Can you hire cold weather clothing?
 

I`ll be travelling around the USA & Europe for 6 weeks before heading to Russia & Norway for 3 weeks. It will be most of November when I`m in the really cold parts.
I usually travel very lightly, which is fine till I leave Rome .But I will need very warm boots & probably a down coat ( Especially for Tromso).
Given I am from Australia ,I very much doubt I would ever wear these again.
Should I try to hire or are there some discount outlets anyone can suggest?
Also I`d rather not haul all of the cold weather gear around with me. When i was younger sending a parcel to yourself to be collected at Poste Resturante in any city was possible, In my case it would be Copenhagen. Does such a service even exist these days?

Instead of considering "hiring winter clothing", you might want to consider going on a shopping spree. It will end up costing you a lot less. We do it all the time in Paris during the winter months and it works out fine, especially with the January sales.

If you were coming to the US during cold weather, then I would recommend going to a thrift shop and buying the clothes there for next to nothing and tossing them (or re-donating them) when you left. I don't know if such shops exist in Europe, but I would think they do.

Where are you going in the US? If you're going to Southern California, AZ or HI you may find that cold weather clothing is cheaper than in places where they need it.

The only reason I have coats is because I travel.

Every Goodwill and thrift stroe in the States and Charity shop in the UK and other parts of Europe will sell totally serviceable winter clothing for pennies on the dollar. Buy a 'puffy' coat or wool things enroute. They will be very cheap.

Also invest in some thermal underwear in the States - great for layering under your clothes.

You can do this without any puffy, poofy, cumbersome clothing. There's a tactic called "layering" whereby you put various . . . wait for it . . . layers of clothes on.

If you are in a large city in the US, consider dropping some cash in an REI store (see www.rei.com) or other top end sporting goods place. If you're going to be in one place for a week or more, shop llbean.com. These stores sell lightweight jackets that will keep you warm to about 40 degrees, sometimes less than 40 (that's American 40, not Aussie -- if you can't stay warm starkers in weather that's 40 degrees Aussie, you're hopeless), and with a couple of layers from the same places (thin, wicking), you can insulate yourself from all but the worst of the Russian weather. Add some headwear and good shoes and you'll be fine.

If you're going to Calif, there should be ton(ne)s of places that fit the bill because so many of the Californians live in warm coastal cities all year and can bugger off to a mountain just about whenever they wish from November to April to go skiing without leaving the state. There's actual snow in those mountains, so the Californians have stores that carry warm clothing even though they lounge around on the beach for most of the year.

We do not know where you are traveling in the USA but you may easily need these warm clothes before Norway and Russia. good advice on where to buy in the USA from thrifty to good sportswear.

I fyou're traveling in the US in OCtober - which is what it lookslike - you won;t need cold eather clothes unless yu'rei n the very far north. Most places that is fall ad you will get highs in the 50s/60s and no lower than 45 or so at night. for that a midweight jacket (not winter puff coat) should be plenty, perhaps with a light sweater underneath at night.

I agree with the suggestions for Goodwill, Salvation Army, thrift and consignment stores. You can buy perfectly serviceable, and sometimes even designer-label, clothing there for $5.00-$15.00 per item, at least you can here in the DC area. That would be my choice. Then you can ditch the stuff once you're past Russia without any guilt.

Sorry but that just totally creeps me out... buying from Goodewill or Salvation Army? I'll donate to them but I will not buy from them (I don't know if they even clean the clothes before selling, they expect the donor to do that). And shoes... yuck!!!

Go to Kmart, Kohls, or Target for cheap clothing that you can throw out.

"<i>Sorry but that just totally creeps me out... buying from Goodewill or Salvation Army? </i>"

Sounds like it just isn't your thing -- but millions of people do buy clothes from Goodwill/Salvation Army/thrift and consignment shops every day.

The charity shops in posh neighborhoods often have VERY high end designer things.

Much depends on how important to you being comfortable while out and about, versus having to curtail your activities due to lack of appropriate outer weather.

What matters is not whether you will ever need appropriate outerwear for your travels when you return home, but what it's worth to you to be properly/warmly attired during your travels.

I cannot imagine visiting cold weather destinations without a down coat(3/4) or jacket. 3/4 has the advantage of covering your bottom. One that is windproof/waterproof is recommended. And, one with lots of pockets. One with a hood would preclude the need to haul an umbrella all about. There are definitely better places than others for acquiring a terrific garment, depending on where/when/how long you're staying in the USA. LandsEnd and LLBean offer excellent options, with 2-3 day delivery.

If you'll be in the USA first, that's probably your best bet for finding something suitable at an appealing price.

Also recommended would be a warm sweater (cashmere) or polartec that layers nicely under the jacket.

Unless you plan hiking, suitable shoes with socks such as Smartwool may be the better bet.

It's not that inconvenient to haul a lightweight down jacket/coat, considering that they're very handy to have along on chilly planes/trains and the pockets are useful, especially considering how grateful you'll be to have them to be comfortable in the chillier weather.

And, you can usually stuff them into the outside pocket of your bag, and they emerge fairly wrinkle free.

For a nine-week trip to chilly/cold destinations, I can't imagine NOT investing $100 or so in proper outerwear (whether I'd ever need it again of not) versus being uncomfortable or having to seriously curtail activities due to weather.

Ok folks,all your suggestions are great.I`ll be in New York early October,so the name & address of any relevant stores .outlets,&thrift shops would be very welcome.I am more than happy to buy 2nd hand.And last seasons (indeed several seasons ago) designs are just fine by me.




I have tried to buy Sorel snow boots in Australia but cannot track any down in my size & the outlets in the States do not want to ship to Australia.
I haven`t got a hope in hell of getting a decent down coat here for anything less than , $350 !!For a couple of weeks wear thats kinda expensive.
I have been reliably told that the temperature in Russia & Norway could get as cold as -20oC.So I need thermals & layers & a decent coat!
That necessarily drastically increases the `bulk` of my luggage,which I`d like to send on, if possible.At the end of my trip I would be happy to donate these item back to a thrift store. I was also hoping to avoid having to spend too much time shopping while I was away,there are much better things to do & see.
I will then be going on to London for 1 week, so any suggestions for shops there would be good too.
Thanks again.
Sue

"Sorry but that just totally creeps me out... buying from Goodewill or Salvation Army? "

My partner worked as a volunteer in an Oxfam clothing shop. They wash everything before putting it on the racks, and don't sell anything that is in a bad state. They also would get corporate donations of new clothes. They also have a a pretty sharp pricing policy; is don't sell labels such as Primark, as they are so cheap new, that there is no point.

For many years it has been next to impossible to find Salvation Army, Goodwill or other thrift store clothes in New York, especially in Manhattan.

Instead, head to the general area around Herald Square and go into the super-cheapo stores and buy parkas, fleece and sweaters for under 20 USD. The names of these places change all the time -- but they are pretty obvious as to what they are. Some even have "Everything for $10" signs. Canal Street and 14th street are also good places for super-cheap clothes. K-Mart is also good. (There's one right at Penn Station.) Daffy's is worth a look in their clearance sections.

You should be able to buy warm socks from sidewalk vendors, as well as gloves and hats, all for $5.

In addition, it is worth going to a Patagonia store in NYC and getting their long underwear. It's not super-cheap, but it is not outrageously expensive. You can wear it as pajamas in Australia. You can find Patagonia on the web, with a store locator.

Winter Silks sells extremely lightweight-to-pack but warm long underwear. If they deliver to Australia, it would be a very good investment. No bulk.

PS, for shoes, find a Payless store in NYC.

And definitely check out Conway's

http://www.yelp.com/biz/conway-stores-new-york

susielou,

here is list of thrift shops in NYC, but I really don't recommend them. You tend to have to get lucky and be there when a large donation arrives, and really dig through a lot of stuff, and then the prices are sometimes not as favorable as the cheap stores.

http://www.eattheapple.com/thrift.htm

Again thank you all. I have all the small stuff(socks, gloves, thermals) sorted out it, is only the boots & coat that I`m looking for.And some way of not having to haul it around for 6 weeks before I actually need it.I`ll check out Patagonia on the web.

I live in the northern US in MInnesota which has a climate similar to that of Russia and Norway. Unless you plan to be outside for 4 to 6 hours straight without going inside, you do not need Sorrels. And, most cities in northern climates do shovel snow fairly quickly because it is a common occurence they are prepared to deal with. It is a myth that you need boots nearly up to your knees. I have some of these but probably only wore them perhaps 8-12 times this past winter. For walking around cities where you will be going in and out, what you want to make sure you have is something that is insulated and waterproof so your feet do not get wet. When we take walks in our area (we live in a city) in the winter I nearly always wear my Goretex-lined, ankle-high, hiking boots. With a pair of nice wool socks, my feet stay warm. Footwear similar to this is probably what I see 90% of the walkers around here wearing during the depths of winter unless a major snowstorm has just dumped a fresh foot of snow in the past 24 hours.

One more thing, definitely wear layers. When we visited Paris in the winter I thought I'd die every time I went inside becasue they keep most of their buildings so warm.