Northern Norway ( Tromso) in winter - clothing

nwc389

We are staying in Tromso for 4 nights in February next year as a trip to celebrate a 60th birthday .
Has anyone any advice or suggestions on clothing and where to buy stuff in the uk . It's a one off holiday , we don't go hiking or do winter sport so we don't have any stuff other than normal winter clothes suitable for winter in North East England !
While I don't want to be freezing I don't want to go over the top with the cost of stuff that I won't get any more use from .

daveyjp

Decent base layers, both top and bottom. Merino wool is excellent. Then layer T shirt, long sleeve fleece, down coat, decent gloves and fleece lined walking trousers, a fleece snood is better than a scarf.

Norwegians wear wool jumpers with a thick fleece filling. I have a couple from trips to Norway and Iceland and they are amazing, but not cheap.

Avoid jeans. They don't keep you warm and don't dry quickly once wet.

All the above can be worn in winter in the UK so you will get use from them. As for outlets Go Outdoors will start having winter stock soon as will TK Maxx.

Shimrod

I'll second what daveyjp says! Fleece lined trousers are also useful in winter if you are spectating at an outside event. They look like normal trousers but are a bit thicker - I have a couple of pairs of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/CRAGHOPPERS-Winter-Lined-Trousers-Length/dp/B004KQGJHS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1437823049&sr=8-3&keywords=craghopper+fleece+lined+trousers - I find them more comfortable than wearing thermals.
I've also found go outdoors to be the cheapest, but you could take a day trip over to the lakes and visit Ambleside which has several competitively priced outdoor stores

Miró

Hi, I was in Tromso in Feb 2 years ago. As previous posters have recommended but also....don't forget a hat! Those with the furry ear flaps are good - useful even if your jacket has a hood. And footwear with a good grip as can be very icy....I found some Goretex lined boots in TkMaxx for about £25. Also consider getting some of those ice-gripper thingies to attach to your boots, (about a fiver on EBay)....makes walking on ice & snow soon much easier and safer.

Have a great time and hope 'the lights' appear for you!

SavingPennies_2

Sorry, slightly off topic, but did you manage to get direct flights and if so who with and where from? I'm also in the north and investigating a holiday in Norway or Iceland next year.

lovesavingmoney

We were there in Feb for hubby's 40th. I ordered base layers, cheaply from sports direct, and they were fine. We actually only really wore the base/skin gloves, even when were out on our Northern lights tour - sat in the snow!

We hired the full kit from Tromso Outdoor for 24 hour hire for our tour, and the snow mobile tour we booked, included it all, so I wouldn't fork out on all the outer wear. Tromso Outdoor were brilliant - Although you order the sizes when you book, you try it all on in the store, to make sure it's comfortable, which was great, as it was a surprise for my hubby, so he had to change some of it.

Only thing we didn't have - which I would recommend, are shoe spikes. Hubby fell over on the first night, as the ice is so thick on the roads & paths.

Also - be aware - it is mega expensive to eat/drink!!

nwc389

Cheers for the replies , you have given me some good stuff to start searching for .
I didn't get direct flights , they are from gatwick and there was no flight from newcastle to gatwick so I have booked on Norwegian from Edinburgh with a short stopover in Oslo. The flight inc the stop is about 6 hours . I am planning to book the train to Edinburgh and stopover at an airport hotel for a morning flight . It didn't work out much more expensive than the gattwick flights even with the hotel factored in .
The return flight is an early morning one from Tromso (6.30 ) but I did look at a later option flying to Heathrow ( stopping in Oslo) and then a connecting flight to newcastle but OH wasn't keen on that one.

nwc389

lovesavingmoney wrote: »

We were there in Feb for hubby's 40th. I ordered base layers, cheaply from sports direct, and they were fine. We actually only really wore the base/skin gloves, even when were out on our Northern lights tour - sat in the snow!

We hired the full kit from Tromso Outdoor for 24 hour hire for our tour, and the snow mobile tour we booked, included it all, so I wouldn't fork out on all the outer wear. Tromso Outdoor were brilliant - Although you order the sizes when you book, you try it all on in the store, to make sure it's comfortable, which was great, as it was a surprise for my hubby, so he had to change some of it.

Only thing we didn't have - which I would recommend, are shoe spikes. Hubby fell over on the first night, as the ice is so thick on the roads & paths.

Also - be aware - it is mega expensive to eat/drink!!

What did you find comfortable just walking around Tromso ? I know I will need the full kit for the lights tour and the dog sledding I want to do but we also want to visit the polar museum and the Arctic cathedral . I am definitely planning on buying the spikes !

barbarawright

nwc389 wrote: »

What did you find comfortable just walking around Tromso ? I know I will need the full kit for the lights tour and the dog sledding I want to do but we also want to visit the polar museum and the Arctic cathedral . I am definitely planning on buying the spikes !

The lights trip and dog-sledding might well include hire of proper winter clothing - they don't want people to get hypothermia. Worth checking anyway

Crispy_Ambulance

Keep an eye out for Aldi having winter outdoors clothes in - they are a good make and pretty good value.

maisie06

Mountain Warehouse have some decent stuff in, get base layers and go from there, I would be surprised if you didn't get more use from good kit as our horrid wet winters will warrant wearing it again!! Get the ice grips too, well worth the £10 ish they cost - have a wondeful time!