How to dress warmly while packing lightly for winter

Dressing warmly while packing lightly? That seems like a contradiction. However, it is possible to do it without spending tons of money.

Packing light for air travel

Ideally, what I strive for is to travel while having all my belongings in two bags.

My personal bag, a Tenba Solstice 20L camera bag, easily slips under the seat. I keep some snacks, earbuds, and a USB charger inside along with two DSLR cameras, two to three lenses, and photography accessories.

I put my clothes, including many of the warm clothes, in a WANDRD Hexad Access Duffel Backpack. This allows me to cruise through airports, stuff the duffel bag onto the overhead bins. Inside, I am able to fit the clothing I describe below plus more. Also inside are my camera battery chargers, toiletries, several bamboo T-shirts, and a tripod. Because I use warm clothes that are packable, I am able to fit this all in for trips that are over a week long without an issue.

Feet

I like to wear waterproof boots, which I of course wear on the plane. If your boots are not waterproof, you can spray it with Scotchgard or Kiwi. If you are going to remain warm during the winter, this also means remaining dry. I also spray the bottom of my pants with Scotchgard.

I wear Time May Tell merino wool socks. If it’s cold out, I wear two. If it’s really really cold, I will also use Hot Hands Toe Warmers. These are single use air-activated heat packs. So far, the merino wool socks have worked well for me. They have lasted through a lot of hiking. Furthermore, since merino wool has anti-bacterial properties and wick away moisture, they don’t stink. Fantastic. As a bonus, they’re not expensive.

Legs

Admittedly, I could do better here. I currently have been wearing Duluth Trading pants because they’re cheap and warm. They’re not waterproof, however. That’s where the Scotchgard spray comes in. I spray the pants with that and it seems to work. However, something that does better at staying dry and is more flexible might be a better choice. A good choice might be pants that shed water and are fleeced for extra warmth.

If it’s really cold, I also wear a heavyweight base layer from 32 Degrees. It’s warm and nice. It’s also $7.99. That’s not a misprint. If it’s really cold, I tuck the base layer inside the top of my socks.

Torso

32 Degrees to the rescue again. 32 Degrees is a great place to pick up really inexpensive clothing that keeps you warm. I start with a heavyweight base layer. The top is also $7.99. Not bad, eh?

I follow this up with an Unbound Merino hoodie. This is admittedly not cheap, as it currently sells for $175, but you can find it on eBay for cheaper. But what this does is regulate temperature while remaining dry and keeping bacteria at bay. In other words, once again, it doesn’t stink. You can where this for multiple days and it will not smell. Nice. Unbound Merino also has socks, base layers, sweaters, and lots of other goodies. They will cost you a lot more than some of the other companies, but their products are solid, and their merino wool incredibly soft.

Then, it’s back to 32 Degrees, this time with an ultralight down packable jacket. It’s not the warmest, but with layers, it works fine.

If you want greater warmth while still being packable, this Coalatree camper hooded jacket looks promising. You can pack it into a stuff sack, it’s allegedly good down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-6.66 Celsius), and it has plenty of pockets for that night photographer on the go. It also does well at keeping you dry.

Hands

As with your feet, it’s important to keep your hands warm. I wrote an article entitled “Can you get good warm photography gloves for under $20?” Good news! It turns out you can. But for some of these cold evenings I’ve experienced lately, Hot Hands can help quite a bit. I also have ski gloves should it come to that, but so far, the Hot Hands have worked out quite well.

Head

Right now, I am wearing a thick wool cap to keep my head warm. But during one of our night photography photo shoots in Kansas, the temperature dropped to as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-9.44 Celsius). This was brutally cold. Although I was otherwise warm, my face got incredibly cold. I noticed that I was starting to have trouble talking a bit due to how cold my mouth and face were. Next time, I will use a balaclava such as this by Turtle Fur. It’s more breathable, and I don’t feel that I will ordinarily need their heavier choices.

A word about Hot Hands

I’ve mentioned Hot Hands products several times now. These are handy to keep around. They can also act as dew heaters if you wrap them around your lens. But more importantly, they can keep your hands and feet warm during extreme cold.

They are wasteful, as they are single-use air-activated heat packs. You tear open the plastic packaging. They come in contact with air and become hot, lasting for several hours. Then, unfortunately, you throw them away. I rarely use these, so I justify it by thinking that it’s better that my hands and feet stay very warm in subfreezing temperatures. And they do work very effectively.

However, if I were to photograph in subfreezing temperatures on a regular basis, I would look into something else. If you have any suggestions for something less wasteful but still effective, please let us know in the comments! Also, let us know any tips you might have for dressing warm while packing light!