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Cold, cold, cold

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I donated my old Air Force parka to Goodwill a few years ago. Now I'm looking for a replacement before the coldest Wisconsin moons. What do you Canadian brethren wear for in the coldest weather? I stopped by REI today and looked at the Fjallraven and North Face parkas. Was disappointed that only 600 and 550 down is used, but maybe that's standard for this traditional style parka.
 
I'm with recped. All my stuff is old or cheap or both. I don't have a big warm coat, I just keep adding layers underneath. No problems being out in -20f except for my face.

Alan
 
I'm with Alan on this. Kathleen and I wear layers of wool. Generally inexpensive Stanfields, in various weights, with an outer windbreak. Here is Kathleen with a canvass windbreak, with coyote ruff.

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This is me, at minus 40 F. No big deal on a calm day. Stanfield wool with a Pendelton shirt. I was so hot sawing wood, that I took off my second-hand down coat, seen to the right.

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Shoot, I forgot I have a Filson Double Mackinaw somewhere. Had it for over 20 years. Haven't wore it much since moving to Ohio. Rarely cold enough. Thanks, I'll dig that out of the closet, save a few bucks. The price of those Canadian Goose coats is stuipid high. Who can spend that on a coat?
 
Likewise, it's layers of wool, starting with Stanfields one piece long underwear. Wool shirt, homemade wool pants and hoodie, wool jacket and then my 35 year old down parka which I had to recover a few years ago. On top of that is my homemade ETA proof (ventile) anorak with black fox ruff. This is for non-active activities such as this snowmobile magnetic survey on Baffin Island at -45C. If I'm walking, then the parka comes off but the anorak remains, depending on how windy it is.

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I bought a Marmot down parka thirty years ago when I first moved to Alaska. It is still like new as I have only used it on a few overnight expeditions and the occasional trip down town to watch the New Years fireworks or sled dog races. It's too much coat for me for every day use.
 
I love down. People seem to have forgotten that for years, many down sleeping bags and coats were made with duck down, even chopped chicken feathers.
It seems absurd to me to be "disappointed" that a goose down coat "only has 600 fill down."
It is very handy to have a long parka with hood in cold climates. I had one in Wyoming where just going out to warm up the truck at -30 F could be a daunting task.
I moved to Nevada and gave it away. Now I have down jackets but use them mostly in the mountains or brief cold spells.

Once people get layered up for being outside, a parka is too warm for being active. They are mostly used during rest stops or around camp. Down pants can be a game changer.
 
I have a Canada Goose Resolute. I bought it way before it turned into a fashion statement - mine has Snow Goose branding. With the hood zipped all the way, my dad said I looked like a caribou's butthole. Looking now for a parka for my wife - probably going to be either Outdoor Survival Canada or Arctic-Bay.
 
Now I remember, the Filson coat is good alone but tight with a mid layer.

I used to have a surplus army sleeping bag with some kind of feathers that always poked through the shell. It was warm, but not as warm as a modern bag with good down and a fraction of the bulk and weight. I have had several 550-600 power fill bags and none were near as warm or light as 650+. My old parka was so full (not down) I looked like the pillsbury dough boy wearing it. Wear chicken feathers if you want ppine, I'll look for ethically harvested quality water resistant down of 650+ whenever possible.
 
BF, you are throwing around the FP rating of the equipment and TBH, that has very little to do with how well they will perform in the cold.

The FP does indicate how much down it will take to fill a given space, but whether that space gets filled with 900+ down or 500 down has very little to do with the temp rating of the product. If you have a down bag with a 2" depth of down, the temp rating will be essentially the same for a properly filled bag, regardless of the FP rating of the down used. The difference comes in that it will take more of the lower FP to fill the bag properly and hence it will weigh a bit more and compact a bit less.

Better design/quality gear typically uses better down (Higher FP), but the performance difference is also largely attributable to better design and materials, as down is just a material used in conjunction with other materials in a design to help prevent heat loss .... so the point is, it is the thickness of the down layer that determines the temp performance ... the design of the gear has to allow the down to stay in that layer at the right thickness ... and finally, the amount of down to create that layer will vary with the fill power. better gear is trying to reduce weight and packed size, so better down makes sense, but without the other attributes it can be mostly wasted.

Brian
 
My original Eddie Bauer coat from the late 60's made me look like of Bibendum (the Michelin Man)!

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I love nice down, for all the reasons. My bags are western mountaineering. My coat is mont bell. Good bang for the buck there, IMO.
 
If you're still interested in a decent down jacket, I would suggest you check out LL Bean. They have jackets with 850 fill down. Their stuff is also treated so it doesn't collapse in light rain. I purchased one a few years ago and it's too warm for me most of the time. At this point it comes along with me in my pack (it stuffs into its own pocket) and I use it at lunch stops or other times when I'm not overly active. It works well and if you enjoy having a hood, they even had jackets with hoods so there's something for everyone.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
LLBean stuff is kind of flimsy ( this year( I live just minutes from their store) but I have a couple of old down parkas from them I got when working there. They are fine for sitting around the fire pit but totally useless when outside tromping around.. Any down parka is going to cause me to overheat and sweat Sweat is very dangerous.
So I dress like an onion. Merino wool underwear, wool layer and a windproof layer. Like Snapper I might throw in my old LLBean down vest for lunch stops( reminded me to put the Z rests back in the pack for comfy sitting on snow). My system is like Paddling Pitts. I do add a balaclava and ski goggles and an extra set of dry gloves in the pack . Sweaty hands are also a no no.
My mountaineering in the winter days are over. so I don't have to worry about wind chill( it IS actually important for a measure of heat loss in the mountains above treeline where winds are normally just about gale force). WInd chills 20 miles from here and a 6000 feet higher often reach -80 F.. We here in the valley hardly get below -20 F.

I am a big fan of Empire Canvas Works gear. So far we have a not too frigid Dec. Our low has been -10 a week or so ago and we have gotten some snow ( about two feet total)
 
I have a Filson down coat with a smooth nylon covering and a sheep wool collar. It is a great garment but only gets used about 10 days a year. Cold in Nevada is anything below zero. I bought it on sale for $100.
 
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