Winter Clothing Brand Recommendations

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Eddie Bauer REWARDPERKS will get you black friday pricing now. At least it does at my membership level.

[vcdgrips]

All things being equal w no hiking, synthetic as it holds up to getting wet much better.
Primaloft Gold is the gold Std in synthetic fill. Gold is their top of the line over Silver and Black.

Sierra Trading post has what is being advertised as a black primaloft gold stuffed puffy w hood for 70 ish marked down from 199.00. Outdoor United Aero.

The ap is not letting me link, sorry.

Gear recs are often a lot easier with a proposed budget and your sizes.

Edited to add:
The reason I repeated my request for budget and size is

1. I made a pricing assumption in an earlier rec to someone else and I learn from my mistakes
2. In this space, certain sizes and budgets sometime are tough to match up heading into the fall/winter season, particularly this fall/winter season and continued supply issues.

[Archer1440]

Full disclosure: I was on their pro staff for a few years. I still happily pay full price for their items now.

With that out of the way, I would strongly suggest you head over to KUHL.com and check out the many options available at reasonable (but not cheap) prices. Their merino wool is truly outstanding, it’s not too “outdoorsy looking” (I’ve worn some of their items in Tokyo winter weather and gotten nothing but compliments) and it doesn’t scream ‘tactical’. Plus a USA owned and operated company (though to be sure they do import much of their gear).

Their winter jackets are honestly outstanding for the price.

[Nephrology]

I was a big fan of Carhartt when I lived in MN. They used to sell a really well priced parka that I still have, made incredibly tough. This was almost 10 years ago though, not sure if Carhartt of 2021 is the same as it was when I bought most of my cold winter gear.

FYI, regardless of brand, you need to layer if you're gonna be out there in the Real Cold. I wore underarmor long johns/LS undershirts with winter insulation that worked well for me, but I am sure any similar competitor product would be just fine too. A good base underwear layer with insulated stockings/ LS undershirt is non negotiable if you're outside below 0 for significant periods of time

edit: Oh... PA and Maryland. Underlayer will be optional there unless you get really unlucky I guess. I was envisioning more along the lines of the Michigan UP

[JCS]

I ended up on beyond clothing website after the recommendations and their website was very helpful with their layering systems. They have a really nice Black Friday sale and I was able to pick up one of their L3 jackets and plan on getting some more layers as well with the sale.

[DMF13]

I'll preface my recommendations with two things:

1- I've lived and spent time in many "cold" places. Northern OH, western PA, Nebraska, Colorado, Fairbanks Alaska, Missouri, etc.

2- I'm a cheapskate, and unless you're spending lots of time in extreme conditions, you can do very well with inexpensive stuff. One of my favorite hard shell ski parkas was a "no name" brand I got for $40 in 2001. Other than the zipper being a little wonky I've used that thing for two decades, although I did have to retreat it to renew its water repellancy.

So, layering is key. It allows you to quickly adjust to changing conditions. Cotton is horrible, and has been referred to as "death clotb," because it will trap moisture, from perspiration, and make you colder. So avoid wearing cotton in cold weather.

So if you don't plan to spend lots of time in extreme cold, I'd suggest getting some inexpensive stuff. Kuhl, Arcteryx, etc, is very nice stuff, but you probably don't need that.

I buy inexpensive compression fit long sleeve t-shirts, and pants, for a base layer. Again, avoid anything that's cotton. If for fashion reasons you need to wear something like a cotton shirt, at least it will be over the base layer, and can be removed if you're stranded somewhere, and need to avoid its moisture trapping properties.

I like wearing a lightweight "soft shell" jacket over mid weight or light weight fleece. The shell should be wind resistant/proof, and being breathable & water repellant/proof is important too. For a light weight fleece or base layer, I also like having thumb holes in the sleeves, to keep my wrist covered and down inside my gloves if outside for long periods.

I have one of these: https://www.costco.com/kirkland-sign...100742680.html

That's very nice and I use it at work in cold weather, because I don't want to tear up my slightly nicer ski gear at work. Really, if it had pit zips, and a powder skirt, I'd be okay using it for skiing.

The LA Police Gear Rendition soft shell is also very nice, but it looks all "tactical Timmy," due to the velco patches. I have one, of those too, because it was stupid cheap on sale one time, and I wanted a "beater" soft shell that had pit zips.

It's too bad Target boo longer has the C9 clothing, you used not be able to get base layer, and fleeces, that were very nice, for a fraction of the cost of the big name brands.

Also, either swap footwear each day (good idea in cold or hot weather), or get some shoe/boot dryers. I like these: https://www.amazon.com/Sports-Access...%2C247&sr=8-31

If you wear the same footwear two days or more in a row, the moisture trapped in your shoes from your feet sweating will make your feet very uncomfortable.