Winter clothing for kiruna in lapland (sweden)

[dee295]

Hi everyone,

We're going to Sweden in early to mid-January for a week on our way to the UK. we're planning to spend 2 days in Kiruna, which is inside the arctic circle and apparently gets as cold as -20 to -30 degrees Celcius. Can anyone advise me on puffy goose/duck down jackets? What should I look for in terms of 'loft' and 'fill power'? In particular, will a heavy weight duck down jacket be just as warm as the more expensive goose down jackets, (albeit the latter are softer and lighter)?

Any other advice on clothing, and footwear would be appreciated. I read somewhere that your feet are the first to get really cold - has anyone used those foot warming inserts, and are they any good?

Many thanks!

[JaliscoJudy]

I lived in cold country for a long time. A pair of waterproof boots with removable felt liners (take the liners out every night and dry them; where I lived, Sorel boots were the most popular brand), a hat and gloves make the difference between being cold or not. I never had a really great coat, but I was always warm enough, even at minus zero (Fahrenheit) temps. This is not to say that you don't need a warm coat, but you can be warm enough working within a budget. Layering helps too. I would buy a nice toasty sweater there. Great souvenir and you can use it right away.