Gear for Three Months of Backpacking in Europe during Winter

It would help a lot to know where you are from - like, does it snow where you live? etcetera.

Ah good point. I am from New Zealand (more specifically, Wellington). It never snows here, in winter it rains a lot and gets extremely windy, but temperatures usually range between 6 to 12 degrees C. I have however lived in Hungary for several years and experienced European winter - a few times when I wasn't properly prepared the cold left quite a vivid impression on me of just how cold it can get.

I have some brown waterproof New Balance walking shoes. They are pretty versatile, can handle walking on the streets or light hiking, and look a lot better than sneakers. And they're waterproof, of course.

"European winter" doesn't really exist, where in Europe are you going?

I'm from Melbourne/Brisbane and spent September '06-February '07 in Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Poland and Germany) two years ago. I had some waterproof walking/hiking boots that were very comfortable but bulky to carry, so I basically had to wear them all the time. However, walking around in them in snow (instead of soaking wet sneakers) made up for that. The coldest place I went was Poland, and there I was wearing thick socks (or two thin pairs), jeans, a tshirt, a wool vest and a jacket, with a beanie. Don't forget your head! Two layers of thermals sounds like overkill to me, but it was an unusually warm winter that year, I believe. And jeans really do suck in the wet. Depending where you are going, it may also be quite warm - in Spain between Christmas and New Year it was positively balmy! (Not swimming weather, but tshirts were ok). I can't tell you where to get your jacket as I borrowed mine from a friend - it was a ski jacket with removable polar fleece, and was sometimes uncomfortably warm for walking around in when I did need a jacket on. I bought the shoes at Kathmandu or Mountain Design, one of the camping shops like that, they had a good range and the salesguy knew what he was talking about it. If you buy the right shoes they will also work for going out in, which is highly desirable (although I found that my socks reeked in these shoes, maybe because the waterproofing reduced the air flowing around? Anyway, change the socks as often as necessary). A trench coat sounds like a horrible thing to try carrying around for three months (when you get to the bar/restaurant you'll take your coat off anyway, just have one coat), but you can definitely take some nicer normal clothes, they shouldn't take up too much room.

"Europe" may be as south as Greece or Spain, or Italy, with lows around 15°, as well as somewhere in Finland where there is maybe a few days during the winter when temperature "peaks" are a half °C above freezing point. A few pointers in your destination might help.

I've been doing approximately this the last few months. I brought nice shoes but have barely used them. Since you're a guy (right?) I guess it will be possible for you to find rugged shoes that are nice enough for evening too. Water proof is a very good idea, mine were not, quite, and it made things a lot less fun. I think one pair of jeans and one pair of nicer pants (light weight, so you can wear them on hot days, or over thermals for fancy occasions) is plenty. One casual shirt, one nice shirt, one warm sweater. I started travelling in mid February (in Hungary, actually), and decided to bring more under layers and a lighter coat, since dealing with a bulky coat is a pain in the neck. If it had been really really cold, I would've borrowed or bought a cheap second hand coat. Unless you're planning a lot of hiking, your casual shirt can be nice too, you don't have to only look nice the evenings. Watching how guys dress, I think you can go pretty much anywhere, day or evening, and look either sharp or average (say, in Italy), in slacks, a button down shirt, and a sweater over. I would make that your main outfit. Also, you should definitely check out couchsurfing.com Every experience I had with it was good, some were great, and it made a tremendous difference in my experience of travelling and meeting people and experiencing different places, as well as saving a lot of money. Tip: bring slippers! it's cold inside! you'll be glad you have them. I also got a watch with a compass that came in handy. Also, a ziplock bag for your passport. I brought an agenda to write what I did every day, couldn't quite manage a diary but this was doable to help me remember, also to make notes in as you go. What kind of tech are you planning on bringing? I bought SIM cards for my unlocked phone in most of the countries I went to, it was definitely worth the money (which wasn't so much). Also, I had some really cold days in Italy in March, so don't count too much on a balmy mediterranean. Sorry this is a bit disjointed, jave fun!

Thanks for all the input so far guys, keep it coming! I kind of forgot to specify about where I will be going because I wanted it to be as general as possible as I will be covering a lot of ground. To give you an idea though, I will have a 3 month Eurail Pass, and I am planning on spending most of my time in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Holland, Hungary, Austria but also hope spend a little time in Scandinavia and some of the smaller countries in central Europe (such as Czech Republic, Slovenia etc). I don't plan on going much east of Hungary or Croatia, I'm not even sure if I will make it to Poland. I know it sounds ambitious, but please don't tell me to cut down on my expectations - there will probably be an appropriate post for that in a few weeks :p Salamandrous: I have already checked out couchsurfing.com, and I am really keen to use it along my travels, it sounds awesome. Encouraging to hear you had such good experiences with it. Also, I will probably be purchasing a SIM card in Europe as I have heard many good things about this.

Unless I am misunderstanding you, two layers of thermal underwear sounds really uncomfortable. The comfortable, waterproof shoes is a good idea, and if you buy them carefully you will not need to carry a second pair -- look for ones that aren't too bulky, more leather than loud fabrics, shoes not SHOES!!!!, if you see what I mean. Rather than overthinking what you are bringing, and spending lots of money equipping yourself, I would suggest that Europe has plenty of clothing stores (expensive though they may be), and you can always buy clothes during your travels if you find your current stuff isn't that great. So don't overthink this -- pack really lightly, and budget for upgrades or replacements while you are there.