How do I know which winter coat is the warmest?

Down has the highest insulation ratio to weight of any insulation material. It is washable, natural, renewable and sustainable. So if you need a warm coat, go with down, its worth the investment.

Key things to look for when buying a down jacket is amount of fill. The higher the fill number, higher the ratio of large fluffy down feathers and a very low percentage of feathers and stems that add weight and bulk.

So depending on what types of activities you plan on doing and your climate the fill count vary.

For Snowboarding or Skiing etc go with 650 Fill Count Jacket

For extreme warmth and extreme conditions go with 800 – 900 Fill Count Jackets.

I use a Burton Snowboard Down Jacket 650 Fill Count for walking my dog in the winter in Chicago.

For going out, etc. I have a North Face Flash Down Jacket which has a 900 Fill count. Very lightweight and extremely warm!

Good Luck!
R

Feathered Friends is a company in Seattle that makes excellent clothes out of down. The birds have a longer, healthier life – which means that the feathers are of higher quality than those from large chains. Also, they sew all their clothes and sleeping bags in Seattle.

At some times, it is not the $170 Abercrombie one, it’s the $25 dollar one at Target!
Be a careful shopper and I lurve you for this question.

Wool is okay for dry climate, and if you layer enough it may work until a certain point. However wind goes right through it and it gets messy when wet.

This winter I got sick of coats not keeping me warm and decided to go with down, from what I have heard about it. With a t-shirt underneath, I stepped out into -10 degree weather and I couldn’t feel a thing.

Down is great, and it really isn’t all that pricey if you know where to look. Mark’s work warehouse sells them for 100–175 and they look pretty good. They make me look more like a steel worker than a moth in a cocoon(which is the case for many down coats). But they do the job really well for Toronto winters, which can get to -40 degrees.

I want to find clothes and know how warmer it