Anyone been to a really cold place? Ukraine in February! Advice pls

[MirandaGoshawk]

DS has a friend (24) who wants to spend his birthday somewhere different, so he, DS and another lad are going to Kiev, Ukraine for a long weekend. The weather forecast is for blizzards, and temperatures of -10, "feels like -12" with the wind chill. He is going to buy thermal underwear but will he need special clothing? What about boots? Will ordinary work boots and thick socks be OK? Any other advice, please? None of us has been skiing and we have no experience of cold outside the UK.

I believe if you wish to visit Ukraine, you will need to apply and pay for a visa before travel, so suggest investigating this in advance of travel. I visited Iceland in January, it was cold, snow, ice, but the strong wind made it feel much colder. I recommend waterproof/windproof coat, gloves, hat, scarf, good walking boots. I didn't buy any new clothes, just used what I already had.

No visa needed (see pic).
Layers are the secret to warmth - thermal underwear, long sleeved top over that, fleece overr that, skiing or other cold-weather jacket over that at the very least. Gillets are good for an extra layer of warmth.

Thank you both. No, we did look into visas, thanks.

I used to live in Austria and have been to some very chilly places in China - I think the key is plenty of layers, Uniqlo heat tech stuff is good and not expensive. What about this?
grabberwarmers.com/
We were in Prague over 20 years ago and it was -16 and some lovely Japanese tourists gave us something like this - looked like a giant hot teabag! Was brilliant!

Just wondering what's ordinary boots for you. Is there some insulation layer in your winter boots or none at all, just leather? If the second, then boots + thick socks is not enough. As for outwear, a down coat or a ski jacket will do, they are warm enough for ' -10 feels like -12' :)

-12 is fine. Work boots and thick socks, a down coat, hat and gloves. Thermal leggings under jeans if they'll be out a lot.

I went to Belarus on business once and it was -28C. That was a bit nippy in formal wear!

I used to live in central Asia - 6 month long winters, midday average -20.

1. boots. His feet will be cold, even in work boot sand thick socks. But unless he is planning to do a lot of walking, they will do. Fur lined boots are the idela!
2. coat - thick down jacket. Preferably not too short! we always had coats which came over our bum.
3. thermals - yes, but. Indoors will probably be really hot. So he may be better in thin layers he can remove, so he can take layers off when indoors. Thermal longjohns pretty essential though, as his coat doesn't cover his legs.
4. He must take gloves. Ordinary ones are probably fine, doesn't really need thick ski ones, but he must have some.

5 scarf - very usful for wrapping round the bottom of your face in the wind. 6 hat, another essential. Best one to get is one which covers the ears. A decent beanie is fine, as long as it s big enough to come down over the ears. If his coat has a hood, (not essential) then beanie plus hood is perfect.

Unless they are outside all day, you shouldn;t need to buy special stuff, just plan a bit!

You can get disposable hand and foot warmers for a few pounds from ski shops/internet/Halfords that you put in your shoes/gloves/pockets. They can make a great difference when you are outside in sub zero temperatures.

Ooh the hand warmers sound good! Thank you all for your advice. And Steppemum - Wow!

Noseyparrot - boots are thick leather, no insulation. Maybe two thin layers of socks?

He has a furry hat with earflaps, and some thermal gloves. He is buying thin thermal layers. I will tell him about the rest - thank you.

You can buy grips that go over the soles of boots if it's icy or snowy - just pull on /off - so useful and light to pack.

Boots like timberlands with thick socks will be fine in town. He will only need snow boots if actually planning trudging through thick snow in the mountains.

Lived in Prague one winter. Got colder than that. Was fine (I mean, cold, but fine) with thermal longjohns/vest under jeans, top and jumper and sometimes a polar neck body top as well as vest (was in the days of the body top :D), good boots - yes, I seem to remember two pairs of socks - and a very warm wool coat. Scarf, hat & gloves obvs. I walked around a lot which helps. There are always cloakrooms or coat racks in pubs etc which makes having loads of layers much less irritating.

I've been to the Finnish arctic lots during the winter and would advise the following:

A hooded down jacket with a decent fill - 600+
A warm hat - double layer if possible
Mittens, with inner liner gloves
Decent boots - with properly warm socks (wool mix)
Non-jean trousers - jeans are the coldest trousers ever in those conditions!
A thick scarf or buff that can be pulled up over the face
Lip salve

If he is going to spend any time out of doors, not just travelling between hotels, he will also need thermals. My preference is for merino (which you should be able to get cheaply at this time of year from Aldi).

I've been out in -35 and it felt like I was wearing a bikini, even though I was fully clothed in proper winter gear. Siberia could be the same or lower, so he shouldn't underestimate how cold it could get.

One of my DC just back from Ukraine.
Main takeaway on clothing was that indoors was really really warm, and she wished she'd had vest tops to wear.( She is young, and tends to wear less than me)

DC was in a city, wore DMs on feet , thick socks, thermal undies, a jacket that I wouldn't have worn in snow conditions in this country, but she would have. She was fine.Obvs, hat, gloves,scarf.

It was - 10 on arrival, but usually only- 2 to - 5.

If they're young, don't feel the cold as much. So what they'd wear on a really really cold snow day in UK should be fine.
Depends though, on what you're doing: prolonged outdoor activities would require more thought.

• 10 is cold, and needs appropriate clothing, but it's not artic. Below - 15 or so, that's a different ball game.

Kiev sounds fantastic, I want to visit now.

You could get some thermal/insulated soles to put in the boots.

The boots are the most important thing imo. The thicker the soles the better. Some (cheap) insulated walking boots would make a really big difference.

You can get insoles with aluminium coating, not sure exactly how they work - reflect the cold back?? Anyway they are quite cheap so probably worth trying.

Otherwise no need to go too crazy, ime. I don't like thermals under trousers, particularly as it will be hot indoors. I wouldn't say you need thermals at -10 anyway.

Jeans tend to absorb the cold and wet, so better to avoid.

A jumper and socks with a bit of wool in, a warm hat that covers the ears and a scarf, possibly a thin pair of gloves with a thick pair over. A warm coat.
Try not to leave any skin exposed at ankles, neck or wrists (ie tuck gloves into cuffs, make sure socks are long enough, tuck scarf in properly). And he'll be fine.

I went to Ukraine and Russia in March many year ago. One thing to be aware of is that public places, museumds, galleries, theatres etc., are generally very well heated in winter, and that you are expected to take off your outer garment (coat etc.) when you go in and leave it in the cloakroom.

and I should have added, to keep your coat on is very некультурный (uncultured) and frowned upon.

Thank you all for your advice. He is back safely. The twit didn't listen to his mother and didn't take his gloves because they were bulky - he went with Ryanair and only had a small baggage allowance. He wished he had, said his skin stung from the cold! He was surprised at how icy the pavements were, with old people seeming to be a lot more agile than we are. He said that Kiev was a lot more 'old-school Russian' than he had expected. They enjoyed the trip to Chernobyl.