least 2 ear-covering hats for everyone too and a balaclava or buff for your son.

Don't worry to much about buying lots of sets/pairs. Your accommodation will have a drying cupboard so you can wash and dry things quickly.

Finland is super-casual so we just tend wear our base layer or fleece bottoms and tops inside (the Uniqlo ladies ones just look like regular tops)

Get windstopper hats from a reputable outdoor shop. At those temperatures, normal warm hats are no match for the biting wind. Neck gaiters (also available in windstopper fabric) are useful as you can pull them up to cover your chin/mouth. Like others have said, decent base layers and no cotton layers over. Definitely mittens. If you plan snowmobile trips or similar, ski goggles shield from cold as well as reduce glare from the snow. Those chemical, reusable handwarmers that you click & they heat up are useful for buying extra outdoor time on trips - fit best in mittens. If you have a kettle in your accommodation, pot noodles or similar are good ballast between meals & light to pack - the cold makes you hungry. Vaseline/water free moisturiser for chapped lips & dry skin - the cold can be very drying.

It's only going below freezing there the odd day at the moment. I'm going to wait a couple of weeks to see what the weathers going to be like before I buy any more.

boat twig that's perfect thanks. I have spent so much time looking this stuff up bit obviously should have posted here first! 😂 Thank you.

I've not heard of uniqlo but will be going to London before we go so I'll definitely be going there it looks really good.

If you're moving around and you're wearing the snow suits with good merino base layers and mittens and good socks, the only other thing you might like is a snood or balaclava if the wind chill picks up. I've been when it's been -35 (late jan/feb time) and still been too hot to wear more than a fleece and thermals. Only the feet and face felt the chill. Snow boots with a good grip are really nice to have. Have a magical time! It's one of the most beautiful places in the world!

We are going to North Sweden -20. I've bought lots of Merino base layers from Poland o pyret. Plus normal thermals to double up. Proper ski gloves from snow & Rock. Merino balaclava. And fleece mid layers.

I'm worried I don't have enough mid layers!

Hope you have a great time.

Thank you Patty and living and hope you have fun too!!