Sartorial Advice

G

Gabba Flamenco Crossover

High Sierra Skullfuck
martin said:
I used to have two crombies, they were really great though yeah, absolutely hopeless if you went to the cinema or a packed pub / cafe' -you can hardly just fold them up beside you. Plus they smell manky when it rains.
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I went to a free party in mine once and everyone thought I was a copper. There was a gang of lads shouting 'OLD BILL TAKE IT UP THE ARSE!!' at me at one point. Funniest thing ever to happen to me at a free party, my mates were paralysed with laughter.
 
nomos

nomos

Administrator
listen to stelfox, dan. it's all about down and the fur lined hood. i swear, when it's late january, and you're staring into a -45C windchill, you'll be laughing at the chumps who chose looks over warmth.
 
M

mistersloane

heavy heavy monster sound
nomos said:
listen to stelfox, dan. it's all about down and the fur lined hood. i swear, when it's late january, and you're staring into a -45C windchill, you'll be laughing at the chumps who chose looks over warmth.
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I'd have to second or third fur for warmth, I found a fur hat that I still got and it's amazing. Thank you bunny for keeping me warm.
 
Z

zhao

there are no accidents
Gabba Flamenco Crossover said:
Oyou often end up looking like either a crap gangster or a weekend goth.
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damn you're starting to make me feel self conscious about my coat... but i do love it regardless. if i have to look like a crap gangster it'll be something from 60s italian crime movies... the problem with these is insulation: in berlin i ride my bike everywhere i go, and the cold air gets right into the jacket because there are only 3 buttons in the front... it'll be all about layers.

if you get a puffer (my own word), duck feathers i hear is the warmest.
 
M

mms

sometimes
i have a leather goose with a fur lined hood, i got it for free. it's very warm, but i feel a bit of a knob walking around london in a leather goose.
if money was no object then i'd buy some lush luxury leather jacket thingy from selfridges - alfred dunhill maybe
but i have this great habit of getting jackets and coats free.
 
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N

Ness Rowlah

Norwegian Wood
For once I can offer sartorial advice (as an owner of said item, but I have only
needed it once in my ten years in the UK, you hardly reach -5 Celsius over here).

If you can afford it, go for Swedish brand Fjellraven's ["Arctic Fox"] Expedetion Down Jacket.
Not all of Fjellraven's kit is great, but their Expedetion jacket is an absolute winter classic.

The jacket might not be the most stylish, but if you hate freezing like I do then you need
some good kit to keep you warm. I've been in Chicago and Minneapolis in winter and it can get really cold.
Even when it's just -10C you can have wind at the same time and then even a hardened Scandie will go cold
(when it drops under -10C back home there's normally no wind).

2023-300.jpg
,

I never seen the brand in the shops here, but you can get it on UK web sites.
A snip (?) at just over 300 quid (I think I paid more than 4000 NOK (350 quid) some 20 years ago, so this is actually good value for a serious piece of kit).

You see these jackets on Swedes and Norwegians
when it gets really cold (say -15C and less).and it is a long time favourite of Scandinavian photographers covering winter sports.

http://www.oipolloi.com/store/Fjallraven-ExpeditionDownJacketNavy-2023.html

or

http://tamarackoutdoors.co.uk/dispprod.pl?filtera=Outdoor Clothing&filterb=Fjallraven
 
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Ness Rowlah

Norwegian Wood
An alternative might be a real anorak (aren't we all) like a Norrøna Amundsen Anojacket at 130 quid (as used "in the first solo expedition to the South Pole, in 1991") and good fleece or woolen jumper underneath. I've seen Croydon's own Ray Mears wear both a Norrøna jacket and trousers on his shows and Norrøna is a well-regarded brand back home (so is Berghaus btw).

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This oipolloi shop seem to stock some serious Scandie kit, they even stock the
Norwegian Special Forces jacket mentioned in a previous thread as well as the above jacket.
http://www.oipolloi.com/oipolloi/shop/newsletter.php?issueno=14&brand=Norrona

You should also stock up on Helly Hansen or similar technical long underwear,
you should be able to get this cheap in the US.


If it get's really cold you need warm and dry feet. Wool does the best job as you don't get sweaty feet.
We export these (Lobben) to Alaska'and Canada from Norway (see ie http://www.winterboots.net) and they
do an amazing job in dry cold conditions.

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That's all from the Scandie trade department ;-) for tonight

(I am presuming you are (or might be) going outdoors for a period of time).
 
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Slothrop

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
Rab (see, for instance, http://www.needlesports.com/acatalog/Mail_Order_Down_192.html although even for january in Chicago you may want to scroll past the serious expedition kit - "These suits have been used extensively on 7000m+ peaks and Polar expeditions for many years. Not really suitable for any other use.") get a lot of respect for their down stuff, although they're a bit harder to find than Berghaus or North Face because they don't have the fashion cachet.

Re anoraks - is it really worth shelling out (no pun intended) for eVent or Goretex XCR or similar top end technical materials? I wear eVent for charging up and down mountains, but since a lot of the advantage is the breathability I'd have thought it'd be pretty pointless if a) you're not going to be doing fairly serious exercise and getting sweaty in it and b) you're not wearing a series of wicking / breathable midlayers too. A good adjustable peaked hood is a must, though.

I totally want some of those Lobben, though.
 
mos dan

mos dan

fact music
wowza, thanks so much for all these tips. i am a little overwhelmed, and extremely grateful! i like the gloves tip btw, thanks for that. i always lose gloves anyway.

i might have to bite the bullet and buy while still in the UK, esp if i'm landing in chicago on dec 30 (distinctly possible) with no idea where to go shopping when i arrive, only to freeze to death that first day. also it'll get vaguely, minorly cold (though i appreciate it's like the bahamas, by comparison) in london over xmas and i don't have a decent coat right now, so the sooner the better really.

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my mother, bless her, is trying to get me to buy this jacket from the land's end catalogue. i really don't give a shit about style over comfort in this scenario though, so i might go for it.. goose down, layered, water repellant, 'TEMPERATURE RATING: -32°/-37° Centigrade'. the hood won't be fur though.. maybe i could get a fur hat to go with it... is there such a thing as a fur-lined new era i wonder..? ;)

the norwegian jackets look amazingly hardcore.. i would definitely go for one of them, but if i can get a good enough down-filled jacket for £150/£200 rather than £300 then i will do.
 
S

stelfox

Beast of Burden
have you been to the carhartt factory store in hackney, dan? i got a killer parka there for £100 and it's warm enough to stand up to canadian cold (which is about as cold as any kind of cold can get). i seriously recommend it
 
mos dan

mos dan

fact music
my coat arrived today! i bought this one (albeit in black with blue lining):

mos dan said:
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goose down, layered, water repellant, 'TEMPERATURE RATING: -32°/-37° Centigrade'.
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it's incredible. it's a chilly 4°C in sth london today, and i went out for a walk wearing just a t-shirt underneath the parka, and felt so toasty. thank you everyone for all your help!! :D

now to buy me some long johns, a warm hat, and lots of gloves...
 
benjybars

benjybars

village elder.
stelfox said:
have you been to the carhartt factory store in hackney, dan? i got a killer parka there for £100 and it's warm enough to stand up to canadian cold (which is about as cold as any kind of cold can get). i seriously recommend it
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yeah that place is great for coats... all their jeans are size 42 waist though which is a shame..
 
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