Girlfriend going to Finland. Gear recommendations please!

[Lone_Bullet]

Hey there!

 

Being in love with Scandinavia as a whole, we went to Stavanger, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden before.

So, in general, we know what kind of Ruck and boots we need. But that was in summertime...

 

Now, In wintertime, temps can reach -25°C where my gf goes. That's Kopio, Finland.

So I really need some clothing recommendations.

 

For boots, I'm quite set on Lowa at the moment, though I can't make up my mind whether I'd go Gore-Tex or genuine leather.

Normal allround trekking boots or really cold weather boots? I don't know, I don't want to buy €200 boots just for one trip.

We'll need a good brand of isolating trekking socks to go with the boots.

 

For gloves, I was thinking of some Camelbak Cold Weather Gloves.

Don't know if they insulate enough, but we do have some ski gloves as well, but she'll lose a lot of dexterity.

 

I'm completely undecided what brand of thermal underwear (long sleeved) we need.

Also, a good thermal insulating pants and vest would be good. Preferably no normal ski-clothing as they're uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time.

Could I go with the usual TheNorthFace and Jack Wolfskin with these? Or are they overrated?

 

Please, some help here

[Teekoo]

Pretty difficult question. So if I understood right, you're about to play airsoft? While playing, I haven't needed really cold weather boots, just winter gore-tex shoes, that are a bit warmer than normal trekking boots, with two socks if it's really cold. I think that leather boots would be pretty cold if you play and it's like 10-30 cm snow, when basically your feet are always under snow, but then again, a friend of mine uses desert boots during winter, so it really depends how much your feet can stand the cold. If you mean with really cold weather boots something like this: http://www.varusteleka.com/en/product/mil-tec-snow-boots-arctic/18043/ , I don't see a point unless you're about to stand hours in same spot or it really is -30 degrees.

 

As for gloves, I'm not too concerned about the dexterity. If you don't wear proper gloves, you won't be able to move your hand at all. It's much nicer if you have warm gloves and because of that you lose some dexterity. You might be ok with those Camelbak gloves if it's not very cold, maybe under -10°C

 

I don't see a point of using money to a high tech underwear. It's all about layers. First layer must be moisture wicking and then something that absorbs the moisture. Wool is great material. Period. But remember layers, the air that remains between clothing layers is the best insulation that you can get. 

 

The NorthFace and Jack Wolfskin sounds good. Don't make clothing too difficult, and take some extra clothes with you, so you can add or remove layers when needed. And keep moving, especially your toes and fingers. If you play airsoft, get a snow suit. At the moment, there are 10-60 cm snow everywhere. Always remember to keep yourself warm, frost bites are annoying.

I was playing a few weeks ago, it was around -15- -10°C. I had Italian snowsuit from '60s (just one layer of cotton), Bundeswehr issue goretex suit, wool jersey, fleece pants and jersey and a moisture wicking underwear and I was good to go. In head I had a watch cap and toque. Gloves were normal bulky winter gloves.

We moved the whole day, so it was right choice to use gore-tex suit instead of normal winter jacket and pants.

 

Btw, welcome to Finland. 

[Lone_Bullet]

ty for the welcome in any case ^^.

But yeh, since this is an airsoftforum I should've mentioned that she's there on an Erasmus Project. So no airsoft, sorry ^^.

 

She'll be traveling a lot, standing still a lot, passing mostly in urban areas but she'll be curious about the green ( white ^^ ) surroundings as well.

 

But in any case I get that layers are important. I'll keep that in mind .

Good advice on the goretex boots also, that's means she can use the same boots in +15°C also, since they should be breathable?

I only have experience with leather, thus my question. 2nd layer of socks is noted .

 

As for the hi-tech underwear, well it's an extra layer to wear when it's really cold outside.

Since she'll be there from februari till mid may, she'll have to be flexible when it comes to clothes, going from deep winter to mid spring.

Correct me if I'm wrong here :$.

 

Oh and... Women are quite vulnerable to feeling uncomfortable cold here in Belgium.

Where as I feel fine at 19°C indoors , she really wants 21°C and so on

[Zmarre]

Last winter I visited a friend of mine in Jyvaskylla, who was there on Erasmus as well. Went out every day, sometimes on foot, sometimes on bike. I just wore the same wintercloathing as in Belgium... You know it was -20 here in Belgium last year as well?

 

/edit: and another thing: I know that we, airsofters, find it better than sex to wear tactical gear for every day use, but we are a rearer kind of people... I would just take your girlfriend to the Makro, and let her choose a nice padded warm wintervest and some nice female fur-lined boots. Just like what all girls all over the world in cold regions wear...

[Teekoo]

Well, I agree with Zmarre, just wear what you would wear in Belgium. It's not that cold all the time.

[bombermonk]

As i am the friend who zmarre visited, and i'm usually quite cold.

The only time I needed thermal underwear was when driving my bike to school at -20 temperatures (it will get colder in winter than that).  just because my skin doesn't like cold jeans

I wore some miltec desertboots with a pair of decent socks, nothing fancy. Get a decent waterproof jacket with a fleece liner in it and you're good to go.

Decent gloves are nice as well, preferably the ones without fingers as they usually keep the heat in better.

[Danke]

Coming from a snowy climate (sadly).

 

Some sort of thermal or merino wool underwear. Then a fleece layer. Then a windproof layer. Insulated coat or vest if where she's going is damp or colder than -10c.

 

Hat, scarf and mittens (I think what the previous poster meant by gloves with no fingers).

 

Winter boots, something like the links below with some nice merino wool socks. Skip leather and other fashion boots as they are miserable in the damp and cold.

 

http://www.softmoc.com/ca/systemshow-item_INL1495-011

 

http://www.keenfootwear.com/ca/en/product/shoes/women/trailhead/sunriver%20high%20boot

[Lone_Bullet]

Alright, this answers things quite abit. thanks a lot and have a good end of year!

[Tubal]

I'm a bit late to the party, but I figure it's better late then never. It's hard to give advice when you don't quite know what she'll be doing though. Google says Erasmus is an exchange student program, so it's unrelated to the outdoors clothing?

 

I wear tall leather boots with double wool socks year round. In the summer it soaks up sweat and water (switch the outer sock if you get wet) and in the winter it's insulation. If it's cold enough that the snow doesn't melt you don't really need any more waterproofing than greased up leather provides.

 

As for clothing make sure everything is covered in two layers at least. I use bamboo fiber long sleeved and long legged underwear under my BDU's when I play. Leather gloves with an insulation glove underneath, generally wool. A wool scarf takes care of the neck.

I prefer to have an extra hat with me: one lighter that I can sweat in, and one thicker that I use when standing around.

 

Two layers means everything dries quicker when you get in, and that you can switch out stuff if you get wet. A regular tshirt between the underwear and the outerwear lets you remove a lot of backpack-sweat when you take breaks.

When I play airsoft I also roll around in the snow a lot, so a snow suit over the top keeps snow from melting on you, especially on the lower legs, aside from the camouflage effect.

 

Good luck