Winter coat-- buy ahead?

[wallawala]

If you lived in the bitter north and needed a snowsuit/coat for a 18month old what would you get??

LE squall suit?
Gap Warmest Jacket?
Something else?

I have a choco brown Gap warmest jacket in the closet for DD that should fit fine and was only $12, but wondering what to do for pants. Or if we just need a onepiece snowsuit thingy. OR Both?? We live where it gets cold and stays cold, but I'm from FL so kinda clueless. Warmth is more important that price, but would love to take advantage of summer clearance!!

[mikeys_mom]

Well, I do actually live in the bitter north ;).

For that age I like a 1 piece snowsuit because it is just easier, IMO. I have had good success with The Gap warmest snowsuit, the one that is down filled. I have found it to be both warm and waterproof for playing in the snow. However, I also like to have a warm jacket for the times when I don't need a full snowsuit. For example if we are just going in and out of the car and it's not too cold or windy that day. Although I suppose "too cold" is all relative because for me, anything above -10 celcius in the winter is a mild day. Coming from FL, you might think otherwise :).

I've never bought the Squall, so I don't know how warm they are. DD#1 had the Land's End Kathadin 2 piece snowsuit the past few years and I was happy with it. It was warm and held up well. It's in perfect condition to pass on to one of my twins.

Columbia is another brand I like. DS has had several Columbia snowsuits and they are super warm and really good quality. I have one I bought on sale last year for DD#1 to wear next year. What I love about Columbia is how thin and not bulky their snowsuits are.

I would keep the Gap jacket you have and just find a pair of snowpants to match it up with, or look for a deal on a 1 piece suit.

Another issue to consider is the use of jackets in carseats. You can do a search and there are many past threads on the subject. The main point is not to use a super puffy, bulky jacket in the carseat as it could make the straps too loose and not tight enough to restrain a child.

[SpaceGal]

I buy those overall type snowbibs and my boys wear their Gap Warmest Jackets. Usually they are layered with thermal/pjs bottoms, lined pants of some sort and then the snow bib. They stay warm and toasty.

I personally love down coats...for myself and my kids...they are lightweight and very warm! Without the bulky that some of those 3-in-1s have. When I carpooled, one boy had this huge coat it was a 3-in-1 and I swear I had to loosen those straps on the car seat so much it was a bit ridiculous.

I do buy ahead when I see the Gap Warmest coat on sale. My kids are small so it's not usually an issue. I also recently found The North Face down jackets for boys at Macys for around $50 bucks. I figured the resale on these wouldn't be too bad that it might be worth the cost.

[jess_g]

I think it depends how much time your child will be outdoors. When my ds was that age he was outside a bit picking up his big brother from school and dropping him off in the mornings. He wore a one piece fleece snowsuit with his pjs underneith and then a warm winter jacket on top and he was plenty warm. His fleece snowsuit had something on the sleeves you could fold down to cover his hands and a nice hood that he would wear too. He also had a stroller blanket which we used sometimes if he was in the stroller.

Jessica.

[KrisM]

At that age, I prefer 2 pieces. They don't play in the snow daily and they can use the coat on a daily basis. I don't want to put a snowsuit on just to go from the car to Target.

DS1 has a Lands' End Squall and has for a couple years. It's a warm coat. We're in Michigan and he is plenty old enough to complain if he is cold. He'll stay out for hours in it. He wore Columbia Tectonite bibs.

DD had Columbia Tectonite coat and snow bibs. I did not like her bibs because they had elastic at the ankle and I just never figured out how to work that to keep snow out of the boots. But, she didn't complain about cold in her coat either.

For some reason, I made it until December before realizing DS2 had nothing in his size. He's smaller than DS1 was. I ended up with a super clearance price on an Old Navy coat and he seemed just fine. He also had Columbia Tectonite snow bibs.

I think Columbia tends to be fairly easy to find used at garage sales for a good price. I know DD's entire outfit was $20 last August. I'm pretty sure DS1's bibs were $5! I bought the LE coat on clearance at Sears in the spring a couple of years ago.

[KrisM]

I think it depends how much time your child will be outdoors. When my ds was that age he was outside a bit picking up his big brother from school and dropping him off in the mornings. He wore a one piece fleece snowsuit with his pjs underneith and then a warm winter jacket on top and he was plenty warm. His fleece snowsuit had something on the sleeves you could fold down to cover his hands and a nice hood that he would wear too. He also had a stroller blanket which we used sometimes if he was in the stroller.

Jessica.

You reminded me that DS2 wore a one piece fleece from Lands End to and from the bus stop. He was in a stroller and had a blanket on too, but that worked well.