Best coats, jackets & vests according to redditors

Fam! Wow! Thanks so much for all your input! Mind if I ask follow-ups?

> Bring LOTS of cash. Fucking ATMs here charge ridiculous 220 baht ($7 USD) fees. EVERY SINGLE one of them. Exchange a small amount at the airport but do most in town to get a better rate. - Some places take credit cards (Visa and Mastercard, I've yet to see AMEX) but expect a 3% markup at most places. This is still preferrable to the ATM fees though unless you're withdrawing over $200 at once. Many places, especially 7 eleven have a 300 baht ($10 USD) minimum to use a CC as well, which I don't know if you've ever tried to spend $10 USD at a 7 eleven in thailand but it would be enough food for days. - Cabs are fucking ridiculously expensive compared to mexico and even the US, at least where I am. Even grab is a minimum $10 per short trip. Plan on renting a motorbike or taking buses unless you're going to be in Bangkok. It sounds like crazytown, but renting a motorbike for an entire day costs less than a 1km cab ride. Most places will want a 2000 baht deposit or your physical passport though, so again, bring LOTS of cash.

Yuuup! This is the case pretty much everywhere in The Global South / Developing countries. I always bring about 75% of what I plan to spend in the local currency, + the other 25% in USD, and try to stay within a tighter budget while having a safety net. Does 45,000 baht sound like enough for 2.5 weeks, including 8-10 dives? Or should I bring more?

I am never ever giving over my passport to anyone ever again, for any reason. Too many experiences with corrupt fucks. Someone asks me to hand over my passport, I fucking bolt unless there's nowhere to go, or they're physically holding a gun. Most folks in developing countries, even corrupt ones, don't get paid enough to chase you, in my experience.

> RAIN JACKET (especially southern areas). Personally I'm torn between bringing a nice one, or buying a crappy $1 one size here. The plus side of the one size is it'll cover you plus your backpack and most of your shorts, the downside is the hood sucks and it immediately starts getting holes in it

I was planning to bring this: matches my waterproof daypack and stuffs down pretty small. Reckon it'll do the job?

> Bring a light jacket. Once you get used to the weather if there's a cooler day or you're on a motorbike at night it can feel downright chilly

I live in one of the coldest cities in the world (-45-60C is common in winter) and dive in just shorts -- reckon this still applies? I was planning on bringing just this for coverage but it legit provides less warmth than a tank-top. I could bring this too -- pretty light, packs small, looks amazing. Honestly it's probably my favourite garment, and cheap to replace. Think it'll be light enough to wear with versatility? If you reckon it'd be too warm, are there any better alternatives you might suggest?

Maybe I'll wear these outfits in a sauna and see how they hold up, ha ha.

> I'm wearing Icebreaker 150 weight short sleeves, underwear, and midweight socks and have no complaints at all

Perfect. I think my short sleeves are 150 weight, antonica. Two black and one bright blue. Will probably just bring them + 3 of my dopest 100%poly tanks and be good to go for tops... would I avoid overheating, do you suppose, in typical dancefloor situation, wearing a 150 icebreaker T and the Uniqlo comfort jacket?

I have two pairs of icebreaker underwear -- one briefs, that have been super prone to wearing out, and one boxer briefs, which just don't provide any support at all. Is there a model you'd recommend?

> all I need is about 30 Liters

I reckon this 35L sleekness will be pretty appropriate then? The iPad & Keyboard I'm bringing for work will probably amount to nearly 5L, but the bag is designed so that it allegedly carries like a 25L.

> Personally I wouldn't bring the chacos unless they're you're main shoes. They're just too heavy and bulky as a second pair for me

I was planning on using them as my mains: shoes are mainly for air travel, bikes & possibly protection from insects. They're comfy AF and give me an extra inch of height which is cool when you're 5'9. The sneakers I was planning to bring have fairly large soles, but they're ridiculously lightweight. I'm slightly concerned about using them for hiking but will chat with my local shoestore and get their opinion.

> Bring a small daypack that you can stuff flip flops, swim trunks, backup battery, sunglasses, and a rain jacket.

This one should fit the bill! Stuffs down so small you can fit it in a shirt pocket, is submergibly waterproof allegedly, and best of all doesn't look touristy.

> - I'd bring the iPhone 11, slap an ESIM on there for your US number or get a google Fi esim and then use a local SIM for the physical SIM. You'll also have the benefit of a much better camera and probably battery life

Sadly my (Canadian) carrier (Telus) doesn't support eSIM yet -- but I'll check out the TRUEMOVE deal! But thanks for the additional confidence boost to bring the 11. One nice thing about iOS devices is they can all locate each other via GPS, including the airpods, in case anything does get lost or stolen.

> It sounds silly, but if you plan on staying at a hotel or anywhere with a TV bring a fireTV stick and a VPN. Most places have big flatscreens and It's really nice to be able to watch english TV programming occasionally and most places just have the free Thaisat so you'll get maybe one english channel like RT or CGTN or something. There's apps you can get to enable airplay on Firestick as well which is nice to have.

So I'd stick the Firestick into the HDMI, load up NordVPN on my phone, and cast it to the TV? The VPN is so I'm able to access services like Netflix from within Thailand? I'm thinking my downtime will be spent either doing work for school or my solopreneur non-profit, or else hungover in bed with my tablet -- but I'll look into this for the social aspect of it.

Thanks for all your amazing feedback!!!

ok no problem here you go. It's getting pretty late here though so it might be a day or two before I'm back online again:

>Yuuup! This is the case pretty much everywhere in The Global South / Developing countries. I always bring about 75% of what I plan to spend in the local currency, + the other 25% in USD, and try to stay within a tighter budget while having a safety net. Does 45,000 baht sound like enough for 2.5 weeks, including 8-10 dives? Or should I bring more?

Honestly I'd probably just bring your home currency and exchange here because it's gonna be much easier than trying to get Baht currency in the US or Canada or whatever, and I'd imagine the exchange rate would be just as good or better. 45K baht is a shitload man. I usually only withdraw 5k baht at a time from the ATM and that lasts at least a week. If you're not using a CC and doing LOTS of tours or dives and activities and going to bars and tourist restaurants all the time eating 500 baht lobsters and steaks then maybe 10k baht a week, because still you'll probably be booking places on Agoda using a CC to get the best room rates.

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>I am never ever giving over my passport to anyone ever again, for any reason. Too many experiences with corrupt fucks. Someone asks me to hand over my passport, I fucking bolt unless there's nowhere to go, or they're physically holding a gun. Most folks in developing countries, even corrupt ones, don't get paid enough to chase you, in my experience.

I'd prefer not to give mine up either, so I always pay the deposit. They will make a copy or at the very least get your passport number for the paperwork though.

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>I was planning to bring this: matches my waterproof daypack and stuffs down pretty small. Reckon it'll do the job?

Lol you're gonna be riding around lookin like darth maul in that ikea parka. If it's durable I'd say it's worth a shot. The only potential issue I see is that there's no sleeves so your arms are gonna get all wet if you're riding a bike, then puring rain is possibly gonna come thru the large arm slits. I'd get one and try it out though!

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>I live in one of the coldest cities in the world (-45-60C is common in winter) and dive in just shorts -- reckon this still applies? I was planning on bringing just this for coverage but it legit provides less warmth than a tank-top. I could bring this too -- pretty light, packs small, looks amazing. Honestly it's probably my favourite garment, and cheap to replace. Think it's worth it for my purposes? If you reckon it'd be too warm, are there any better alternatives you might suggest?

You'd think so, but there'll be that odd time when you'd wished you'd had a jacket. The one you linked looks just about perfect, but the blazer might be little too formal and possibly bulky? I was thinking more of just a simple zip up wool or synthetic. I've got an arcteryx delta LT personally cuz it's warmth to size and weight ratio is really good without being TOO warm. I might need to pick that Uniqlo hoodie up if it's lighter and smaller than the Delta LT cuz honestly it's a bit overkill unless it's below 50 or 60 F out.

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>I have two pairs of icebreaker underwear -- one briefs, that have been super prone to wearing out, and one boxer briefs, which just don't provide any support at all. Is there a model you'd recommend?

That's just the nature of the beast with the Icebreaker underwear. I'll usually have to replace them once a year or so, but considering I only have 2 or 3 pair it's not too bad, I just wait for a 25% off sale. I prefer their boxers for sure. I've tried some others wool brands in the past but they don't fit nearly as well. I've tried Exofficios too, but not nearly as comfy or odor resistant.

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>I reckon my 35L sleekness will be pretty appropriate then? The iPad & Keyboard I'm bringing for work will probably amount to nearly 5L, but the bag is designed so that it carries like a 25L.

Oh yeah you should be good. I wish I could get away with just an iPad Pro, I'd save considerable amount of bulk and weight.

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>This one should fit the bill! Stuffs down so small you can fit it in a shirt pocket, is submergibly waterproof allegedly, and best of all doesn't look touristy.

That matador looks pretty sweet. I've got an REI flash which is a little bit bulkier but has some back padding. The main thing I wish for is more than one small pocket to stash wallet, room key, motorcycle key, coins, sunglasses, battery bank, etc. Maybe the freerain is better in that regard? Might have to pick one up if so.

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>So I'd stick the Firestick into the HDMI, load up NordVPN on my iPad, and cast it to the TV? The VPN is so I'm able to access services like Netflix from within Thailand? I'm thinking my downtime will be spent either doing work for school or my solopreneur non-profit, or else hungover in bed with my tablet -- but I'll look into this for the social aspect of it.

Yeah, but sometimes regular VPN services can be blocked by some services because they're easily detectable. I use OpenVPN to my router at home for maximum compatibility, and also it's free. There's also the issue that you can't always airplay or chromecast to a TV from apps like netflix, HBO Go, etc. so if you want to play it on the TV it's got to be on the stick with the VPN app connected. It sounds trivial but it's real nice to have some english language anything at the end of the day, even if it's just on in the backgroud.

I left my stick at home because I thought there's no way I'd have time to use it or I'd forget it somewhere, but after like 4 or 5 days I realized that was pretty dumb. I broke down and bought a "TrueTV" box here because Amazon Fire TV isn't a thing you can really get, neither is Roku, neither are smart TVs that have apps built in like flat screens everywhere else in the world, and Apple TVs cost like $100 or $200 more than in the US with major limitations since you can't use VPN apps on them.

Oh, and one more thing I forgot on my original list: SUNGLASSES

Holy shit you'd think you could find some knock off ray-bans or something for cheap in thailand, but outside of Bangkok it's been the exact same shitty dollar store sunglasses at every vendor, or fucking shops in the mall that want $200+ talked down from the $300 of $350 MSRP for *maybe* legit ray-bans or armanis or whatever. Fuck that. There's literally no inbetween. Unfortnately I lost mine before I left and the new pair didn't make it in time.