<p>I have an L. L. Bean coat here in Minnesota. Not warm enough, not practical enough. Maine winters are moderated by the Gulf Stream. Get winter gear made somewhere farther inland (I haven't tried all the brand names mentioned in this thread, but see some of them on other people here) if you want to deal with true mid-continent winters. Next time I will not buy L. L. Bean. Maine is a wonderful state, but they don't know winter there like people in the northern Great Plains.</p>
<p>tokenadult - Here in LL Bean land, and will not argue with you re having it worse in Minnesota winters. Chicago not too comfy either. Ditto Michigan. You can have the prize. We don't want it. :D</p>
<p>I agree with the posters that talked about waiting and seeing what everyone else is wearing. I also agree that cold is relative. After our recent single digit days, 30 degree's does seem balmy. My HS son wears a hoodie and a slightly insulated jacket for every day. He does have a hollofill jacket if it's really cold and he'll be outside for more then an hour. Only wears long underwear for skiing. I like Lands End and LL Bean. My daughter has one of those layered columbia jackets and she loves it. Since Cornell is closer to Maine (LL Bean) does that mean he should get an east coast warm jacket?? It is next to one of the Finger lakes....</p>
<p>kathiep:</p>
<p>Cold is relative not only to geography but also to people. My S refuses to zip up his down jacket while I shiver in mine. LLBean and other sports outfitters sell the 3 (or is 4) in one type of jackets (lining with and without sleeves and outer, jacket. LLBean had one with a Gore-Tex jacket (taking care of the wet down jacket problem Dmd77 brought up).</p>
<p>thanks for all of the suggestions. He just got a Columbia jacket with zip out lining so we will let him start with that and reassess next Thanksgiving. The tip about the GoreTex boots was great - I will keep my eye out now for end of season specials. I think (!) his feet have stopped growing. You guys are great - I appreciate all of the help.</p>
<p>I suppose other parents know better than I, but a coworker I had (in Minnesota) who studied for a year at Cornell before transfering to the southwest United States seemed to think that Cornell got quite a lot of snow, which is what I would expect from lake effect influences on climate. (My ancestors are from the shores of Lake Ontario, but I have never been closer to where Cornell is than Buffalo.) A place with lots of snow, as contrasted with severe cold, would be a place where good boots are practical. </p>
<p>The Cornell representative put on a good show at our regional joint Brown-Cornell-Dartmouth-U.VA meeting, so I have a good impression of the school. Stay warm.</p>
<p>Luckily there are down jackets that have raincoat-y waterproofed outer fabric. Might be gore tex? It's heavy. (Discovered these when I was a big skiier; nothing worse than being wet and cold. In Calif skiing, frequently you get wet because it is not quite cold enough for the snow to be dry.) Anyway these work well.</p>