Lapland in winter is an amazing bucket list experience that I highly recommend doing, especially if you’ve always dreamed of seeing the Northern Lights – but you definitely have to be prepared for the cold! If you’ve never been in negative temperatures, you freeze pretty fast without the proper gear to keep you safe (and frostbite is a real concern out there). Here’s what I recommend packing based on my own trip. In general, you just want one good gear setup, and you’ll re-wear all those same layers every day of the trip.
- Minimum 2 pairs of heavy-weight 100% wool base layers (top and bottom). Here are tops and bottoms you can get from Amazon!
- Ski pants
- Ski jacket (or equivalent jacket rated for negative temperatures)
- Fleece-lined pants to go between your base layers and ski pants
- Thinner thermal jackets for between your coat and base layer, like a fleece or puffer. I layered two thin zip-up thermal tech jackets between them. Or invest in an electrically heated jacket (you’ll want it to be a tight fit so you feel the warmth)!
- Balaclava – you’ll want a basic version like this and maybe a fleece one like this too
- 2 thermal face buffs – I usually wore one or two of these over my balaclava
- Minimum 3 pairs of wool socks (I also like these thermal socks that are really plush on the inside); while you definitely need wool socks, I also really liked these thermal socks from Amazon
- Electric hand warmers (these came in clutch for me, especially when I often pulled my hands out of my gloves to take photos) – these are the ones I used from Amazon
- Gloves rated for low temps – I recommend thick waterproof mittens since mittens retain heat better and are easier to pull on and off
- Winter boots for walking around (most outdoorsy activities will provide boots to wear)
- Wool hat or some sort of other thermal tech hat
- Wool headband for wearing under your hat
- One-time use foot/toe warmers to put in your boots – I used the toe warmers from HotHands
- One-time use hand warmers to put in your gloves
- For glasses wearers – if you can wear contacts, you’re better off with them for the whole trip because glasses easily fog up in these temperatures or can contribute to your cheek getting frostbite where your glasses touch your face. If contacts aren’t an option, it might be worth looking into prescription ski goggles for activities. I did survive my whole trip with glasses on, but it was a pain to deal with.
- Face and body lotions because the cold air is very drying, as well as good chapstick
- Thin liner gloves that are touch-screen compatible can be handy to wear under your mittens if you want a little more cold resistance when pulling your hand out to take pictures.
- Face sunscreen – I love this Japanese sunscreen because it goes on like a clear gel and isn’t greasy, and it’s cheap!
- Plug converter for your electronics – this is the one I use for every international trip I go on!
- A battery pack that’s at least 10,000 mAh so you can recharge your phone on the go. The low temps drain batteries fast so I always recommend keeping your phone on low power mode and inside your pockets as much as possible. This is the one I use!
When you book activities in Lapland, most of them will provide you with additional gear, especially when temperatures are below zero Fahrenheit. Every activity we did provided a snowsuit that we put over all our other layers (even over your coats and such), extra balaclavas, bigger boots because you need to size up when layering multiple pairs of socks, extra wool socks, heavier gloves, etc.
Generally, when it’s below zero, there’s no such thing as too many layers. If you get hot you can always unzip a jacket. But considering wind chill factors when doing activities like snowmobiling and dogsledding, trust me, you’ll want ALL the layers.
That all said, don’t let all of this scare you from going to northern Finland and Sweden! Whether you’re there to go Northern Lights hunting, do winter sports, or just enjoy the winter wonderland experience that it is, it’s definitely a trip you won’t forget!
