This checklist is designed to ensure you show up ready to go dog sledding for a half or full day tour.
“There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes.” — Norwegian Proverb
What to Wear Dog Sledding Checklist
(1) Underwear and ladies will want a Sports bra made of wool or synthetic materials.
(1) Midweight or heavyweight base layer long sleeved top and legging style bottoms.
(1) Heavy midlayer for the top - down or synthetic insulation.
(1) Insulating layer for the bottom - wool, fleece, synthetic or down insulation.
(1) A warm hat that covers your ears. Fleece lined works best for wearing a headlight & beanies work best for layering. Avoid long ear flaps.
(1) Baseball/brimmed cap (1) . This is to keep snow out of your eyes and sun out of your face. You will wear this underneath or over your warm hat.
(1) Goggles or sunglasses to keep sun/snow out of your eyes.
(3) Wool or wool-blend hiking socks. We recommend DarnTough Mid Weight Hiking or Heavyweight socks. Kirkland brand merino and wool blend hiking socks are also great and very affordable.
Arctic Dog will provide you with all the necessary cold-weather outerwear listed below:
✔️ Expedition-weight Apocalypse Design Alpine Parka
✔️ Insulated windproof/water-resistant overpants. These pants are super warm!
✔️ Insulating mittens (large enough to spread your fingers).
✔️ Fleece gloves for working with the dogs.
✔️ Winter boots
✔️ Windproof over mitts
Learning how to dress for the cold is a skill.
Dressing in Layers
The key to staying warm in cold climates is LAYERS. All of your clothing should be layer-able — meaning you should be able to wear all of it at once (and still be able to comfortably bend over to tie your shoes). Layers trap insulated air against your body, conserving the heat your body produces. Layers also allow you to more easily regulate your temperature by taking clothes on and off.
Sweating in the cold is a big no-no... your clothes will become damp and you will quickly become chilled. You want to be warm, not hot! Act preventatively: if you are feeling chilled, don’t wait until you are cold to put more clothes on. Similarly, if you are feeling warm, don’t wait until you are sweating to unzip or take a layer off.
Buy clothes in successively larger sizes; that way you can ensure that under layers are going to fit under over layers. For example: a M fleece jacket layered under a L down jacket.
BASE LAYERS
Base layers are the first layers that sit next to your skin. They need to be warm and wicking. No cotton. A set of baselayers includes a long sleeved top and bottoms. Merino wool is best. Polyester blends and synthetic are good.
MID LAYERS
A mid layer retains the heat your body generates. The clothing's insulation traps air, which holds the heat. Air between layers is crucial, as tight layers compress insulation and reduce its effectiveness. Ensure your layers fit over each other, with one possibly a size or two larger.
OUTER LAYERS
Insulating, windproof, and dog/water resistant.
Ideally, NONE of your clothing should be cotton!
This is very important! When cotton gets wet, it loses its ability to keep you warm. It also takes a very long time to dry out. The two exceptions are underwear and bama socks — the breathability of cotton will help prevent chafing & the cotton in the bama socks absorbs moisture, keeping your socks and feet dry. That being said, wool underwear is still best :)
Avoid Cold Toes
This is the #1 concern of our guests!
The easiest way to ensure warm feet is warm legs. Folks commonly neglect their bottom half, thinking if they keep the “core” warm, they’ll be fine. Wrong.
There is a direct correlation between how many layers you have on your legs and if your feet are going to stay warm or not. If you are concerned about cold toes, we recommend down or Primaloft pants as a second insulation layer.
We love Mountain Hardware Compression or Ghost Whisperer Pants, but you can also find more affordable not name brand down pants on Amazon. Sherpa and Skhoop are other recommended brands. Your feet will not stay warm if you do not have enough layers on your legs.
Other important considerations are adequate hydration (when we are dehydrated, the vessels in our extremities (hands/feet) constrict) and movement.
The Gloves VS Mittens Battle
Shocker—we use both! The gloves or mittens you wear while mushing need to be windproof and very warm. The best system allows an insulated inner glove to be used inside a windproof outer mitt. We provide outer mitts, insulated mittens, and one pair of insulated fleece gloves for working with the dogs/mushing.
All About them Socks
Dry feet = warm feet.
It is important to always wear dry socks when out on the trail. We recommend wearing 1 to 2 pairs of wool socks, depending on the outdoor temperature. If it is colder than 15F, go for 2 pair, but only if your socks layer well and do not constrict your blood flow. One pair of good thick socks is better than squeezing a second pair on top of the first.
Guides choice: one pair of Darn Tough medium hiking socks inside moisture wicking Bama sokkets (for more info on Bama sokkets see below) or one pair of super thick socks like Darn Tough Expedition Socks or WoolPower 800 socks. WoolPower socks layer very well over regular hiking socks.
Bama Sokkets
Guides' choice!! We HIGHLY recommend “Bama sokkets” in addition to a pair of socks inside your boots. They absorb all excess moisture inside your boot and keep your feet incredibly warm and dry. They are available for purchase at amazon.com (search for Bama sokket and your size in Men’s). Bama socks tend to be slightly thicker than a second pair of socks. They often feel tight at the cuff initially, but loosen with use.
Sizing: Get the same size as your usual shoe. It is problematic when they are too long in the toe. Note that they only come in Men’s sizes. Men’s sizing is 1.5-2 sizes less than W’s. For example, I wear W 7.5 -8 and wear 5 and 6s in Bama Socks. You may consider getting one size up if you are going to wear thick socks inside of them. If you cannot find a pair of Bama socks, one super thick pair of wool socks (with one or two dry pairs on hand) will be just fine.
What About Winter Boots?
Arctic Dog will provide footwear for adults sizes 5-14.
Good winter boots are at minimum 2-3x larger than your regular shoe size. Boots need to be big enough to allow you to wear two pairs of socks and still have room to wriggle your toes. This is KEY.
In order to stay warm, your toes can NOT be constricted -- otherwise your blood flow will be impaired and your toes will get dangerously cold, fast. If you would like to bring your own boots, or invest in a pair for Northern travel, be sure they have a liner that can be taken out and dried at night. Sometimes we can put your own winter boots inside of Neos, but it is very rare that folks have winter boots sized appropriately.
Rubber boots are to be avoided. Feet cannot breathe inside of them, so socks become damp and, therefore, cold, much quicker than in a boot with a wool liner (which helps transport moisture away from the foot). Even in a pair of boots with a removable liner, the liner must be taken out every night to dry.
Don't let the cold stop you from enjoying the winter! Download our comprehensive packing list now and ensure you're fully prepared for your Arctic Dogsledding adventure. Stay warm, comfortable, and focused on the thrill of the ride.
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