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hozholla wrote:

After touring Thailand and Cambodia we will find ourselves in North Vietnam during March. I have read Sapa and area can be chilly to downright cold, with fog and rain that time of year. I do not want to carry cool weather clothes throughout our 3 month trip and would like to buy a sweater and jacket while in Hanoi. Are US XXL sizes available?  I am not a fashionista, nor am I adverse to 2nd hand clothing.

Any information is gratefully appreciated.

I never saw those sizes off the rack when shopping in Hanoi.

You can get a tailor to make you a basic coat quickly (1 or 2 days).

Sweater might be more of a challenge.

I hope someone else has better input for you.

hozholla wrote:

After touring Thailand and Cambodia we will find ourselves in North Vietnam during March. I have read Sapa and area can be chilly to downright cold, with fog and rain that time of year. I do not want to carry cool weather clothes throughout our 3 month trip and would like to buy a sweater and jacket while in Hanoi. Are US XXL sizes available?  I am not a fashionista, nor am I adverse to 2nd hand clothing.

Any information is gratefully appreciated.

I have:
A thermal shirt.
A very thin hoodie.
A thin bandana type thing that can be worn over the head under a baseball cap or used to keep your neck warm.
An ultralight waterproof poncho.
A folding baseball cap.

All are super thin, very light to carry, and take up next to no space, but have kept me warm in near freezing weather and dry in heavy rain. Camping shops have such things and, bonus, they come cheap.

The shirt is very much like the one in the top picture, but blue. However, I paid a lot less so shop around.

My banana is plain black but otherwise like these. Worn as a head covering, even such a thin item will keep you warm.



Given politics, especially at the moment, I would avoid anything with Old Glory on it.

Ultralight waterproof poncho.
Mine is a little thinner, but this gives you the idea

The folding baseball cap is a must for hot weather.

The ultralight hoodie is amazing in cold weather, more so if you add the thermal shirt in very cold weather, and is great on aircraft or trains where the air conditioning is set at artic temperatures.
Mine has a zip front so a little better than the one pictured on the site - I bought it in Malaysia for not a lot of money.



The whole lot is backpacker friendly in so much as the weight and bulk are all but nothing, but the advantages are well handy.

I can't imagine what US size XXL would translate to in VN.  In the States, I wore size petite XS (fitted) or petite S (relaxed), but I have to go for regular L here. 

The T shirts my husband bought in Europe a couple weeks ago were size S.  They would be L here.

Fred's advice is spot on, There's no need to buy bulky sweater and jacket.  We've been travelling in well below 0 C (single digit F) for decades without ever packing anything bulky.  Merino is the best for all weather, light to pack and takes up very little space.  Last week, I put on a pair of merino yoga pants in Austria and continued to wear them for 2 more days in Saigon.  It's perfectly fine.

I purchased an XL goretex( fake ) north face jacket last year in Hanoi.
Total cost $20 Canadian. They had bigger sizes also.
I was Leary of the quality, it's been a year, jacket is great, and waterproof.
For $20 it was a steal.
Hundreds of shops and sizes styles etc.

Canman62 wrote:

I purchased an XL goretex( fake ) north face jacket last year in Hanoi.
I was Leary of the quality, it's been a year, jacket is great, and waterproof.
For $20 it was a steal.

Some of the North Face in Hanoi are real.  They're seconds or surpluses, and supposed to be destroyed or held off for special sales.  Instead, they are sold in private shops.

Ciambella wrote:

I can't imagine what US size XXL would translate to in VN.  In the States, I wore size petite XS (fitted) or petite S (relaxed), but I have to go for regular L here. 

The T shirts my husband bought in Europe a couple weeks ago were size S.  They would be L here.

My experience is about like yours.  Add a minimum of two sizes.  The problem is if you are an XXL in the west then you will be hard pressed to find 4XL.  Actually I am rather surprised that otherwise skillful marketers in Vietnam have not capitalized on this by making larger sizes available for sale in places that cater to tourists, like Chợ Ben Thanh or its equivalent in Hanoi.  Factories are making them because they are being sold in the US in places like Costco with tags that say "Made in Vietnam."

Ciambella wrote:

Some of the North Face in Hanoi are real.  They're seconds or surpluses, and supposed to be destroyed or held off for special sales.  Instead, they are sold in private shops.

I am certain that you are correct.  I don't think much or anything in my closet fits that description but I know that my wife has some shirts like that.  What tells me is that the quality is high and they are Cabela's, an outdoor sports brand familiar to me but not to most Vietnamese.  Another thing to look for is subdued discrete labeling and logos.  Of course the t-shirts with polo players or Gucci logos that cover half the front are fake

Ciambella wrote:

Canman62 wrote:

I purchased an XL goretex( fake ) north face jacket last year in Hanoi.
I was Leary of the quality, it's been a year, jacket is great, and waterproof.
For $20 it was a steal.

Some of the North Face in Hanoi are real.  They're seconds or surpluses, and supposed to be destroyed or held off for special sales.  Instead, they are sold in private shops.

Nice to hear this! The reason I was thinking it was fake was because of the goretex. Generally speaking, a layer of goretex sewn into a product, adds $$$$$ to the price, I own several pieces of clothing etc with  goretex. Another thing is they didn't use YKK zippers, which north face uses.my size is large, borderline XL, , the XL fits well. But it can be a bit of a chore finding larger sizes, same for trainers, running shoes.
I was amazed at the lack of larger sizes in shoes.as stated, they should be aware that western buyers require larger sizes. BTW, I shopped for 3-4 days for the jacket, new what the bottom line was before I bought it. You can go online and see how to tell fakes from real, usually by the logos etc.
But very happy with my purchases.

Ciambella wrote:

I can't imagine what US size XXL would translate to in VN

In the States I usually wear 2X.

Here, when I find a vendor (usually at Ben Thanh market, Saigon) that has something which fits me, it's either a 4X or 5X