Buying winter gear

[fustian]

I live in Ontario, Canada, which gets fairly cold in the winter.

So far, I've gotten away with getting hand me downs or finding a used snowsuit at the consignment store for DD in the winter. This year, I've been having no luck at the consignment shops, and we aren't going to be able to get a hand-me-down.

I would like to buy her a snow suit that is two piece (jacket and separate pants), sized to hopefully last her into the winter next year, and gender neutral (because our second is a boy, and although I have no qualms sticking my newborn in a pink snowsuit I wouldn't force the issue with a four year old).

I've looked around, and there seems to be two levels of snowsuit cost (apart from "really freaking expensive brand name" which I'm not considering). I can get a basic good quality gender neutral pant & jacket combo for about $180 (including tax), or I can get a relatively cheap set for $80 or so.

The advantages of going for the higher priced snowsuit is that it's much more likely to last through two kids wearing it for 1-2 years each. Also, it's probably warmer.

The cheaper snowsuit is cheaper. It'd be warm enough. Also, realistically, with a January baby coming we won't be spending as much time playing outside this year as we normally do.

It's still possible that I'll find something in the consignment stores, but I'm not betting on it. Mostly because I hate shopping, and thus don't actually go into the stores all that often. I haven't seen anything on the used sites online - but again, I'm not looking everyday.

So, if I'm looking at buying a new set, do you think it makes more sense to buy the pricier one and hope that it pays off over the long run? What do those of you who live in colder climates do for winter duds for your kids? (Apart from what I should have done - which is buy them at the end of last season when they were all on sale ). What's a reasonable price to pay for a child's snow suit?

[honeybunmom]

I'm in Chicago. Maybe not Canada cold, but it does get cold! And my daughter is in a Waldorf kindy, so, she's outside for a minimum of an hour every day barring completely inclimate weather. If I were you, I'd put my money in warm boots and get crafty with my sewing machine, or even hand stitching, to make woolies out of recycled sweaters to put on under the snow suit that is not as warm as the more expensive ones. I think that our littles tend to continue playing inspite of how cold their extremities may be as they are not quite able to express their temperature until it's too late - as in they're now freezing!

You can probably add an extra layer for underneath for as little as $10-$20. I'm putting in numbers higher than what it would cost here as the price you've displayed for a snow suit makes me think prices are just generally higher in Canada. If I'm wrong, even better! Here, for a top and bottom, that would run me about $10 for two sweaters (assuming I'm shopping at my higher priced Goodwill) and the cost of elastic for the waistband. I made a cashmere romper for my 18 mos old out of two cashmere sweaters. Total cost around $8-$10. Cheaper than store bought merino woolies and it's not bulky, so, it'll add a nice extra layer under his jacket and snow pants.

[sanguine_speed]

I live in Ontario Canada too, and we always buy high-quality snowsuits that fall in between your extremes. I'm not sure why you think they're either $80 or $180? A typical new snowsuit that we buy is a Columbia 2-piece set for about $110-$120, and it is very warm but not bulky, and lasts at least 2 kids 2 years each (we're working our way down the rest of the kids now so we'll see...). Now, the full retail price may originally have been $150-$160 for this snowsuit, but they *always* go on sale so I never pay full price (but I do look for sales early and often). I have also purchased snowsuits at end of season for next year, which I see you say you already missed out on this time. But yes, there are sales even before winter starts.

[redvlagrl]

I am also in Ontario. I bought DD Gap snow suit both years. I also have a boy now too so got the boy's stuff for DD this year and he will wear it next year. This year he will wear her's from last year (her's was brown luckily).

Our lcoal Once upon a child has got great snow suits right now including Columbias for $35.

I got the Gap jacket 40% off with a coupon and got Joe pants from OUAC fro $7.50. She mostly just wears the jacket so I got a good quality and nice one but cheap pants.

[nd_deadhead]

I like Land's End overstocks - around $50 each for bibs and parka, gender-neutral colors (blue, red).

My son would wear a LE parka for 2 years, then we'd hand it down to our pastor's son for another 2 years, and they've handed them down yet again.

We live in North Dakota, so we know about needing warm clothes!

[fustian]

Originally Posted by honeybunmom

If I were you, I'd put my money in warm boots and get crafty with my sewing machine, or even hand stitching, to make woolies out of recycled sweaters to put on under the snow suit that is not as warm as the more expensive ones. I think that our littles tend to continue playing inspite of how cold their extremities may be as they are not quite able to express their temperature until it's too late - as in they're now freezing!

I hadn't thought of this DD does get a lot of handmade woollies from me and my mother as we both knit. My mother keeps us well stocked in woollen undershirts - maybe I can convince her to whip up a few stockings to match? I guess I forget that we keep DD a little more bundled up under her winter gear than most people probably do.

I hadn't considered making woollies from recycled sweaters. Thanks for the great idea!

Originally Posted by sanguine_speed

Now, the full retail price may originally have been $150-$160 for this snowsuit, but they *always* go on sale so I never pay full price (but I do look for sales early and often). I have also purchased snowsuits at end of season for next year, which I see you say you already missed out on this time. But yes, there are sales even before winter starts.

Yes, this is about the price I'm seeing. $160 or so plus taxes (although I am now thinking that I probably don't have to pay the provincial portion of the HST?). I guess I should start looking out for sales - I went to a few places, but there weren't any good sales, and I *know* I saw them on sale at Sears at the end of last season. Where do you usually buy your winter gear?

Originally Posted by redvlagrl

Our lcoal Once upon a child has got great snow suits right now including Columbias for $35.

We don't have OUAC here, but I did visit our consignment stores and came up empty. And I don't think I've ever seen suits that cheap there! I don't think I've got the timing of consignment stores right yet.

Originally Posted by redvlagrl

I got the Gap jacket 40% off with a coupon and got Joe pants from OUAC fro $7.50. She mostly just wears the jacket so I got a good quality and nice one but cheap pants.

I was thinking of going this exact same route with Joe (you mean Joe Fresh @ Loblaws?) cheap snowpants and a good jacket. However, my mother seems to think that the snowpants from Joe just won't last and that they'll end up costing me more in the long run. Do you think the pants will last through two kids?

Originally Posted by nd_deadhead

I like Land's End overstocks - around $50 each for bibs and parka, gender-neutral colors (blue, red).

Thanks for the tip! My brother lives in the US and we're going up to visit the first weekend of November, so I should definitely look into places like Land's End. I can ship to him and then pick up when I'm there

Thanks for all of the input, I'm feeling better about this now. We have the money to spend on snow gear, but I hate feeling that I'm spending more than I need to for no good reason. I guess the takeaway message is that I need to spend the next month or so on the lookout for sales and coupons and then go shopping

[EdnaMarie]

Sierratradingpost.com

Great deals. LE overstocks also worked for me. Also, ebay! Bid low and often. You can get so much there. Just search for the brand you want, you are sure to find something.

We live in Germany, not Canada, but I am terrified of not having warm enough clothes. I know how you feel.

[redvlagrl]

The Joe Fresh (yes Loblaws) snow pants seem really good wuality. And honestly, at the price even if they didn't last you'd still be ahead of Columbia.

Mine are used and they are perfect (size 2T so would havew seen some action...).

A friend told me just the other day to avoid the really cheap stuff She said her DD was cold in it one year. Ditto boots.

Another friend uses splash pants with woolies

[butterflies]

We live in New England and spend a lot of time outdoors in winter (skiing, etc). dd has recess outside 2x a day as long as the temp is above freezing. What has worked for us has been a combination of Lands End and checking sales in local ski shops at the end of the season. We buy higher quality items but both kids have been able to get 2 yrs out of their snow pants and ski jackets-- and they can still be handed down.
I recommend the bib-style pants, so the suspender part can be adjusted as they grow. It also keeps all the underneath layers tucked in so they stay toasty.

[carfreemama]

We live in Nova Scotia and always buy Columbia snowsuits. They are so warm and light. However, see below.

Just a note about Land's End. Their shipping is really cheap to Canada and they often, maybe 1-2 times per month, have free shipping; but it's never been more than $12 on the rare occasions we've had to pay it. They also have an "on the counter" feature (look under overstocks), where they put different things on sale every week. It starts on Saturday and the prices get further reduced on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If you can nab your size, you wouldn't believe how little you can pay. Always look under "overstocks" aside from "on the counter," not sales; the best sales don't show up under, um, sales. Weird, huh?

Their suits feature seams in the arms and I think legs, that you can let out for growth. Next year, we may go with them for suits. I am slowly outfitting our whole family in their overstock clothes, for less than second-hand prices.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by butterflies

We live in New England and spend a lot of time outdoors in winter (skiing, etc). dd has recess outside 2x a day as long as the temp is above freezing.

In Canada, our kids have recess if it's warmer than -20 degrees celsius, or -4F, far below freezing. Besides that when they're not in school we want to go out, and it's regularly this cold. It requires very high-quality snow gear.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by fustian

Yes, this is about the price I'm seeing. $160 or so plus taxes (although I am now thinking that I probably don't have to pay the provincial portion of the HST?). I guess I should start looking out for sales - I went to a few places, but there weren't any good sales, and I *know* I saw them on sale at Sears at the end of last season. Where do you usually buy your winter gear?

I have purchased snowsuits at various places in town. There are two well-known locally boutique shops that have very good prices on Columbia and other high-quality snowsuit brands, but you probably can't access those unless you're local.
Otherwise, I have bought snowsuits at the big chain sports stores like Sport Chek, which, according to their website is having a sale of 30%-50% off their last-year's snowsuits right now.

Oh, and do keep checking out consignment shops. I just picked up a Columbia for my baby for less than half the price of new at a local consignment store. It's just luck of timing I think.

[Alyantavid]

I'd check ebay. My kids have gotten handmedowns mostly and I just sold a Columbia coat for really cheap that's been through at least 4 kids. And it still looked brand new.

We have a sporting goods store here that always has an awesome clearance rack. We got our oldest some Burton snowboard pants (that he wears all winter long) for $20. Originally marked close to $100. I'd check into those kind of stores too.

[just_lily]

I definitely wouldn't spend $180 on a snow suit for a 3yo.

Last year we got all of DD's gear from Joe Fresh (Superstore). I paid about $40 for a two-piece snowsuit in brown (I wanted gender neutral too) $15 for boots, and like $5 for hat and mitts.

She wore them all winter last year, and the suit isn't showing any wear at all. As long as you take decent care of them (like not leaving wet all balled up) and you don't have a kid that is exceptionally hard on clothes, it would definitely last two or more kids. Ours still fits DD so it will be her back up suit this year - we got a Columbia suit as a hand me down which will be her primary gear.

If you have the money available I agree that Columbia, Lands End, or even LL Bean are great. But if you are on a budget, Joe Fresh is great. I need to get over there to get some new boots for DD before they sell out.


ETA: And I just wanted to say that we are in Alberta, so we know cold too.

[kittywitty]

Farm & Fleet is where we bought the kids heavy winter stuff when we lived in Northern IL and it was cheap, lasted forever through a few kids, and well worth it. There's no way I'd spend that much on winter gear unless I lived in Siberia!

[quantumleap]

You can also check out the MEC Gear swap: http://www.mec.ca/Apps/outdoorGearSw...08474396038596

My DD is only going to be 2 this winter, so we haven't really had to deal with hardcore winter gear yet. This year we got a Columbia two piece for 50$ at an outlet store while on vacation in Maine. Is your brother near any sort of outlet?

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by kittywitty

Farm & Fleet is where we bought the kids heavy winter stuff when we lived in Northern IL and it was cheap, lasted forever through a few kids, and well worth it. There's no way I'd spend that much on winter gear unless I lived in Siberia!

Many days in winter, it is colder here in Ontario than it is in Siberia.

[fustian]

You guys have such great info!

That lands end overstock section is just incredible! I didn't see a snow set up there currently, but I'll have to remember them for the next time I need to get some basic clothing. MIL buys DD lands end stuff on occasion and I like it - simple, gender neutral stuff that doesn't fall apart after two washings.

I think I may have found what I'm looking for on the MEC outdoor exchange. Someone is selling a MEC jacket & pants set for $50 . I'll have to add on shipping from Alberta, but that sounds just perfect. Hopefully I'll hear back and they'll be on their way to us

My brother lives right downtown NYC (he's doing his final PhD year @ Columbia), which may have outlet stores? I'm not sure. I haven't really done much shopping when visiting him.

I think part of my problem is that I've always really disliked shopping, so I'm not very good at finding out about sales, and am sometimes too willing to pay a premium just to get the whole shopping experience over with . I'm trying to get better with that, and on-line sites and shopping have certainly been a boon for me in this respect.

Thanks so much once again! I'm thrilled that I've been able to (hopefully) find such a great deal on good quality gear!

[weliveintheforest]

I got some nice Hanna Andersson snow suits on ebay for pretty cheap. I personally worry more about the suit being waterproof, and then dress them really warm underneath. As long as they stay dry, and have warm boots and hats and things, they are pretty good.

Do you have a craigslist local to you? What about liquidation world? I got a Please Mum snowsuit at liquidation world really cheap last year. It was a second, but I couldn't find what was wrong with it. Maybe not warm enough on it's own, but with wool underneath it would be.

[weliveintheforest]

Originally Posted by fustian

I think I may have found what I'm looking for on the MEC outdoor exchange. Someone is selling a MEC jacket & pants set for $50 . I'll have to add on shipping from Alberta, but that sounds just perfect. Hopefully I'll hear back and they'll be on their way to us

I didn't see your post before I posted - that sounds like a good deal! hope it works out for you.