Winter Jacket for a Floridian in Boston...

<p>thanks to all that responded. I am feeling better about the situation. I will encourage layering, and zippering, and hopefully he is wearing shoes and not sandals!!!</p>

<p>I told my boyfriend, a Florida expat who has been in Boston for ~8 years, about this thread, and asked him if he had anything else to add about Boston winter survival for Florida expats.</p>

<p>His comments:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Down coats are essential, and fleece is good.</p></li>
<li><p>If he has to do any snow-shoveling, buy an ergonomic shovel (with a curved handle). Especially for someone not used to shoveling, the motion of shoveling with a regular shovel can lead to injury, even if they are in shape.</p></li>
<li><p>If he owns a car or is thinking about owning one at any time during college, a lot of aspects of owning a car are different in the North because of the weather. "Everything from driving in the snow and ice, to how your car deals with super-cold, to rules and regulations for what to do with your car, to maintenance and salt. Stuff you just never encounter in the South."</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Thanks thumper1 for advising me to ask HER what style she would want. It turns out she would like a double breasted pea coat, so the parka is out, pea coat is in!</p>

<p>Owning a car on Boston or Cambridge Streets without Off-Street Parking is just asking for trouble. The worst case is getting plowed in followed by a hard-freeze.</p>

<p>After reading almost the whole thread, I was just waiting to get to the end so I could mention how my daughter no longer wears her layered Columbia coat, but instead wears a pea coat and finally I get down here and find that GA Mom says that's what her daughter wants! My daughter actually claims that it's warmer then the Columbia one, but I don't believe her.</p>

<p>We've had two hard frosts the last two weekends and temps have been in the freezing zone in the early mornings. Tomorrow's high is supposed to be 51. Sounds cold, but in February that will seem like a balmy day!</p>

<p>I went to school outside Boston and lived in Boston afterwards, and let me tell you a pea coat is not going to cut it if she has to do something like walk across the bridges across the Charles in the middle of winter, or perhaps wait at a bus stop on Mass Ave near the river. (Now, if she's in the inland suburbs or the Harvard Square area, that's another matter.)</p>

<p>Boston is windier than Chicago, and the wind coming in off the North Atlantic is COLD. You need something that has an outer windbreaker and inner insulation, and preferably comes down to mid-thigh.</p>

<p>And I've gotten through 14 winters in Maine with nothing more than a fleece inside a Goretex jacket, so I'm fairly tough when it comes to cold weather.</p>

<p>Again, I'll stress the layers. The North Face w/ down lining should be fine, but the weather is changeable in N.England, especially the coastal cities. Under armor, long underwear, fleece, flannel, wool, in layers under a good coat all will basically protect most anyone when judiciously used. A lot depends on the student, and their ability to tolerate the cold. A hat, toque, scarf can be pretty much mandatory depending on prevailing conditions. Wool socks, polypropylene liner socks, double socks all have there place if a lot of standing/walking is to be the norm.</p>

<p>I'm a big fan of the polypropylene glove liners as well as an underglove in really cold conditions/extended periods aoutside.</p>

<p>Also, some days require sweats or polyprolynene under jeans or cords, when walking, or extended periods outside especially when it's blowing.</p>

<p>The wind is as much an enemy as the temperature, perhaps moreso.</p>

<p>There are NE winters when you can't get warm till May, and others where your winter coat never sees the light of day.</p>

<p>Oh, and I have to say that Smartwool socks are simply the best. I normally can't stand wool next to my skin, and I would never consider buying lined boots because my feet would get too hot, but they are unbelievably soft and comfortable, and they breathe.</p>

<p>okay, it's only been an hour since the pea coat decision, but after polling her more experienced cold weather classmate's, she wants the parka with fur trimmed hood. I found one on LL Bean, but it looks like the Michelin man. Looked at lands end, not so stylish. Any suggestions for other stores to check online would be appreciated. She called me on the way to breakfast this morning to play a game of "guess the temperature" and it was 19. She wants something warmer quick!</p>

<p>Have him take his North Face and see if that will do. If not, he should buy something there, once he sees what works and what doesn't.</p>

<p>Heh, heh. I moved from Arizona to New Haven when I was 22. I had nothing but a windbreaker. After three years, I still couldn't figure out how to dress. I was always too hot or too cold. That layering business is tougher than it looks!!</p>

<p>Check The Gap. That's where DD got her parka with the faux fur trim hood (that zips off...just in case she changes her mind). The jacket is down filled but it also is fitted, not at all bulky looking. I (the mom) own the LLBean version...the 3/4 length one. My daughter the college student told me that she wouldn't be caught dead in it.</p>

<p>Would you be able to put money into your daughter's account and let HER do the shopping in Boston? There are good winter weather stores there...REI for example. Also, we've had good luck getting some really nice and warm winter coats at TJMaxx.</p>

<p>jackets ?
We are trying to agree on boots. I grew up in Mass , but my now freshman daughter who has spent her life in south Jersey doesn't quite grasp what is necessary footwear on the snowy Boston streets. Uggs are like wearing paper in any real weather.
Maybe she will listen to her older, more flexible sister who is approaching her 3rd winter:)</p>

<p>Thumper1, she is at Amherst, not Boston, so we have to do it online. I will tell her to check the Gap.</p>

<p>lje...just an FYI...there are lots and lots of kids who go to college in Boston who do not wear boots. I'm sure lots of them HAVE boots....but they don't wear them.</p>

<p>There's an Eastern Mountain Sports on Commonwealth Ave just a bit west of BU.</p>

<p>I'd suggest buying something not too expensive at TJ Maxx or Filene's Basement. Picked up a Michael Kors winter coat for $149. Retail price: $349. I've seen coats that would retail in the lower 4 digits retail for just over $200. I'm in NYC. Get something with more than 50% wool content. Trust me, the $10 every year you have to spend to have it dry-cleaned is worth it. Oh, and wind is evil.</p>

<p>Don't worry-if he gets cold, he'll buy something.</p>

<p>My daughter asked for a W OPTIMUS JACKET from Northface for $149.00 She searched for a good bargain. That jacket did not have a hood so I upgraded it to a hooded W REDPOINT OPTIMUS JACKET for $199.00. I was a mom thing. I just remember those painful ear aches and what we spent of doctors and went for the hood. Northface delivered to her school near the canadian border in three days ground.</p>

<p>I don't think any parents should be picking things out for their kids without their kids express consent. No fur lined hoods!! No boots!! Boots stink when you wear them to class. While they are great between classes your feet sweat while you are in class because they are so hot. Most people just wear shoes, not boots. Just let your kids go and see what everyone else is wearing and let them decide what they need and they can go buy it themselves either in person or via the internet.</p>

<p>Another great site (with the best service ever) is Moosejaw.com. They carry NorthFace and lots of other quality brands.</p>

<p>There is a bit of a cold snap this week and this weekend - it will warm up a bit soon, so don't fret too much. Anyway, there are plenty of places to get a decent parka which would be my choice. LandsEnd gear has served us well for ages. You can get cheap gloves and watch caps at drugstores all winter. Ski jackets are not the best choice since they tend to be 1) pricey and 2) intended for a somewhat different purpose. A fleece to layer with is good. Fleece socks are nice too. Sears sells a lot of LandsEnd stuff.</p>