6 Winter Commute Essentials

It’s November!

I did my best to deny the fact that the first official day of winter is in just over a month, but this week has been freezing.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the fall weather here in Victoria with its moderate temperatures, beautiful colours, and sunsets that are consistently gram (Instagram) worthy.

The most difficult part is how quickly that disappears to make way for the cold and humid weather. I’m definitely bad at predicting when it’s gonna be a freezing cold day. I’m just a guilty Vancouver BC native, but I still know when I see my own breath, it’s cold!

What we’re gonna explore in this post are six essentials (in no particular order) to keep you going on your fall/winter commute. From getting you to class on time, in style or warmer than ever, these six items have you covered!

1: Battery Bank + Handwarmer

I don’t know about you, but if having a cold pair of hands touching an even colder, almost out of battery, smartphone while waiting for the bus at 7 in the morning sounds anything but fun, you’d be correct. It isn’t.

What is, however, is a phone getting topped up on battery as you warm your cold hands up. The only thing that could make this better? Coffee or tea (if that’s your thing),  but we’ll get to that later down the list.

This sub $40 piece of life-saving equipment will have your back when nothing else really could. The device is good to charge your typical iPhone twice or most Androids 1.5 times. If you don’t trust me, just check the Amazon reviews (just click the picture to go pick one up).

2: The Down Vest

You might already have one, or your friends probably wear them; the down vest. The holy grail of fall/winter outfit items is actually what I’d consider an essential to any versatile wardrobe.

Remember the more layers of clothing the more flexible you are to changing conditions, while also losing some toe reaching capabilities… So just because everyone has one, it’s with good reason!

These amazing pieces of clothing are warm and light, are easy to pack, but work perfectly with a hoodie and rain shell for in/out of class flexibility. Also, most down vests are cheaper than that Patagonia fleece you must admit you’ve been considering for weeks.

If you’re wanting to pick one up, first try the thrift stores, if not check out the links down below!

Recommended men’s version and women’s version

3: Hot drink thermos 

If you are still bringing a ceramic mug of any kind along on your commute, I’m sorry but you’re doing it all wrong.

A good stainless steel or bamboo (if you don’t like how the metal can affect the taste) mug can make a world of difference, often allowing you to sip or enjoy that hot beverage till its all gone at the temperature originally intended!

Find some good ones at Capital Iron in Downtown Victoria or The Bay (yes, The Bay actually has good travel mugs at good prices!), and of course Amazon since not all of us can spend time out shopping :(.

4: Smart WIFI Plug

If you ever dreamed of having a freshly brewed coffee right as you got out of bed, or had your lights turn on just in case you pressed snooze too many times, then, of course, the Smart plug is essential for you.

If you have a Google Home or Amazon Alexa, this plug will be able to work with them! If what I just said made no sense, no worries! It’s as simple as downloading the app and connecting the device to your wifi network. Then WOAHLA! Control the device from your phone, the Google Home or Amazon Alexa (if you have one), or even just the manual switch on the device!

The possibilities of things to automatically turn on and off are endless for this device! Regardless of what you may think, it always helps to have something taken off the morning to do list. Check out the recommended device by clicking the photo!

5: Windshield Cover

This one is for all of you who drive to campus. A simple yet super effective solution to frost is a windshield cover. Most effective if you park on the street and are often without the spare time (after sleeping in) to scrape off the frost let alone let the car heat up.

This solves that problem and is really easy and cheap! Using magnets (so pretty much magic) it’ll stay attached to your front windshield. There are some crazy umbrella like solutions if you’re really into the portable car cover game. But for ease of access, this will do the average Joe best.

6: Instant Hot Beverages

While freshly brewed coffee, tea, and others are usually of optimal taste, however, time is usually of the essence. If you lack favourites let me share you the best of the best (in my opinion of course).

The best instant coffee is Nescafe Classic. Find it at all the major grocery stores and often on sale! Black tea bags: I choose Tetley brand most often for overall consistent steeping! Then lastly hot cocoa! I’ve recently discovered Purdy’s hot chocolate which is 100% sustainable and tastes delicious!

Thanks for reading!

Thank you for taking the time to look over the list! If you have any suggestions for any future guides or your own favourites, be sure to comment below!