Where do you buy your cold weather clothes? (sales, buying)

[amym1972]

We have a Tractor Supply here that has Carharts, wool socks, thermals etc.... do you buy your clothes somewhere like that or where? Our Walmart doesn't carry a whole lot of cold winter clothes. Just wondering because here winter ends early and they start putting all the cold weather stuff on clearance in Jan and Feb. Im planning on hitting those sales the winter before we plan on moving.
Thanks!!
Amy

[flyingcat2k]

Southern Wal-marts, and most general merchandise stores in the south, do not carry adequate clothing for northern climates. I remember that my fellow students at MSU who bought car batteries at Wal-Mart (in '96) found their cars would not start in sub-zero weather. Wal-mart has gotten better about their buying for different regions now but it took a while. I think most of their items are substandard, if they aren't brand name, and winter clothing is certainly one of those areas.

I would recommend buying from a Sports Authority, Dicks Sporting Goods or other ski supply shop if you are overly concerned about costs. If you are in Texas, you mostly have Academy and Big 5 available and they do not stock acceptable cold weather gear.

Another option is to purchase clothing on the internet from stores such as Sierra Trading Post, LL Bean, Eddie Bauer, Lands End.

[historyfan]

Clothing and footwear choices are activity related. Also it matters if it is deep snow, or wet snow or just cold. Windproof is probably most important quality for coats and headgear.

I think if your feet get cold, the fun is over. So I have many different types of good quality winter boots. And if you keep your ears covered and hands in warm waterproof gloves you will stay warm.

Start with good underlayer no matter what the activity. There are silk & merino wool long john bottoms and tops that are toasty warm or capilene fabric ones are great too. Smartwool socks are the only way to go. I wear turtlenecks usually cotton ones most winter days and then layer up. And neck warmers for skiing & snowmobiling are good.

For convenience & great deals, I buy all sorts of winter wear from online outlet stores. For instance if you put- Cody Wyoming outlet - in google you wil get one of the best. Anything sold to wear skiing, snowobiling, or duck hunting will keep you warm. I save most Carhartt wear for the ranch.

Also sunglasses are must have for winter.

[jasper12]

Lands End. Orvis. L L Bean.

[Threerun]

Sears, JC Penny, E-Bay, sporting goods stores...

I didn't change my wardrobe since moving from WV, sans a better pair of gloves and a facemask. Same-ol, same old for me..

[bongo]

REI & REI Outlet. The plus with REI is that anything & everything can be returned if it doesn't work well, including hiking boots.

I also find great finds at thrift stores, especially merino wool sweaters!

Costco carries great finds too, although it is hard to find stuff in small sizes.

[amym1972]

Thanks everyone!! I'm in Ohio so we do get some cold and snow, winter just doesn't last as long here as in Montana.

[magoomafoo]

Anywhere that sells good, quality wool clothing. For me, warm feet and hands are first and foremost so I have good wool liners for my lined elkskin mittens and for boots, keep in mind....you get what you pay for. It's nothing for me to spend $300-$400 for winter boots. That is only because when my feet are cold, I am absolutely miserable and I'm outside for the better part of the day. I also have quite a few silk "cowboy" scarves that really take the bite out of the wind and I can pull them up over my face if needed.

[ElkHunter]

Get good quality footwear that breathes, but doesn't leak. You do not want to be too warm and sweat because then your feet freeze. There are several good choices of footwear out there.

Get good quality gloves that breathe. Loose is much better than tight. Mittens are the best, your hands will stay much warmer in mittens. Layers make it even better.

Head gear. Out of all the body heat you loose, most of it is lost from your head. Again, choose headgear that will breathe and allow some air in so that you do not sweat.

Everything else, decent cheap stuff is just fine. I buy the $3 hoodies from Wal-Mart. When I get up in the morning, I look at the thermometer, not to determine IF I am going outside, but instead to determine how many layers I am going to put on, because I AM going outside. I do a pretty good job of training horses, however, I have not successfully trained them to go over to the barn, get a bale of hay, cut the twine, put the twine aside so they don't eat it, carry the bale out to the corral and then distribute it evenly to the other horses. I also, have not trained them to check the stock tank heater and make sure it is working, or turn on the water and fill the tank.

I wear a Union Suit made with wool, bib overalls, long sleeve t-shirt, denim shirt, and the appropriate number of hoodies/sweaters, covered with a bluejean jacket and if it's really cold (-30 or so), I will put on Carhart Insulated Bibs.

Anything above and beyond that is as the situation arises. For instance, if I am going out and I am not going to be moving a lot, I will wear the insulated bibs and a carhart parka. If you try that combination and you feed bales or move around much, you will start sweating.

The idea of layers with sweaters, is the key. When you go outside in the morning, it might be -10 and by noon it's 30 degrees. One size fits all mentality doesn't work. One coat will not cover the different temperature ranges on a given day. By layering the sweaters or hoodies, as the temp increases you can loose a hoodie now and then. In late afternoon, as the temperature drops, you can start adding those hoodies.

I swear two pair of socks. My normal socks and over top of them I wear wool socks. I wear regular leather boots and my feet stay warm. In extreme cold I will put on regular overshoes over top of my boots.

I will also tell you that I like cold. This morning it was 36° and the wind is hitting 40 mph. I went out and checked the water, fed a bale of hay, checked my rain guages (we got some rain last night) and I come back in. It took about 30 minutes. I wore tennis shoes, one pair of socks, shorts, a sleeveless shirt with a long sleeved shirt over top (didn't even button it). Fingerless gloves and a baseball cap. One of these days I might have to switch to long pants.

[Klapton]

I agree with others about extremities: don't skimp on boots, mittens or headgear (wool stocking caps aren't too expensive though).

For your torso, layers are the cheap way to stay protected, and can be adjusted as needed based on activity. You want good wind resistance in a parka. At least one of your layers should always be wool. Often this is better than just a super-warm parka, because that ends up being all or nothing.