[Pudu]

Agree with you about Gore-tex. Mine is micro-something or other (2 layer) which I got to shove in a pack when travelling. I wear it only occasionally, when it's raining too hard for a soft shell.

Two thing s to keep in mind.

1- It's about heat output. If I wasn't working hard enough, the R2 wouldn't be warm enough to just stand around it. Also if there's any wind I need something more.

2- When I say base layer, I don' t mean t-shirt. I use long sleeved recycled polyester that has a sort of half height turtle neck. Cheap but they work well.

 

[Currawong]

I need to research undergarments as well. During winter I'll be working some of the time in schools with no heating in freezing temperatures and I sweat. I wear cotton sweat pants under my dress pants though, which helps a lot. It's just the top layers I'd like to cut down.

 

[Il Mostro]

Quote:

I need to research undergarments as well. During winter I'll be working some of the time in schools with no heating in freezing temperatures and I sweat. I wear cotton sweat pants under my dress pants though, which helps a lot. It's just the top layers I'd like to cut down.

Silk long underwear trumps the polypropylene stuff IMO -- you can select from different degrees of insulating qualities.  Merino wool is really nice too, since it is thin, soft and non-itchy unlike ordinary wool long johns.

 

[Uncle Erik]

ugh. all the suggestions are down. synthetics just don't perform the same apparently. i will just have to layer the synthetics. i am thinking-underarmor/sweater/r4/gortex. i wanted all one piece but it appears it does not exist in synthetics. unless i do a columbia/northface (zizo). i don't know how warm those are.
 
uncle eric i am sure you saw me in the cat thread. i have multiple animals indoors and out(farm). the amount of fur seems sort of impossible. combing a himalayan/birman produces 3 to 5 cups of hair lol. they need to be combed twice a day to. yes, it would seem input does not equal output lol.
 
indeed i am a serious vegan. that means i won't own any down or wool products. there are some animal products i have when they cannot be avoided and i feel really bad about that. i certainly will not ingest any!

Seriously, though, why not try cat hair? They enjoy being groomed and, my word, there is a lot of it. It usually ends up in the trash, but it is warm and insulating. Cats do survive in sub-freezing temperatures.

So why not put it to use? It could probably be washed, dried and turned into stuffing. I'd think about making a vest out of synthetic and then stuff it with cleaned cat hair. It wouldn't be strictly vegan, but you'd know that animals were pleased in the process of making it. It might even be a good excuse for adopting another.

 

[cyberspyder]

The Wiggy's stuff is overrated personally, kudos that it's made in the USA but that's about it. I find eVent to be a better substitute to Gore-Tex (or any of its variants).

 

[music_man]

ok so the jacket is taken care of thanks guys. it seems any one serious about the outdoors layers. so will i from now on. i like h2no better than event. columbia is a sprayed liner mostly than is imo worse than gore. hyvent is pretty good too. like i said gore is like tempurpedic. their technology has been taken to new levels by others. still, gore is very important in things like surgery.
 
uncle erik, i have animals that produce fur. like rabbits,sheep etc. i think i am going to offer some friends a deal if they will let me destroy a cruel item of theirs i will make them a new one out of fur from animals that were not harmed! honestly i could make money with fur production and not harm the animals but i am out for animal welfare not profit. you can read about what burlington did. bad news. very few places i wouldn't shop but i draw the line with that one. no matter, their stuff is junk anyhow.
 
btw, for what it is the bugaboo is a nice jacket if i must say so myself. no wonder it has been around 25 years. that is not what i plan to wear but if i were running to the grocery store.....
 
the only downside of my journey is i spent like 2 grand on jackets and layers. i have like 4 complete layered jackets now.

 

[Mathias Bak]

I would suggest the Canada Goose Expedition Parka. It's really nice and warm . You could also go for a shell jacket and use more layers. 

 

[kylecassidy]

I've been looking for an animal friendly parka too for a few months now. There are a lot of primaloft options at places like the sportsmansguide and cabellas -- I was hoping to find a serious winter parka, 3/4 length with big exterior pockets so I could carry a lot of gear. The best options I've found so far are the Wiggy's Antarctic Parka and some variation of the government issue snorkle N-3B cold weather gear. There are a variety of N-3B's, made by all sorts of people, I'm a bit turned off by the buttons as I don't think they're easy to do and undo with gloves on -- was hoping for snaps, but the price is right at about $150 as opposed to $300-400 for the wiggy's. 
 
Love to hear what you come up with.

 

[music_man]

i am using a fission sv. $600 jacket dammit. it is like +4f with a sweatshirt i am slightly cold nothing bad. i think it would keep me safe in an emergency at -20f but i would not be comfortable i am sure. layering a nylon shirt,underarmour coldgear,patagonia r4,and patagonia rainsghadow seems like it will handle the arctics. that is a lot of bulky clothing and not fun to like go to a restaurant and put all that on and off. it is actually hot for tractor riding. even that little exertion gets too hot in all that. i suppose there is nothing perfect as of yet. you will either be slightly cold or overheated with what exists now. if you are exerting a lot then really a sweatshirt will handle -20f like on a 5k run. so honestly i spent a lot of money on jackets,layers and am no better off than a columbia interchange! the columbia is no mountain gear but it is a ingenious design to work 3 seasons. however that is a pain to take apart too. oh well.

 

[Audio-Omega]

Is a down jacket better than layering ?

 

[JadeEast]

I like down for it's ease of use. It's just one layer efficient layer you can chuck on. Layering is a bit more adjustable and less of an all or none proposition. Where I used to live and snowboard a bunch it got pretty cold (for me, I'm sure others would be fine) and a down jacket was good for dry cold days walking to the post office. For more active stuff layering was always a much better option.
 
Layering gives you a bit more flexibility than down. A vest is a great layer to add warmth of an outfit, and it can be pretty cheap. One advantage of vests is that the pit area is open and temperatures get regulated during activities. Remember that with layering you need to  trap some air between the layers, so don't go too slim fitting on the mid and outer layers- not much lycra in the arctic. 
  

 

[bhd812]

I don't spend much time in the extreme cold myself, Maybe just Maybe I have to walk 5 miles to work if my car can't drive out of the garage because of the deep snow in the alley. Those days are rare since i only had to do it 4 times in three years.  I usually can get away with layers and a thick pea coat, as long as my face/head and hands/feet are protected i am good. I find it more of a fun Challenge to walk in the bad weather and last years snowpocalypse  kicked my butt! I was totally under prepared for it. This year I bought a Cheap Eddie Bauer Parka and I am looking for some good cheap Snow boots now. I never liked wearing Fleece in the layers though like some suggest, I sweat way too much and then it turns cold fast with Fleece. I feel bad for you people who have to be out in the cold more then i do, but I believe the layer approach is the best as long as your layers are chosen wisely. Also I never believed in heavy clothes as they tire you down more then help with the weather...but again I am not out in the bad stuff often.
 
I always found the difference between walking in 25 degrees vs walking in 15 degrees mind blowing, that 10 degree change can destroy you so fast if youre not prepared.

 

[music_man]

just filling up your car in chicago is a dread. it is unbearable in northern wisconsin though. well, the wind in chicago is killer on it's own. thats why they always say "feels like". however i am out farming a long time. the problem with layers for me is i have to keep taking them off when i get hot and putting them back on when i get cold. since i am doing mixed activities. there really seems to be no all in one answer for me so i am just dealing with it as i have before. also you are right 25 vs. 15 is a big deal. now try -25 lol. thats not even that bad. there are places in the us that get to minus 60 so i am told. quite frankly that will actually kill a person in 10 minutes unprotected.

 

[Audio-Omega]

Is Columbia's quality as good as North Face's ?

 

[Scott_Tarlow]

Quote:

Is Columbia's quality as good as North Face's ?

I don't like either brand. the brands I tend to enjoy are Patagonia, Khul, Mountain Hardware, and REI brand products. To me the REI brand products not only look better, but are of a better quality than the North Face and Columbia's offerings. And North Face gear tends to be more expensive than both.