Clothing
What to wear on a husky tour in Rovaniemi
They give you a thermal overall, boots and mitts, and those solve most of it. What they cannot give you is what goes underneath, and that is the difference between four excellent hours and four long ones. There are exactly three things to get right, and one of them is a fabric.
Quick answer
Wear wool or synthetic base layers under the thermal overall the operator provides — never cotton, which holds sweat and then freezes it against you. Add thin glove liners under the mitts so you can use a phone, and a buff or balaclava for your face. The overall, insulated boots and mitts are included on every safari on this page.
What to wear, at a glance
- Provided
- Overall, boots, mittson every safari here
- Usually provided
- A balaclavaask if you are unsure
- Base layer
- Wool or syntheticmerino if you have it
- Never
- Cottonit freezes once you sweat in it
- Mid layer
- Fleece or woolone, not three
- Gloves
- Thin liners + the mittsso you can take a photograph
- Socks
- One thick wool pairtwo thin pairs is worse, not better
- Face
- Buff or balaclavawind chill on a moving sled is real
- Leave behind
- Jeansthe single commonest mistake
- Camera
- Wrist strapdropping it from a sled is easy
The layers
What do you wear under the thermal overall?
Wool under, one mid layer, and never denim. The outer shell is theirs.
Three layers, and the fabric matters more than the thickness.
Base layer: wool or synthetic, never cotton. This is the single most important sentence on this page. Standing on the runners is work and you will sweat slightly. Cotton holds that moisture against your skin and then it freezes; wool and synthetics move it away and keep insulating when damp. Merino base layers are the best thing anyone packs for Lapland.
Mid layer: one fleece or wool jumper. One, not three. The overall they give you is genuinely warm and bulk underneath makes it tight, which restricts circulation and makes you colder rather than warmer.
Bottom half: thermal leggings and warm trousers, not jeans. Denim is cotton, it is thin, and it is the reason most cold visitors are cold. Anything soft and warm works.
Everything outer — the overall, the boots, the mitts — comes from the operator and is designed for this. You do not need to buy an expensive winter coat for a husky safari; you need good base layers and to leave the jeans at the hotel.
The details
Six small things that make the difference
From the reviews, and all of them cheap.
- Thin glove liners under the mitts
The mitts are warm and hopeless for a phone. Liners let you take the photograph without exposing skin at minus twenty, which at that temperature is a genuine consideration.
- One thick pair of socks, not two thin
Two pairs compress inside the boot, restrict circulation and make your feet colder. This is counter-intuitive and it is why people end up with cold feet in warm boots.
- Something over your face
A buff or a balaclava. Wind chill on a moving sled at minus twenty is the part nobody anticipates, and cheeks are the first thing to feel it.
- A wrist strap for the camera
You have one hand free at most and you are moving. Phones dropped from sleds are a regular occurrence and the snow is deep.
- Keep the phone against your body
Cold flattens batteries fast. An inside pocket rather than an outer one roughly doubles how long it lasts.
- Do not wear your own big coat under the overall
It will not fit, and the overall is warmer than it anyway. Bring it for the walk to the meeting point and leave it in the minibus.
How long you are outside depends entirely on which tour you booked, and that changes how much any of this matters.
Every safari, by distance and time→Every trip, current fare
Every tour, and how long you are in the cold
Twelve tours, cheapest first. In January the duration column is the one to read carefully.
| Tour | Length | Price | On the sled | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Claus Village Husky RideThirty minutes on the Arctic Circle | 30 min | $69 | ~1 km, you ride | $138.00 | 4.7 · 1,584 |
| Husky Farm VisitA kennel visit with no sled at all | 2 h | $86 | None — kennel only | $43.00 | 4.8 · 11 |
| Husky Farm Visit with a Sledge RideA farm visit with a short ride attached | 2 h | $114 | Short, you ride | $57.00 | 4.2 · 243 |
| Husky Farm and Reindeer ExperienceHuskies and reindeer in one afternoon | 3.5 h | $178 | Short, you ride | $50.86 | 4.3 · 553 |
| Reindeer, Huskies & Santa Claus VillageThe fullest single day on this page | 6 h | $205 | Short, you ride | $34.17 | 4.6 · 2,415 |
| Daytime Husky SafariNinety minutes, out and back | 1.5 h | $207 | You ride | $138.00 | 4.6 · 1,036 |
| Husky, Reindeer & SnowmobileHuskies, reindeer and a snowmobile | 6 h | $216 | Short, you ride | $36.00 | 4.6 · 1,289 |
| Self-Drive Husky Sled, 4–5 kmThe cheapest way to drive your own team | 3 h | $224 | 4–5 km, you drive | $74.67 | 4.6 · 284 |
| Apukka Husky Adventure, 6 km self-drivenSix kilometres self-driven, most reviewed | 3.5 h | $239 | 6 km, you drive | $68.29 | 4.6 · 1,568 |
| Husky Safari with Transfers & BBQFour hours with a fire stop, rated 4.9 | 4 h | $239 | You drive | $59.75 | 4.9 · 220 |
| Insider 10 km Husky Sled RideTen kilometres, deep into the forest | 4 h | $250 | 10 km | $62.50 | 4.6 · 172 |
| Husky Safari on a Snowy Trail, 10 kmTen kilometres on a forest trail | 3.5 h | $261 | 10 km | $74.57 | 4.7 · 496 |
Common questions
What to wear, answered
What should you wear on a husky safari?
Wool or synthetic base layers, one fleece or wool mid layer, and warm trousers — never cotton or denim. The thermal overall, insulated boots and mitts are provided by the operator.
Do they give you clothes for a husky tour?
Yes. Every safari on this page includes a thermal overall, insulated boots and mitts, and usually a balaclava. What you wear underneath is yours.
Can you wear jeans on a husky tour?
You can, and it is the commonest mistake people make. Denim is thin cotton: it holds moisture, gives almost no insulation and freezes. Wear thermal leggings and soft warm trousers instead.
How many layers do you need?
Two under the overall: a wool or synthetic base layer and one mid layer. More than that makes the overall tight, restricts circulation and makes you colder.
What gloves should you bring?
Thin liners to wear under the mitts the operator provides. That way you can use a phone or a camera without taking a bare hand out at minus twenty.
Do you need snow boots for a husky tour?
No. Insulated boots are provided in your size. Bring one thick pair of wool socks rather than two thin pairs.
Go deeper
More on husky tours in Rovaniemi
Husky safaris in Rovaniemi
Every safari compared, by distance rather than by hours.
The activityDog sledding in Lapland
How it works, what the season is, and what it costs.
You driveDriving your own team
The runners, the brake and the one rule that matters.
FarmsHusky farms and kennel visits
The version with no sled at all, and who it suits.
The villageSanta Claus Village
Thirty minutes on the Arctic Circle, eight kilometres north.
The dogsThe dogs themselves
Alaskan rather than Siberian, and why they are so loud.
