Being a Chicago native since birth, I should be used to the incredibly cold weather. Unfortunately, I hate it more than anything. Lately I have been trying to battle this with many north face coats, wool coats, etc and I never seem to be warm enough. Walking a dog at 11pm down madison st at night is frankly painful for me. I have been looking into down coats etc lately.

 

 

 

The question is, what jackets, hats, etc do YOU use to stay warm?

Being a Chicago native since birth, I should be used to the incredibly cold weather. Unfortunately, I hate it more than anything. Lately I have been trying to battle this with many north face coats, wool coats, etc and I never seem to be warm enough. Walking a dog at 11pm down madison st at night is frankly painful for me. I have been looking into down coats etc lately.

 

 

 

The question is, what jackets, hats, etc do YOU use to stay warm?

 

Well, it's as cold down here as it ever gets. I usually go with either a blue and green plaid hoodie or a black pea coat.

Columbia.

Knitted hats are a must, IMO.

 

Other than that I like to do a north face denali jacket w/ a hoody underneath. That or a wool peacoat & scarf.

Knit hat.

Thick winter socks.

German Military jacket. Warm, but it's heavy. Big hood also.

 

Layers and layers. For the coldest days... T-shirt, long sleeve T-shirt, hoodie, and coat. Regular pants, with double layered sweat pants on top. Coat, hat, scarf, ear cover, and gloves.

You don't know cold. . .

 

I have a calf length Eddie Bower down jacket and Sorel boots. I also have a wool hat (with fleece lining) and ski mittens (Columbia) for when I take the dogs on their walks.

Columbia.

Do you like it? I've historically been a North Face guy, and ive switched to Mt Hard Wear lately and like the lighter winter coats. I'm looking for a good down coat now I think.

Do you like it? I've historically been a North Face guy, and ive switched to Mt Hard Wear lately and like the lighter winter coats. I'm looking for a good down coat now I think.

 

Well, living in Iowa it's always done the job. They might seem a bit bulky, but they keep you warm.

 

The key is always a good hat and gloves, plus boots if necessary.

Everyone is always making fun of the way I wear pretty much just a jacket through even the harshest of Chicago winters. I hate having all that s*** on me.

Being an outdoorsman, I have tried a wide variety of these things.

 

First, warm feet are everything - smart wool socks rock. You can get them in all sorts of colors, so they look fine even with dress shoes. Worth it.

 

My winter jacket is a 686 coat meant for skiing or snowboarding, but works great here. Has a zip-out liner, which to me is a key, to give some easy flexibility for how warm you want to be. Columbia makes good warm stuff too, with zip-out liners, glove sleeves, etc.

 

North Face, as a brand, has gone downhill. Since they are now an "in" brand, a lot of their stuff isn't as quality as it once was. I no longer buy North Face gear - seen too many people have problems with it, including myself.

 

Finding good warm gloves that aren't giant mitts is tough - that's one I've never gotten just right. Can't offer much help there.

 

I wear a wool head band and pull up the hood, unless its really cold, then I use a cinchilla or thinsulate hat, from a company like Marmot. Marmot, by the way, is a very good brand - my storm shell is a marmot and its truly water tight.

 

Also, if you have to wear dress pants, try for the ticker materials, even though they don't look as slick. If you must where nicer dress slacks (instead of khakis), then its all about the underwear, and I won't go there in this post.

 

Make sure your jacket is more than waist length as well, whatever it is.

 

Another good brand for warm but compact gear - Arcteryx. My medium weight jacket is Arcteryx, its thin and looks good, but can still go comfortably down to 40 or so. And they make warmer, real winter jackets too.

 

Last key, as others have said, if you don't have real warm outerwear - layers.

 

North Face, as a brand, has gone downhill. Since they are now an "in" brand, a lot of their stuff isn't as quality as it once was. I no longer buy North Face gear - seen too many people have problems with it, including myself.

So accurate. Thats why I started buying Mt Hardware, I heard that the original folks from NF started it and the coats are such a high quality IMO. I have their windstopper jacket and its easily the best I've purchased in the last several years.

I wear a Carhartt Extremes coat. I've been a Carhartt guy since grade school since I looked up to my dad. I also have 2 other older Carhartts still going strong. Interestingly enough, my dad has moved away from Carhartt a bit because, like the north face complaints, the quality isn't as great while prices stay high. Construction workers swear by it so I know they have no problems selling...

 

Today I wore flannel-lined jeans to work. They're Dickies and I got them for $15 shipped from dickies.com a couple of months ago with a coupon code.

I wear a Carhartt Extremes coat. I've been a Carhartt guy since grade school since I looked up to my dad. I also have 2 other older Carhartts still going strong. Interestingly enough, my dad has moved away from Carhartt a bit because, like the north face complaints, the quality isn't as great while prices stay high. Construction workers swear by it so I know they have no problems selling...

 

Today I wore flannel-lined jeans to work. They're Dickies and I got them for $15 shipped from dickies.com a couple of months ago with a coupon code.

Oh s***, flannel-lined jeans!!! WTF!!! How have I missed out on that technology?

It's Cold Outside

North Face is out, Patagonia is in

long johns ftw. With those I can wear pretty much any outer wear jacket and stay warm, which is important, because I need to look good at all times - and DO.

 

Fortunately, It's 30 degrees C here, so all I need is a T-shirt and jeans. Go Brazilian lax work dress code.

I put on sweater this morning. Sometimes I may put on a light windbreaker.

 

btw, I like the Peruvian style caps. I like warm ears.

Hit a record here with a frigid 27ºF night. Been cold for most of the last two weeks with more to come. And being among the very few times I can actually use my fireplace in Florida, I say Bring It On!

Columbia.

 

Yes.

North Face is out, Patagonia is in

I feel like that is definitely the trend. I love Patagonia. I did get a North Face vest from my brother for Christmas, though, which is pretty warm even in this cold weather.

I feel like that is definitely the trend. I love Patagonia. I did get a North Face vest from my brother for Christmas, though, which is pretty warm even in this cold weather.

 

I feel like everyone is in a uniform in Winter around Chicago. Everyone has black north face jackets. Hell I actually own one. I picked up a columbia last year just to be a bit different when my last North Face needed replacement. We are going to pick up the wife a new jacket at the end of the season ( when we usually buy our winter coats ). I will have to add Patagonia into the mix.

 

Hit a record here with a frigid 27ºF night. Been cold for most of the last two weeks with more to come. And being among the very few times I can actually use my fireplace in Florida, I say Bring It On!

oh what i wouldn't give for a high of 27...

If you like brands like Carhartt, and similar stuff - rugged, tough clothing - check out Duluth Trading Company. Great stuff to be had there, and serious warm weather gear. Not fluffy, pretty stuff.

 

 

I feel like that is definitely the trend. I love Patagonia. I did get a North Face vest from my brother for Christmas, though, which is pretty warm even in this cold weather.

 

I feel like everyone is in a uniform in Winter around Chicago. Everyone has black north face jackets. Hell I actually own one. I picked up a columbia last year just to be a bit different when my last North Face needed replacement. We are going to pick up the wife a new jacket at the end of the season ( when we usually buy our winter coats ). I will have to add Patagonia into the mix.

 

Patagonia is absurdly overpriced. They, like North Face, used to make high end outdoor gear - now they mostly make stuff for the masses (like North Face). Which is all fine, except what happens inevitably in that scenario is, the mass-produced stuff goes down in quality, but still stays expensive.

 

If you want the best warm weather gear available at any given time, for a decent price, find the brands currently "in" with one of two groups - outdoorsmen, or tradesmen. The outdoorsy companies right now are the likes of Marmot, Mountain Hardware, Arcteryx. With Tradesmen it hasn't changed much, its Carhartt, or Duluth Trading, or similar places. That's where you'll get the best, warmest, toughest stuff.

 

Blue Levis, t-shirt, and my leather jacket. Pretty much what I wear all year round.