Early Retirement Extreme Forums

I'll restate what I said elsewhere, which was that if you want to sweat over 30 degrees (Fahrenheit of course, I'm hopelessly American) and look like every other douchebag on your city streets, CG is the brand for you. That being said, I bought my coat four years ago because I saw it on someone and the style immediately appealed to me. I didn't know what it was, suffered sticker shock when I found out, finally bought it anyway at a 10% discount (Saks loophole). Well, I did need a parka. Since then Bain capital bought the company, jacked up the prices 20-30%, and everyone and their brother started wearing one. At my kid's school I joke that every parent, mom and dad, has their CG twin--someone wearing the exact same make and color. I feel bad for my twin, because hers is probably brand new and she's wearing a larger size. (Ok, enough bitchiness.) It serves well though. Real fur is incredibly warm it turns out. Next time I'll go for something on the other end of the consumerist spectrum like Cotopaxi. Of course I'll have to wait at least six more years.

Outside the ski lodge Moncler always looks out of place to me. In California you wouldn't need any such insulation more than two days a year tops. If you have a lot of childhood frenemies to impress in Russia, that might be a more compelling motive...

@Clarice Woolrich is the exact same warmth as CG, with maybe slightly higher quality, for 30% of the cost or less.

-It will easily keep you warm in -15 degress.
-Definitely order a size down.
-Square hand pockets have no insulation.
-No neck protection or closure. This sucks.
-buttons quality is subpar.

Oh a definitely nice perk on a winter jacket is having stretchy and insulating neck and and wrist cuffs that seal in the warm air instead of letting it escape.

I never heard of Moncier before so I just looked at their website. I don't recall the last time I experienced that many mental null pointers on a website.

jacob wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 11:58 am

I never heard of Moncier before so I just looked at their website. I don't recall the last time I experienced that many mental null pointers on a website.

@jacob:

Yeah... BUT... I wasn't tempted to buy their website. I was tempted to buy their jacket - no null pointers there. I was particularly attracted to their designs. Moncler jackets are to Canada Goose and Woolrich as Modigliani is to Rothko and Andy Warhol. When it comes to design and art, nobody beats Italians. The only deterrent here is the number of nulls on the price tag. Just in case, here is everything you ever wanted to know about Moncler, but were too shy to ask:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-j2Z6RDtgQ

I never heard of Cotopaxi or Woolrich. Now I know c/o @Peanut and @Seppia. I'll keep both of them in mind. Being plagued by paralysis analysis and unlucky on Craiglist I waited too long to buy anything online and was left with 3 choices in the same price range at a local REI: Cotopaxi (ugly), The North Face (too long), and Patagonia.

I've got this one:

https://www.rei.com/product/886063/pata ... rka-womens


Thank you, everybody, for an interesting discussion.

Just in case, someone may find it helpful.
My parka has an additional useful quality I haven't thought about until I've found myself in Saint Petersbug at winter time. It is rather long (knee length), which may prove protective in case of falling as I am walking on slippery ice a lot. What worse is that in some places ice is covered with snow and you don't suspect ice.

Winter camping I wear a thermal shirt, thermal hoodie, Costco quality winter shell with extra layer zipped in, and a size XXL Walmart man’s cotton flannel shirt on top of the shell, because less flammable and more likely to be spotted by hunters.AKA Northern Michigan Burka.

Seppia wrote: ↑

Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:17 am

@Clarice Woolrich is the exact same warmth as CG, with maybe slightly higher quality, for 30% of the cost or less.

-It will easily keep you warm in -15 degress.
-Definitely order a size down.
-Square hand pockets have no insulation.
-No neck protection or closure. This sucks.
-buttons quality is subpar.

In looking at Woolrich online, the parkas are also $750+ with many over $1k.

Weird. Very different prices in Italy, €5-600 is the full sticker price, but they can regularly be found during sales periods at €300, and even 250 if lucky.

@7wb5:
"Winter camping"? Voluntarily? Wow!
@2Birds1Stone and Seppia:
Most likely, you are both right. You are just talking about jackets of different degrees of warmth. I cannot imagine
needing in Italy such a warm parka as I am wearing right now (been to Italy in March twice).
The prices for the down parka of the same functionality as I am wearing now go like this:
Moncler - $2000
Canada Goose - $1000+
Woolrich - $750-1000
Soia and Kyo (up and coming Canadian brand) ~ $400
North Face, Patagonia - $220 -300 (on sale now)
Cotopaxi - $170-200

I am going through my first Chicago winter. I'm using this exact down jacket, which cost me around $150.

That jacket plus a sweater underneath gets me through the coldest days just fine.

I went on a walk during the day when it was -60 with windchill. I layered up and had no issues. (This of course assumes you also have mittens, a hat, balaclava/ski mask, etc)

I used to spend time searching for the holy grail of winter coats, and I was willing to spend a lot of money on the "perfect" one. I'm happy I did this instead.