I went with the Patagonia Nano Puff Hoody which is made from synthetic down so it isn’t quite as compressible or light as a down jacket (it’s 292 g / 10.3 oz), but it isn’t a huge difference. This was one of the few times he wore the hood up as it was so cold and windy on Suomenlinna Island. Simon is his Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down jacket which he usually wore with a t-shirt and fleece (plus sometimes an Icebreaker top) beneath.
If space and weight are limited this is an excellent option. It really is insanely light (only 219 g / 7.7 oz) but kept Simon remarkably warm. Simon travelled to Finland with the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer down jacket which is the world’s lightest full-featured down jacket with 800 fill power which is about the best you can get. Synthetic jackets aren’t quite as warm or compressible, but they work better in wet weather. Patagonia and Mountain Hardwear use ethically sourced feathers or you could choose a synthetic down jacket instead. There are also ethical considerations as sometimes the feathers are plucked from live birds. The downsides are that it stops being warm when wet and takes ages to dry, so you’ll need to wear a rain jacket over it in very wet conditions. Goose down has the highest warmth to weight ratio-it keeps you toasty in a tiny package. They usually have a nylon outer shell which is windproof and water resistant. The secret to packing light for cold weather is a puffy insulated jacket which is warm, ultra lightweight, and highly compressible so it’s easy to pack. If I’d been travelling to multiple climates, I would have left it behind.īack to Contents Take a Light, Packable Down Jacket My knee length wool coat was my luxury item on this trip-it’s not at all packable, but as I wore it on travel days it didn’t matter, and I liked having something smarter for Helsinki. If you are only travelling to a cold climate, you can break the rules slightly and take a heavier jacket, as long as you can wear it on travel days.
Winter road trip checklist plus#
Erin on Suomenlinna island wearing her wool coat with multiple layers beneath, plus hat, scarf, gloves, jeans, and boots. Make sure you pack thick socks, a woolly hat, scarf, and gloves as these don’t take up much space but make a big difference. We now travel with the light Marmot PreCip Eco Jacket, which packs down into its own pocket and features pockets, a hood, and pit zips. We didn’t find this necessary in Finland, but it was an essential part of our Iceland packing list. If you’ll be hiking or expect heavy rain, you might also want to take a lightweight waterproof jacket to wear over your down jacket. Simon didn’t bother with these, but I wore my leggings in Lapland either under my ski trousers (which I rented) or my PrAna travel trousers. If it’s very cold, a pair of thermal leggings (long johns) can be worn under your trousers and are also useful for sleeping in. You can also wash your base layers more often-it’s easier to wash a t-shirt than a jumper.Ī good layer system is a t-shirt, a lightweight but warm long sleeved top (merino wool is ideal), a fleece, and a packable down jacket (more on those below). If you are wondering what to pack for cold weather, the answer is lots of layers!īy packing layers, rather than one heavy jacket, you can adapt to changing weather conditions and your luggage will be lighter. I also highly recommend packing winter travel clothes made from merino wool, as it’s not only warm and lightweight, but also odour-resistant so you can wear it multiple times without needing to wash it.
We can travel for over a decade with just carry-on luggage because we never pack more clothes than we need for a week.Īlthough our Finland trip was only 10 days, we packed the same as we would have for three months, so the length of your vacation doesn’t matter.Īfter a week, you can do laundry, either in your hotel sink, as we did in Finland (I used the hotel shampoo), find a laundrette, or stay in a rental with washing machine.Ĭold weather travel is actually easier as the same clothes can be worn more often than in hot sweaty weather, so we had to do less laundry than usual.
Winter road trip checklist how to#
While it can be trickier than for a beach holiday, there’s no reason why you can’t pack light for winter travel too.įor the last decade we’ve been travelling full-time with just carry-on luggage and have travelled to cold climates many times.īelow you’ll find our tips on how to pack light for cold weather and an example packing list for cold weather that we used for a 10-day trip to Finland. Packing light for cold weather seems impossible to many people.
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