Wow thanks for ur detailed info! Then I better bring extra socks

Those are called heat packs. Not too common here though. Therapy, for winter etc etc. There are a lot of brands, made from different countries. Few people that I know used to use them but not me. Not too useful for me lol.

Socks are very important. There are those types where you won't feel tired/cold even if you walked for the whole day. Bring spares all the time.

heat packs can get from Daiso, rm5 inside got 1 pack which can last for 4,8 or 12hours. but i more prefer battery-operated heated gloves, but being research on the few from ebay, max can only last 2-3hours which i dun think it is sufficient

However, i think heat packs never work for me. I'd rather keep my hands (with gloves) in my bomber jacket's pocket. Now that's what I call warm hands.

Yea, I've seen before in Daiso and actually bought before but it was hopeless and useless. But the ones I saw overseas were of pretty good quality and lasted much longer than Daiso's. Well, can't expect much for RM5.

Haven't seen anyone selling battery operated gloves in Malaysia. I would think it's gonna be quite big and bulky to put it on.

Clothing Guide

The key to winter dressing is layering. Typically you will have 3-4 layers, which consists of:

A) Base layer or thermal underwear



This is the layer next to your skin. The top can be short sleeve or long sleeve (warmer).

Material can be synthetic (e.g. polyester, polypropylene) or natural like wool. There may be also different thicknesses depending on brand or manufacturer (e.g. some classify as lightweight, midweight, heavyweight).

B) Mid layer



The next layer can be a shirt or jumper/sweater, depending on the look you want. If you are going for business meeting then obviously it would be a shirt. Otherwise for just going out, can be jumper/sweater. Or you can add a vest on top of your shirt:



Again, material can be synthetic or natural and different thicknesses are available. For casual wear I find fleece tops to be comfortable and warm.

C) Outer layer

This is your main insulation layer. If you want the best, go for a down jacket:



This is a jacket filled with combination of feathers and down, so it will be puffy and traps heat. When you buy, check the label to see what is the percentage of feather vs down, e.g. 50% feather / 50% down. The more down the warmer (since down is higher grade), but also more expensive. In overseas they use a more accurate rating called fill power, e.g. 500 fill power is average quality, 600+ is better, 700+ is premium and 800+ is super premium - but jackets sold locally rarely use fill power rating. If you want cheaper then go for synthetic fill instead of down. It won't be as warm, but can still work for you.

If it's not bitterly cold, can also use a fleece jacket:



Note fleece is usually not windproof, unless you get the type with a wind resistant layer.

Of course a down jacket isn't formal enough for business meetings. So for meetings you might want to choose a coat:



For winter you'll need a heavier coat, normally made of wool. However, these can be expensive also.

D) Accessories

Don't forget things like wearing a scarf, gloves and beanie/hat to also keep you warm.

Hope this gives some basic ideas to people about winter dressing. Obviously there are many different types and combinations for you to mix and match.

This post has been edited by jchong: Dec 12 2013, 04:31 PM

Primaloft is a synthetic insulation material: http://www.primaloft.com/en/performance/co...yers-guide.html

Among the different types, Primaloft One is the warmest, but even so it is only equivalent to average grade down (500+ fill power). The higher grade down will be warmer even than Primaloft One.

Oh since this forum post is about winter wear, maybe I can tumpang here. Perhaps, someone can give me some advise. I am going to Japan at the end of November until early December. The average temperature is 12 (the highest) to 2 (the lowest). As I haven't been to a winter country before so I hope someone u can give me some advise on the 'fashion' ...haha. How many layers should I wear ? Is winter jacket , long john, glove , or ear muffer neccessary ? Yeah, I will be out walking and exploring the places. More outdoor than indoor. Thanks.

I planned to have a 6 weeks trip to proceed my project at Taiwan.

May I have any advice out there regarding winter. personally, I always spend my time in aircond room.

I know it is different, because night time would be different temperature as well.

As I was told by my project manager would be around 16c to 20c.


I would like to have suggestion on:-

clothing.

food.

drinks.

medical emergency. (what to bring)



this is my first time to go for a winter situation

There's a thread on winter wear and preparations:
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=972657&hl=

Food & drinks - basically what you can get. People tend to eat and pee more when weather is cold.

For me, most important is to stay warm and also apply lots of lotion as the skin can get very dry and crack up during winter.

But for 16-20 degrees, it's not that cold, like cameron highlands like that. Nothing much to prepare imo. Night time you'll most likely be in a heated room anyway.

Winter in Taiwan is very mild-lah.. If you can survive night time in Cameron Highland, You can survive Taiwan haha. Sweater will do.. Thick one preferable bcos temp during Jan can drop to 10C. BTW, as a guidelein, CH night temp is ~15C and day time from 19C-24C.

glad to hear that. I think shouldn't be any issue ald.

I bought ticket to Shen Zhen China end of this month.
So, I research about the weather there. It is around 12°C-14°C
This is an extreme value for Malaysian. So I was wondering what should I wear during that temperature

I search on Baidu. And some people said that, they are wearing 3 layers of clothes.
For top : An inner layer + normal t-shirt + a jacket
For bottom : Only jeans will do.


like dis enough??

So, any one gone there before in the end of the year?
Is this clothing sufficient?

Maybe I can bring some vitamins or what what in case I cannot survive in that temperature if I'm sick?

A single comment/reply helps.
Appreciate that.

I will trf this to winter clothing soon.. No Thick sweater will do.. It's not extreme. If extreme, it's below negative 5C

I looked up the weather in Shenzhen, it's about right ie. 12-14C. A rainy evening in Genting is around 14-15C so drive up there to see what it's like. To me it's not that cold and you'll get used to it very quickly. If there's no wind then even a sweater might be ok, if there's wind then a jacket and something to cover the head would help.

12-14c just normal jacket will do.

real protection is only need when it goes under 0c. every dec i will have to come to stockholm and the start of winter is always unpredictable. last sunday it was -15c, my face was almost frozen when doing a stroll at the old town, gamla stan. this weekend it is like 0c to -1c, so it is still very cozy with the thick winter wear.

thick gloves is also very important. nothing is worse than feeling cold in your finger. how thick is enough? scoop up some snow with the glove, if you dont feel the cold, then it is thick enough, if you can feel the cold, then it is not thick enough.

3 layers of clothing is needed below 0c, one thick jacket for outdoor use, one normal jacket for indoor use, and one t-shirt inside. i always wear 4 layer though. 2 layers at the arms/legs, 4 layer in torso, neck protector/scarf, hat/ear muff, and suitable boots that wont slide easily on ice.

whether you are dressed up enough or not, easiest is to stand beside the sea, when there are cold wind blowing, if you feel cold, it means your clothing is not enough, time to go back and change.


This post has been edited by kons: Dec 9 2012, 02:10 AM

Hey guys, i will be going to hanoi in mid/ end jan and also sapa highland. Checked the weather in sapa may drop till 5 celcius. With rains perhaps.

Thought of buying uniqlo heat tech as inner layer, then will either bring a uniqlo fleece jacket as mid if needed. Then outer at first thought of buying uniqlo down jacket ( the one which is lightweight and can be packed nicely) but looked rather fragile to me to go trekking and wont stand the rains too.

Any recommendation what to get as outer layer which is both water resistant, windproof and can withstand cold. Plus point is it is easy to keep too as im a backpacker and prefer lightweight

Best to wear 2 layers only or else ended up too bulky. Which is inner with heat tech plus outer.

Understand inner must be really body fit right?

Thank you dear gurus

Just want to know whether Uniqlo's ultra slim jacket and my long john cn actuallY tahan seoul's winter in jan? Quite worry now

Just came back from Shanghai this Morning and average temp during my journey from -3C to 7C. However most of the time, I'm only experienced temp from zero till 7C.. And I'm using the ultra light uniqlo down jacket.. Just superb with just a layer of thin cotton sweater & t-shirt.. But for Seoul.. Diff story.. In addition to Long John, you probably need another layer of thick sweater (read Kon's description earlier).. Seoul should be similar to Stockhome.

For gloves, I bought a pair of 3m thinsulate gloves while in stockholm earlier, selling only for RM 40.
I don't know if it is cheap or expensive but RM 40 in stockholm is real cheap.
I think it works really good, planning to bring it to Hokkaido later next year.