How to be completely warm in Australian winter

Introduction

Starting in May each year, I end up in conversations where fellow Australian residents mention they're cold. I always describe the same experiences and advice, limited only by how socially awkward it is to give this much information in a casual conversation.

I think staying warm is a solved problem now that there's a fiercely competitive market full of products and freely available information on the Internet. But it's not easy to go out and start the research yourself, especially since most articles are written in the context of outdoor adventure, not commuting to work in the city. I'd like to share what I've learned from significant investments in online research and personal experience, so that at the very least, you have all the knowledge you need to stay warm, with enough information to make informed decisions that will serve you well.

Please give me feedback if you believe I missed something and could give even better recommendations, and I will gratefully credit you if I change my mind. I am not defensive about any of my choices here, as that would only get in the way of even better choices.

Disclaimer

I have no stake in any of the brands I recommend in this document. I do not have any affiliate ties and do not receive any consideration for writing this content. These are just choices that I am confident recommending for the sole purpose of your comfort. At the same time, I can take no responsibility if the choices do not work out well for you, as clothing preference can be highly individual.

Quality over quantity

My advice in most things, but especially in functional clothing, is to try to have the best of each product, not simply more products. With anything, including clothing, 90% of the options available are simply poor -- this is so universal it's called Sturgeon's Law.

With warm clothing in particular, I see a lot of people who layer on more and more random junk until no more will fit. They end up feeling heavy, stuffy, smelly, and their movement is restricted. They're too hot while moving around, then too cold while sitting. When it rains their clothes are completely soaked, heavy, barely warm, and then still take hours to dry. With poor ventilation and poor fabric choices, the clothing cultivates bacteria which smells and feels disgusting.

How to get functional performance at each layer
Source: Outdoor Gear Lab

I'll be recommending clothing and equipment based on what people use in situations that cannot afford these problems, such as mountain hiking in extreme weather. Hikers cannot bring much, because they have to carry all of the weight and size. It has to be versatile for a wide range of activities, from climbing up a rock face to sleeping in a tent. It has to stay fresh and hygienic for days between laundry opportunities. This clothing is widely available and fairly affordable. If treated right, it will last you several years, so the investment pays off over many winters.

Aesthetics

If you've walked around Sydney CBD in recent weeks, you'll see a lot of down jackets -- they're now at least as common as the old-school heavy wool coats. As mainstream Australian city fashion is quickly becoming more accepting of outdoor wear, the problem of aesthetics is largely gone, and it simply remains to choose the most functional clothing that is still aesthetically acceptable. And as more people do it, it only becomes more acceptable. Don't worry about aesthetics. If your friends don't understand it yet, they'll understand when you're toasty while they're freezing.

A E S T H E T I C (Source: Icebreaker)

Budgeting

Personally I don't recommend cutting costs on clothing that you will be wearing every day in cold weather (including travel to other countries during their cold weather). I suggest budgeting to make room for top-tier clothing like Merino wool. It may seem like a lot to drop $130 on a base layer top, but that's less than 7 cocktails in Sydney bars, and I guarantee you'll get a lot more out of the top, for years and years to come. We're already living in an expensive country, let's live comfortably 🙂

Source: The Guardian (Edited for relevance and humour)

But if you have higher priorities for your money, I can highly recommend shopping at Uniqlo. It's now very popular in Australia, consistently high quality, and has a huge range of options so you are sure to find something you like. They seem to have sensible options for each of the garments I'm recommending here, but I can't recommend specific ones, so you'll have to try some yourself.

Fabric choices for base and fleece layers

Overview

If you're in a hurry, I recommend fabrics in this order, and you can skip the rest of this section:

Merino wool
Polypropylene / Capilene (if you are on a budget, vegan, or allergic to wool)
Bamboo (if you are on a tight budget, vegan, or allergic to polyester)

Detail

Merino wool is the standard fabric for being outdoors in New Zealand, where Melbourne's winters would be considered cool summers. Merino wool is now also the go-to for outdoor adventurers who have much higher performance expectations than somebody walking to work in Sydney.

By the way, Merino is a species of sheep, not a brand -- there are many brands that use Merino wool. My favourite is Icebreaker, partly because they have a retail store in Sydney while many other brands don't. If you're traveling in the USA, check out SmartWool as well.

If you're not interested in Merino Wool, you will do fairly well with high quality Polypropylene or Patagonia's Capilene. They're similar, and another standard choice among outdoor adventurers.

Bamboo is allegedly rising as a strong third option. But because it hasn't yet caught on with extreme outdoor adventurers, I'm waiting to see how it pans out. I could be convinced it's better than merino and polypropylene, but not yet. It doesn't help that I can't find thermal-weight bamboo base layers sold in Australia.

To give a little more detail, here are some key points to consider. A couple of poor options are included for comparison. If you're wearing one of those, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Merino Wool

Pro: Warm, soft, odor-resistant, breathable, fire retardant, stays warm when wet, fresh when hot
Con: Very expensive, dries slowly

Good Polypropylene / Capilene / Polartec

Pro: Warm, soft-ish, odor-resistant, breathable, stays warm when wet, dries quickly

Con: Fairly expensive, highly flammable, stuffy when hot

Bamboo

Pro: Warm, soft, odor-resistant, breathable
Con: Not as warm or odor-resistant as merino, flammable

Cheap Polyester
Including cheap Polypropylene, e.g. Kathmandu
Pro: Cheap, doesn't get colder when wet
Con: Not particularly warm, coarse, soaks up sweat, gets smelly and stuffy, highly flammable

Cotton

Pro: Cheap, soft
Con: Not warm, soaks up sweat, cold when wet (including the sweat it soaks up), gets smelly and stuffy, highly flammable

Price aside, I think Bamboo is strictly better than Cotton, but Merino Wool is strictly better than Bamboo (though I'm happy to be proven wrong). Polypropylene has the advantage that it dries quickly, but the disadvantage that its comfortable temperature range is not as wide (not as warm when it's cold, not as fresh when it's warm). You can easily avoid getting your merino wool wet, but even if it does get wet, it still stays warm (and smells like a sheep, but you'll get used to it). So overall, I think Merino wool has the least to dislike.

Layers

Base layer, aka Thermals

They're called thermals for a reason -- they're the warmest way to use your budget of weight and money. It seems people don't wear thermals every day because they get stuffy and smelly, but if you made the right fabric choices above (hopefully Merino Wool), that won't be a problem at all.

How to choose your garment

Out of all the layers, you should be the most picky about your base layer.

The garment must be skin-tight to be the most efficient at heating. Not only does an air gap reduce how quickly you heat the garment and it heats you, every time your movement shuffles the air gap, the heat stored in the air gap moves away from your body.

But because it's skin-tight, the fabric has to feel good. You shouldn't be able to feel the seams, and it should move with your skin rather than against your skin, so that there's no chafing. It shouldn't get sweaty and itchy. A good base layer will actually protect you from irritation from your other layers, especially your fleece layer.

Try in-store before buying, especially if buying online. It is crucial that you try out the garment you're going to buy, not just on its own, but with your other layers on top, to see how it all fits and moves together. Once you know the garment and size you want, feel free to buy it online to save money, especially if you know you can return it.

Option: Neck protection

For sheer warmth and shelter, I prefer the thermal base-layer top to cover my neck. It traps a lot of heat that would escape from your torso, and it protects your neck from chills that may temporarily hurt your throat (this isn't the same as a throat infection from rhinovirus, but it still hurts). You can always unzip the neck to vent some heat, but when it's cold and windy, you'll be glad you have the protection right where you need it most.

Specific recommendations - Merino Wool

Just wander in to the Icebreaker store in your city (e.g. Pitt Street Mall in Sydney) and try these on. Remember they should be skin-tight but move freely.

Specific recommendations - Capilene

Strangely, not all of these appear in Patagonia's Australian catalog, and the ones that do are just as expensive as the Merino wool above. If you are set on getting Capilene, see if you can find an Australian reseller to try the fit on, and you may find it cheaper to import the actual order.

Fleece layer

There are a few ways to use a fleece layer. If you're wearing a skin-tight base layer, you probably don't want to be seen in it, so you can wear a fleece layer on top to look more normal, even if you don't need the heat (but then it's important that it breathe well, so that you don't get hot and stuffy in both layers). If you're outdoors and your base + insulation layers aren't enough warmth, the fleece layer will give you a strong boost. However, don't count on the fleece layer giving you much protection from wind chill -- that's why you have insulation and/or shell layers.

How to choose your garment

This is less about fit and more about comfort and aesthetics. Ideally, use the same fabric you used for your base layer, so you're not getting the worst of both worlds (with layering mixed fabrics, the best of both worlds is impossible, you'll get essentially the worst).

Option: Hood

You can get ones with a hood, but I prefer not to. Your insulation jacket and shell should include a hood, so having a hood on your fleece just gets in the way. And you can get incredibly compact beanies to keep in a pocket or bag (see the Accessories section below), which provide about the same warmth as a hood, without limiting your vision or mobility (for e.g. when cycling with a helmet).

Specific recommendations - Merino Wool

Specific recommendations - Polartec

Insulation layer

When you're outdoors, this layer is arguably the most important. It's what stops your heat from bleeding out into air during convection (you and the air moving relative to each other) and radiation (you passively losing heat to the air). When you're indoors, you will most likely take off this layer and rely on your base and fleece, so it's okay to optimize this choice for outdoor usage.

How to choose your garment

Out of all the clothing choices out there, I think this is actually pretty straightforward. The big question is whether you expect to be generating a lot of your own heat through physical activity, or idling around so you need as much help as possible retaining your heat.

I do recommend getting a hood in this layer. It's out of the way when you don't need it, but when you need it, you'll be really glad you have it. And designs that include a hood usually cover your neck better than designs without a hood, so it helps you even when you're not using it.

Recommendation for maximum idle warmth

Down is the way to go. You have to keep it dry (or it will stop being warm until it's dry again), and it's difficult to wash. But even with today's synthetic fabric technologies, nothing is quite as good at keeping you warm while idling around. And out of the huge set of companies that make down jackets, Patagaonia's are astoundingly high quality, and with a strong commitment to treating geese ethically, and ensuring you can trace your down to the geese that supplied it.

Recommendation for physical activity / versatility

There's a new breakthrough that's so good it's like an alien technology gifted to humanity. It feels soft like a fleece, insulates mostly as well as down (especially if you block wind with a shell layer), and breathes when you're exerting yourself like jogging or cycling. It's a synthetic fabric that's easy to wash and dry. It must have a downside, so it's sensitive to wind, but in my experience even then it's fine for anything Sydney or Melbourne has to offer.

Shell layer

You might get away without using a shell layer, but I'll mention it here for completeness. It's useful for blocking more rain and wind than your insulation layer can. It's also important for keeping down insulation dry. Just note that, unless you're getting something that costs as much as a motorcycle, it won't breathe very well, especially during physical activity.

Recommendation

Accessories

Feeling completely warm usually means closing the last gaps, like your neck, head, and hands.

Icebreaker Unisex Terra Gloves

Very comfortable because they're seamless.
Great for managing a camp fire safely.

Icebreaker Unisex Apex Chute

Perfect for reinforcing the neck warmer in a base layer or fleece.
Your neck will never be cold again.

Icebreaker Unisex Pocket Hat

Especially useful if your hair is wet, e.g. because you just got rained on.
Also very useful for blocking the wind-chill while cycling.

Icebreaker Men's / Women's Hike+ Light Crew socks

Remember the last time your feet were cold but you felt warm? No, because that doesn't happen. Keep your feet warm and dry.

Techniques for specific situations

Feeling cold on the inside? Exercise for a few minutes.

Sometimes, no matter what you're wearing, you feel like you're cold beneath the skin. You have to get your blood pumping, and the easiest way is to do some short, light exercise. I like to do push-ups and air squats, but do whatever you enjoy doing, so that you don't learn to hate it and give up doing it.

Sleeping / getting out of bed? Wear your thermals.

Wear your thermals and warm socks to bed. When you first get into bed, the bed itself is much colder than your body, so you're immediately cold. The thermals fix most of that, so you can feel comfortable much earlier in the night.

When you wake up, you're still wearing thermals, so you're not freezing as soon as you get out of the covers -- in fact you might find you're not cold at all. Get your blood flowing so you're warmer before you get in the shower, and you should be okay.

You might think, ew, why would I wear the same thermals to sleep every night. If they're Merino wool, they will not get stinky and sweaty for several days, so you can wash them say once per week. Ideally, use separate thermals for sleep and your daily activities, so each garment has a chance to breathe on its own for several hours, which for Merino wool is enough to mostly reset its freshness.

Still cold in bed even with thermals? Use a fleece sleeping bag liner.

This is so powerful you'll wonder how you've never heard of it before. You don't need a hot water bottle (it gets cold in a few hours), or an electric pad (it burns electricity), or heating your room (it burns electricity and makes the air feel drier).

A simple fleece liner can add 10-20 degrees of warmth to your sleep. Buy it once and it will last forever. Just careful not to snag it in a zipper.

Wearing a fancy shirt? Get a Merino under-shirt.

You can't hide a thermal base layer under a fancy shirt, but you can hide a v-neck form-fitting shirt. You were probably going to wear an under shirt anyway, so it may as well have all the advantages of Merino, such as resisting sweat and odor. This will serve you much better than a cotton under shirt ever could.

Working on a camp fire? Wear Merino clothes and gloves.

Source: My phone camera

Wool is fire-retardant, it will singe but not ignite. Most other fabrics, including polyester, cotton, and bamboo, can ignite. Would you rather be wearing fuel for the fire, or armour against the fire? If you were unsure about Merino before, let this be the reason you get it.

"I got airlifted to hospital and have permanent scars, but it was worth saving $50 on clothes."
-- Said nobody ever

How to do your own research

If you can spare the time to do the research, you may find products that suit you better than what I've recommended here, or that anyone other than you can ever recommend.

Basically, search the internet for your outer-most problem, like "how to be warm in winter", then as you receive general advice, search for more specifics, like "best thermal base layers". Read as much as you have time for, but keep a critical eye on everything -- everyone is biased, including me, and including you (you may be approaching the research with some biases that lead you toward certain solutions, even if they're not actually the best for you).

This can take several hours, because there's an infinite amount to read, and you may not know what will matter to you until you try it. This can be tough on a budget, because you don't want to waste money on something that isn't the best use of your money.

The one site I recommend the most is Outdoor Gear Lab. Almost all of my good outdoor gear choices came from there. Basically, read reviews on things before you buy them. You can read reviews on any site, like Amazon, even if you're not buying from them.

How to buy outdoor gear that is good and cheap

This could easily be a whole other post, but the short story is:

Research items that are good value. e.g the "Best Buy" ratings on Outdoor Gear Lab. The rest of this advice applies whether you want the best or the cheapest, because either way, you can get good deals with the right strategy.

You can watch YouTube videos about products, both from the company itself and from home enthusiasts doing video reviews. You will learn a lot about the product for free. You might even find out about deals, but most likely they only help in the USA.

If you can find them in-store, have a look there (don't necessarily buy). It may seem quite different in person compared to online.

My favourite stores are Paddy Pallin, Mountain Equipment, and Trek & Travel -- these are all quite close together in Sydney. Paddy Pallin has at least 10% off if you get their free membership, sometimes 20% on sale weekends.

If you can find it on Snowys, buy it there. I would be surprised if you found a cheaper price, even

online, even with Paddy's 10% off. The shipping is free. The customer service is the best I've seen in Australia. The only downside is that sometimes they don't have the item in stock, even if their online catalog said they have it. They'll call you and ask you whether you prefer to wait, or cancel the item, or change the item -- pretty considerate and reasonable.

If you can't find it on Snowys, look for other online stores. Just using Google and eBay is fine. Search for the product name, and maybe add Australia if you're mostly getting USA results. Remember to check the shipping cost, it can be a little or it can be more than the whole item.

Finally, if you get a chance to visit the USA, try getting the items on Amazon. They are often much cheaper than in Australia, because some brands (like Thermarest and Camelbak) have an absurd 50% markup for Australia. You don't have to worry about this with brands like Sea to Summit, but they may not always be the best items in a given category.

Other suggestions I've received since posting this

Buy Canada Goose clothing online (Thanks Jerry Liu!)

Buy cheap, fashionable Merino from Kookai, e.g. this polo (Thanks Hannah Beder!)

Icebreaker tends to be a slim fit, if you prefer a casual fit try MacPac (Thanks Andrew McGregor!)

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