Winter Woolies for a Queenslander!

Hi All,

I need some help:

What clothes do I need to have in the following areas in January / February?

- LA, San Francisco and Las Vegas
- Vancouver and Whistler in Canada
- Washington D.C., New York and Boston

The lowest it gets where i'm from is about 0 degrees celsius (on the coldest day of the year!), although normally it doesn't drop past 20 degrees celsius /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I've got to try and get some clothes before I go, so what do I need?

And are there any other tips / tricks that I might find handy?

Thanks!

In Boston, approximately my neighborhood, there are several days during the time period you specified in which the temperature does not get above 0 degrees C during the day. In addition, the wind whips off of the ocean so the wind chill factor is much lower. Plus can get a lot of snow. If you are outside much then you will need some outside gear such as a relatively heavy winter jacket or a lot of layer clothing as well as a hat that covers your ears and gloves or mittens. However you also specify relatively warm winter climates such as LA. If you are planning to visit all sites during the time period, you might be better off packing somewhat light and buying what you need as you go along.

In Los Angeles that time of year, so long as you stay in the basin, the lowest temperature you might see would be 0 degrees C at night. Highs are usually around 10-15 degrees C, unless we have a warm spell when it could be as hot as 25 degrees C. The way the weather's been going lately, come prepared for a LOT of rain.
If you are planning to go into the mountains, or high desert, you can get some additional use out of the clothes you'll be packing for New York and Boston.

San Francisco almost never sees 0 degrees C or below, highs in the range of 10 to 20 degrees C with more rain than Los Angeles. If you go across to the East Bay, the temperatures can vary more widely, but you are not likely to see blowing snow and freezing rain.

Synthetics work for Boston and Las Vegas. Synthetics like Damark under a wool shirt with some fleece like Polartec and a good outer shell in Boston. You need something to wick away moisture and something to provide a wind break. A good shell can provide extra warmth, serve to stop the wind, be moistureproof and also breath. I have some stuff by Sierra Design and The North Face.. Look for something with vents under the arms too..it helps. Very good gloves or mittens if you intend to be outside for anytyhing over a few minutes.

Vegas can get cold in the winter...it just snowed there but you usually can get away with a lot less as far as weather protection. The wind is the main problem in Vegas. If it gets a little cold the winds can whip up and make you miserable. A good windbreaker over normal clothing is an idea. You might want something with GoreTex or another micropore fabric just in case it rains. You could use that in both places.

If it rains or snows in Vegas go inside, stay off the street. Vegas floods in the rain and it dangerous to be on the roads in rain or snow...I'd say even more so than Boston.

LA - I always like to wear silk prints when I'm there....they are comforatable and seem to work in the humidity and the sun...although galoshes and a rubber raincoat might be more appropriate at the moment...same with San Fran except you need some king of jacket because it's cool and can get rainy as hell as it is now.

Vancouver: rainy and chilly. dress as you would say, in London, England at the same time of year. snows occasionally.

Whistler: higher altitude, thinner air, lots of snow and colder. toque, down jacket, wool gloves, insulated winter boots, jeans or thicker pants like corduroy. maybe a sweater for indoors. ski gear is not inappropriate.

Thanks everyone for the help!

So I need some kind of 'outer jacket' as a wind breaker, providing extra warmth and water resistance (preferably goretex?)

Then I need something similar to "Synthetics like Damark under a wool shirt with some fleece like Polartec" from what 14c said? I will have to google some of these names...

Then gloves (I don't think i'd like mittens 'reducing' my hand to two prongs /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) and some kind of hat...

Can you please give examples e.g. in Vegas I would wear a t-shirt, jacket and jeans etc...

Thanks again!

I still say buy as you go along if you are hitting the warmer climates first. Here is one place I shop in which they have shops around Boston.

http://www.ems.com/

So far most days this winter have been above normal around with the day time temps generally making it above freezing.

What you'll want to wear depends on your tolerance for temperature. There's a joke in LA that in December you can always pick out the tourists from Wisconsin, Montana, Canada, etc., they're the only ones in shorts!
I tend to tolerate cold fairly well and for winter weather in LA I usually wear a long sleeved cotton/wool blend knit shirt and a short sleeved shirt over that with heavy cotton jeans. I sometimes add a light cotton canvas jacket if it's windy out during the day or a mid-weight nylon jacket with a polyester fiber lining at night. Lately I've needed a full rainsuit in place of the jackets.
My lady is a bit more sensitive to cold. She wears long underwear with jeans, about 3 or 4 layers of blouses/shirts and a heavy jacket if we go out at night.
You might look at a 4-in-1 type of jacket, they usually have a waterproof shell with a thermal liner that can be zipped in and out or worn seperately. Combined with some heavy shirts or a thermal vest this might be warm enough for your colder destinations and you could leave off some of the layers in the warmer places.

Hmm I was trying to get it (i.e. expenses) out of the way before I left, but I might end up getting some things over there... I'm going to the outdoor shops tomorrow to see what they have to offer. Thanks for the tips /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif