🎤 day 708 🎵

➥ today’s akito is from the illustration for the anniversary festival 2021!!

For someone who has taken an interest in casual fashion—for reasons unknown to even me—the LGwears account has been providing today.

Grumpy winter coat Crosshair

So I'm newer to the warmer parka game myself with most of my winter coat experience coming from downhill skiing, however I find that companies that focus on the sport/function aspect over fashion tend to be equally durable on both sides (try shopping at stores that are geared towards outside recreation such as REI, Cabelas or another local store of your choice. REI and Cabelas even have their own brands!).

Companies where the coat actually varies very little between men and women's designs is a huge positive for me (although folks can rip womens petite sizing from my cold dead hands which will not be cold or dead thanks to good winter gear). I try to steer clear of coats that are too "fashioney" personally, I just like the "i'm going outdoors" look vs walking around the city looking put together.

If you are doing hiking or another activity where you are actively moving a lot and getting warm and sweating a jacket with some breathability will actually keep you warmest. A super warm parka in an instance like this where you sweat a ton is not ideal (moisture BAD). Look at jackets specifically made for skiing, snowboarding, back country hiking/skiing. If looking for durability avoid anything that is down with no shell, I love my down coats but they rip at the smallest inconvenience, a down vest or light under jacket to wear beneath a more durable jacket is more ideal imo. I'm not going to say any brands are particularly better than others, the best jacket for you is one that fits you well and provides room for layers while also not being so big it doesn't keep you warm. Different companies fit differently, so my preferences may not match yours. That being said I love Burton, Mammut, North Face etc. for these kind of coats.

When it comes to warmer parkas, again I'm newer at this, but popular ones I see folks wearing are the Cabelas Trans Alaskan, Canada Goose Expedition Parka (yes i know they can be controversial, but they are by far some of the warmest coats on the market), Fjallraven Nuuk, North Face Arctic Parka etc. This is the kind of coat you need if you're out in very cold temperatures a lot and may not be working up a sweat (literally I love my ski jacket but i am freezing my ass off in it on a dog sled, some of my january and february runs last season were painful for me).