Our Experience Renting Winter Clothing with Tuque & Bicycle Experiences

This is our fourth trip to Canada with the kids, but our first time exploring the Montreal area in winter—a whole new experience for tropical folks like us! Our first visit was in 2018, when we traveled around Banff National Park. We later spent a month in Newfoundland, followed by an amazing month-long road trip through the Yukon and Alaska in summer 2024.

This year, after a Canadian tourism board pulled out at the last minute (we still have no idea why…), we decided to go ahead with the trip and spend 15 days in the snow and cold. We planned one week in the Laurentians and another in Montreal. Both articles were written by our good friend Valérie, whom we’ve known since our time in Mayotte in 2011 and who has lived in Montreal for years. She’s definitely the right person to introduce you to this beautiful region!

One of our main goals was to try a few activities with Manawa, a booking platform we recommend more and more often on the blog and a handy way to plan winter adventures in advance. For many activities here, booking ahead really is essential! Our other goal was much simpler: to show the kids real snow. Born in French Polynesia, they had never experienced anything like it. It was such a joy to share these landscapes—and that feeling—with them!

In this short article, we’re sharing a slightly different kind of experience. In partnership with Manawa and Tuque & Bicycle Experiences, we rented our winter clothing for all 15 days of the trip. Living in Guadeloupe, as you can imagine, we’re hardly equipped for freezing temperatures. Alaska in summer was manageable, but mornings at -17°C would have been another story, haha.

Let’s get into it!

As I mentioned in the introduction, we’re definitely not equipped for 15 days in the Canadian cold. Since we regularly work with Manawa, we discovered that renting clothes for a cold-weather trip was entirely possible—and honestly, it seemed like a great solution.

We were already tight on luggage space, and finding suitable winter gear in Guadeloupe would have been nearly impossible. We could have ordered everything online and had it shipped, but between customs fees and the risk of choosing the wrong sizes, it would have been a real hassle. It simply wasn’t worth it.

I recently completed a course on the ecological transition, and we’re trying to make small changes where we can. Obviously, flying here was not the most environmentally friendly choice, but renting used clothing from a local Canadian company still felt like a better option than buying brand-new gear shipped from the other side of the world…

We also didn’t love the idea of buying clothes for the kids that would no longer fit them next year. We did pick up a few base layers from Decathlon, but kept it to a minimum!

We coordinated with Manawa and Tuque & Bicycle Experiences to arrange our clothing rental for the full 15 days. As usual, the booking process went smoothly. Once everything was confirmed, we provided our sizes and weights, along with the location where we wanted to receive the gear. The convenient part is that you can either collect everything directly from their Montreal location or have it delivered free of charge anywhere on the island of Montreal. Delivery just outside the city is also available for a small additional fee.

We were in direct contact with Émilie, the woman behind Tuque & Bicycle Experiences, and communication honestly couldn’t have been easier. She was very responsive on WhatsApp, and we coordinated around our arrival time without any trouble. Émilie was wonderful, even though we ended up arriving about 30 minutes late…

As soon as we landed, we let Émilie know that we were running late. By the time we reached our hotel for the night (Hôtel Les Suites Labelle), she was already there waiting for us. Our friend Valérie was there too, with a few extra clothes and some small gifts for the kids!

A quick word about the hotel: we spent one night at Hôtel Les Suites Labelle, and we thought it offered very good value. The room was spacious and clean, and the staff was incredibly friendly. The person at the front desk even helped us order food at 10:30 p.m. We’d gladly recommend it for an overnight stay!

Back to the rental: Émilie had brought all our gear with her. The whole system is very organized, with a large labeled bag for each person, so nothing gets mixed up. As planned, we did a quick fitting in the hotel lobby. Émilie was fantastic—patient, helpful, and especially kind with the kids. Since we had sent our sizes in advance, nearly everything fit on the first try. Mélanie needed a couple of adjustments, but it was no problem. Drawing on her experience, Émilie had brought one size above and below for each of us. Her advice was excellent from start to finish.

For our trip, each rental set included:

• Winter coat: essential, since we didn’t own anything warm enough.
• Winter pants: just as necessary, since we no longer had any.
• Tuque (hat): we already had a few, but spares are always useful. The set included two: one lightweight and one warmer.
• Tubular scarf: a neck warmer, and always useful to have as a backup (we had also bought some very warm ones in Costa Rica).
• Mittens / Gloves: an absolute winter essential!
• Winter boots: another must-have when you’re walking through snow every day.
• Ski goggles: ideal for winter activities!
• Blivet phone pouch: useful for protecting your phone from the cold.
• Glove and boot dryer: we had never seen one before, but it was incredibly handy for drying our boots overnight. You simply plug it in, and it gently warms the inside.

Thanks to the rental gear, we stayed warm and comfortable throughout our two weeks in Quebec. Honestly, everything worked very well. We had no issues, and all the items—from the boots to the coats and snow pants—felt well made. The only possible improvement would be to include thermal base layers. It wasn’t a problem for us because we already owned some and bought a few more at Decathlon, but they could be a useful addition.

Our favorite item was the glove and boot dryer. It worked extremely well and made life much easier whenever we came back with wet gear. We simply put the boots on the dryer each evening, and even the kids quickly got into the habit. Every morning, everyone’s gear was dry and ready to go—exactly what we needed!

I’ll wrap up with a few more words about Tuque & Bicycle Experiences. We met Émilie at the hotel, and she told us how she founded the company on her own in 2020. It began with fat bikes—wide-tire bikes designed for snow—before expanding to electric scooters and bikes. She later launched the winter clothing rental service we tested, which is now available in Quebec City, Montreal, and Mont-Tremblant. Based on our experience, we wholeheartedly recommend it.

Here are the different options available:

In Montreal:

• Clothing rental (the one we tested)
• Fat bike rental

In Quebec City:

• Winter fat bike tour
• Fat bike rental
• Electric scooter sunset tour

That’s all from me! If you live somewhere warm like we do—or simply don’t want to buy winter gear for a trip to Quebec—renting your clothes in Montreal, Quebec City, or Mont-Tremblant is a very practical option.

While you’re here, take a look at Valérie’s article about the Mont-Tremblant area!

See you soon!

Written by Sylvain PONS

I had the opportunity to explore the beauty of this country I love on several different occasions and in different places (Canadian Rockies, the Island of Newfoundland for 1 month, Yukon and Québec)!

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