- Hello everyone, my name is Kristen Sara.
- And I'm Siya Zarrabi.
- And we are Hopscotch the Globe.
- And we have a baby.
- We do have a baby.
(laughing)
In this video we're gonna be sharing with you
our winter packing guide, which includes
tips and hacks.
- Yeah, we've been to a lot of winter destinations.
We live in Canada, we live in a winter destination.
So we have all the right gear.
We've made all the mistakes so we can teach you guys
how not to make those mistakes.
- Traveling to winter destinations can be very,
very enjoyable, but you have to do it right.
You wanna be warm, you wanna be dry, those
are the two key things.
- Without further ado, these are 18 tips
and tricks to help you pack for your winter destination.
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- You're gonna want to bring waterproof boots.
These are gonna be your main shoes.
They may not look super stylish, but they're gonna
keep you dry, they're gonna keep you warm.
And you're gonna want to spray your waterproof boots
with waterproof spray to keep them even more waterproof.
But this is a hack, in case your feet do get wet,
bring two plastic bags with you at all times,
put them in your coat pocket, and if your feet get wet,
take them out, take your socks off, put the plastic
bags around each foot, put your feet back in your sock,
and then your foot and your sock back in your boot,
and it will keep you nice and dry
for the rest of the day.
- If you know there's gonna be heavy snowfall
in your destination, and you want to be using a camera
and you want to be filming and taking pictures,
sometimes you don't want your camera out
in the snow the entire time because water damage
can destroy your camera.
So if you can afford the space, you could bring
a small umbrella.
And these umbrellas, you know can protect your camera.
And that way it doesn't get any snow on it,
and it doesn't get wet.
- If you are traveling with a cloth suitcase,
you're gonna want to waterproof it.
So that spray you were using on your boots to
waterproof those, you can use on your suitcase.
Staying dry and warm depends a lot on the type
of material your clothing is made of,
especially your socks.
I find that when my feet are wet or cold,
my whole body is affected and it throws off
my entire day outside.
Wearing wool socks will keep you dry, it will keep you warm.
Get rid of those cotton socks, they are
going to make you miserable, especially if they get wet.
- If you're going somewhere with snow and you don't
want to be dragging around a suitcase all over
the snow, dragging snow in your hotel room
and your place, then just bring a backpack.
Get a backpacker's backpack, and store all your stuff
that you'd be dragging around in the snow on your back
so it doesn't get wet.
- Thermals are going to be your best friend
during your winter travels.
I only started wearing them a couple of years ago,
crazy, especially as a Canadian, but oh my god,
they changed everything for me.
Thermals, thermals, how I love thee.
Thermals are super light, easy to pack, they don't
take up a lot of space, they keep you dry,
and they keep you warm.
Basically they are items of clothing, they're thin layers
that you wear as the base of your outfit, and then
you pile other clothing on top.
But they keep you nice and dry and warm because of
the material they're made out of, and because I'm
wearing them as my base layer under my jeans,
I can wear my jeans more times before I need to wash them
because I'm basically keeping them clean from the inside
because I have a base layer underneath.
Also when you wear thermals, you don't need those
thick snow pants, all you need are a pair of underwear,
your thermals, a pair of jeans, and a light,
waterproof layer over the top of your jeans.
When you wear these four layers instead of the big,
bulky snow pants, you have more mobility as well as
more space in your luggage.
- Bring a thermos that holds in temperature
for a very long time.
Whether you want something cold for super long
or hot for super long, I'm assuming hot,
because this is all about cold destinations.
So this thermos will not only keep you warm
because the liquids are super warm, but you can also
have it in your jacket with boiling water,
and it would just keep your core warm.
When you're going to and from your destination,
your thermos can also be just a container.
You can hold pens in there, you can hold jewelry,
you can hold rings, watches, whatever you want
to be safe in this little container.
You might as well use that space if it's not full
of liquid because space is limited.
- No need to go overboard when it comes to packing
clothing for winter destinations.
Because for the most part, you're gonna be wearing
your winter jacket.
So what I like to do is I like to bring a few hats,
a few scarves, and jewelry, and that is what
changes up my look, and it saves space in my luggage.
- Nobody likes paying for overweight bag fees
at the airport.
No one wants to check more than one bag, and a way
to get around this is to wear as many items as you can
on the plane.
Now don't go crazy with this, don't wear 10 pairs of
underwear and 14 pairs of socks and three hats.
You want to be at least comfortable, but you don't
want to have all your big, heavy, bulky items
on your checks baggage.
You want to wear those.
Wear your heavy jacket, wear your big hat, wear your
big boots, wear all your big, bulky items on the plane.
And then once you're on the plane, you can just
take all that stuff off and put it in the overhead,
and you don't have to deal with it.
- Pack black clothing.
Even though it's winter, cold weather you're dealing with,
if the sun is shining, if you're wearing black,
you're able to absorb more heat, which means
you will be warmer.
- Use vacuum-sealed bags.
These have really come in handy for us when we only
want to bring a carry-on or we have a limited amount
of stuff that we can bring.
We vacuum seal it and it takes stuff that would be
this big in your luggage, and compresses it probably
down to about this.
That way you can bring more items that you want
for your trip without sacrificing space.
And you don't always need a vacuum for a vacuum-sealed bag,
you can just sit on the bag and it will compress
and it won't inflate, that's just how they're designed.
I don't know the science behind it, some genius invented it.
- In order to save space when you're packing for winter,
you're gonna want to put items in other items.
So packing your hats, your gloves, your scarves
and stuffing them in socks will save space
in your luggage.
- Check to see if your end destination
rents out winter gear.
So instead of bringing the biggest jacket you have,
see if you can just rent it when you're there.
And that way you save space in your luggage.
If you can rent boots, if you can rent a hat,
if you can rent snow pants, all this stuff,
that adds up to a lot of space.
So if you can save that space and just rent it when
you're there, might be worth it.
Chances are in your winter destination, you can rent
skis and snowboards and snowshoes and all the fun
winter activities that you guys love, but you don't
have to bring it with you on the plane.
- Heating packs, they are very affordable,
you can even find them in some dollar stores,
and they keep you warm.
Oh my gosh, they will come to the rescue
when you need them the most.
So basically, they're these packs that you shake up,
you throw them in your gloves, you throw them in your
boot, and they heat up and they keep you nice and toasty.
They are a life saver sometimes.
- Pack Ziploc bags of any sizes.
Ziploc bags come in handy for many things.
One thing is to separate your wet and your dry clothes.
If something happens to get wet, if your gloves are wet,
your hat is wet, your socks get wet, you can actually
put it in a Ziploc bag, separate it from all your dry
stuff, and you can put a silica gel inside that bag
to suck out any moisture.
Now if you have a lot of moisture, I highly
recommend wringing it out first.
But you can use that silica gel to actually dry out
your stuff.
You'll find little packets of silica gels online,
you can buy tons of them online for dirt cheap.
Or if you ever get a new piece of equipment or a TV
or something, even shoes, you'll see these little
packets inside that say "Do not consume."
Those actually suck out moisture, so you can use those
in anything that's wet.
Toss that wet item in a Ziploc bag, throw a few
silica gels in there, seal it, leave it overnight.
By the next morning, it should be dry.
And it will get rid of any funky smell, mildew,
it will prevent mold, they come in super handy.
- If you do not have a waterproof bag, cover,
or suitcase cover, you can just use a garbage bag.
They're cheap, you probably have one in your house
right now, just bring a couple of those with you
so you're keeping your luggage nice and dry
when you're en route from one destination to another.
- If you're going to bring a camera or equipment with you
to your destination, winter is wet.
Snow is water, so it's important to keep your stuff
safe and dry.
I highly recommend bringing a hard case.
That way everything can be put in the case.
It can be water sealed, that way if your bag falls,
if you're caught in a snow storm, or something happens,
that your items don't get wet.
And if your electronics do get wet, make sure
to use silica gels again.
These gels are so handy for sucking out moisture,
so put it in a Ziploc bag, seal it tight with some
silica gels, leave it overnight or for a few days,
don't turn it on, take out the batteries,
and that should hopefully save your electronic.
- Feel like a lot of these tips are about
just staying dry, which is very important
in winter destinations?
It's not the cold that's dangerous in these destinations.
It's being wet.
When you're wet, you're cold.
When you're sweating, you get cold.
If you're dry, and in cold weather,
you can handle it all day.
As soon as you get wet, game over.
- We hope this video got you more exciting
for winter travels.
- Yeah, and a lot more prepared, more prepared than we were
our first few times traveling to winter destinations.
- Yeah.
- And we have a ton of tip videos and hack videos,
and you guys can check those out, we'll put links
everywhere possible.
And yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed.
Tune in next week for more fun videos.
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