Dressing in Layers

Dressing in layers always makes sense. But in the challenging climate of the Arctic, it’s key. Here’s a short guide on what to avoid and what to go for.

Being comfortable in the cold Arctic winter is as much about keeping warm as it is about keeping cool. If you’re stationary for a long time, e.g watching and photographing wildlife, you’ll appreciate warm clothes. But as soon as you start moving, you might be getting hot. Breaking sweat will leave your clothes wet, and that’s when you’ll start getting really cold. Therefore, even more important than being cozy warm is avoiding to start sweating. That’s when layers are coming into play.

We usually wear a merino base layer (shirt and long johns). Unless it’s extremely cold, we just add a fleece jacket and a warm parka and warm ski pants. On especially cold or windy days, an additional layer might be useful. Fleece pants and a light down jacket as additional midlayers work great. With this setup, you can always adapt the layers depending on your activity.

But layering doesn’t stop there. We even wear multiple layers of gloves. A thin liner will help to keep your fingers from freezing while taking photos. Heavy mitts that are big enough to fit over your liners will keep you warm the for rest of the day. And if not, you can always add chemical hand warmers in the mix.

Even winter boots rated up to -70°C (-100°F) will not necessarily keep your feet warm. They need to be big enough for as many socks and foot warmers you are planning to use while still allowing for some wiggle room for your toes. Sizing up at least one size is a good starting point. We usually just wear one heavy wool sock, but some like to wear a thin liner, too.

And finally, your head. You’ll loose most of the heat at your head. Therefore, keeping it warm is important. Especially with high wind chills, it’s also important to cover any exposed skin. For us, a combination of a balaclava, one or two buffs/neck gaiters and a toque/beanie or trapper hat have worked even below -40°C (-40°F). And you can always pull up the hood of your parka for additional protection.

To protect your eyes and cover the cutouts of the balaclava, ski goggles are best suited. No, you don’t need to layer those… But absolutely bring a spare pair as they will eventually fog up and freeze.

With this, stay warm, but not too hot!