[aaron-xp]

I haven't been at the forums for quite a while (and a lot has changed since). Wanted to ask you guys how am I to survive winters in Chicago. I'll be spending my college years over there, and I believe that'd be quite a change from the weather I experience over here in Singapore.

How would something like this fare?

 

[Currawong]

I recommend a proper, high-quality, box-wall down jacket. Most down jackets are stitch-through, so where the seams are visible on the front and back of the jacket, there is no insulation, only in the sections between. A box-wall jacket has walls sewn in (at considerably greater expense I might add) so there are no cold spots. However, they are quite expensive, often $4-500. However, they are very worth it, being light-weight, stuff-able and extremely warm. The down side is they are a bit puffy when driving, so I tend to tire of wearing mine by the end of winter, but at the beginning it is awesome. It is most useful in that I don't have to wear anything more than a t-shirt underneath to be warm, so when I arrive at work, which is often overheated, I don't end up having to strip off sweaters and whatnot, just take off the jacket to be comfortable once I get inside.

 

[appophylite]

Quote:

I recommend a proper, high-quality, box-wall down jacket. Most down jackets are stitch-through, so where the seams are visible on the front and back of the jacket, there is no insulation, only in the sections between. A box-wall jacket has walls sewn in (at considerably greater expense I might add) so there are no cold spots. However, they are quite expensive, often $4-500. However, they are very worth it, being light-weight, stuff-able and extremely warm. The down side is they are a bit puffy when driving, so I tend to tire of wearing mine by the end of winter, but at the beginning it is awesome. It is most useful in that I don't have to wear anything more than a t-shirt underneath to be warm, so when I arrive at work, which is often overheated, I don't end up having to strip off sweaters and whatnot, just take off the jacket to be comfortable once I get inside.

I have two of these. One by Carhartts and another by another company (Far Sea? Something North?, I can never remember). Both were bought for me by work and yes indeed, both manage to keep you warm during a wind/snow storm in the Arctic North, so I trust they will hold up to Chicago.
 
 

 

[Vikingatheart]

I bought a 686 jacket a few years before I left Vermont, and whether I was snowboarding or just walking in the cold woods it would always keep me warm. They also tend to look rather cool.