A real Canadian winter

Happy New Year. What will 2023 hold… For the short term, it’s going to hold winter and I plan to embrace it regardless of the change in latitude and altitude.

I’ve always tended to enjoy winter - a snowy landscape is beautiful and from my perspective, if you’re going to have months and months of winter, you might as well embrace it. In grade 8, for example, I bought my first pair of cross-country skills from Canadian Tire with my own money.  In some respects, it was a rebellious act. My parents hated winter with a passion, and I remember that I was half supported and half ridiculed when I bought those skis.  My parents didn’t stop me from buying them, but they were filled with disbelief. Let’s face it, they worked outdoors and in my memory, they didn’t invest in good winter wear. Dad had thermal underwear but he wore rubber boots year round. In the winter, you simply wore wool socks, added a felt layer to the bottom of the rubber boots and wore layers.

But to fully embrace winter, you need good outer wear. I love a good winter coat and feel it is a good investment. It is the one thing people will see when you are out. You could be wearing PJs underneath, but who cares if you have a good coat. 

A Canadian winter however, requires a variety of coats. Here is my breakdown. 

I thing 15 C is a perfect temperature - maybe not for the beach, but it is comfortable and you can do things.  It means you need a jacket but not a winter coat - a trench coat suffices, or a denim jacket. I love layers and a light sweater or a “shacket” (shirt-style jacket) works. 

Winter by degrees:

Once you hit 10 degree C you need some added warmth. My go-to coat is this light boiled-wool coat by Hilary Radler. I like to wear a scarf and sometimes a hat if its windy.  It has a detachable inner layer, but the added layer doesn’t add enough warm so I generally leave this coat at its single layer. Boots tend to be either Fry or Doc Martins. I have a variety of scarves to wear over top, such as this grey mohair option. So simple and easy. 

This coat has served me well but is showing its age. I bought it just before I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, but I can’t give it up yet.

 

Between 5 C and freezing I may switch to this light-weight this puffer coat (Michael Kors). It has an inner and outer zipper. I often wear it with just the inner zipper closed, and only zip up both on colder days. Sometimes I wear it with a silk scarf, or on colder days with this toque and cowl. But it fits easily in a suitcase and is a good option for “just in case” weather.

What I don’t like about this jacket is its lack of a two way zipper on the bottom. Obviously, it was made for people with very long torsos (unlike myself) and if I’m sitting, I would prefer to have it zipped open at the bottom. Add a pair of boots, such as Blundstones, and I’m set. 

Once it gets close to freezing, I don’t hesitate to wear this light parka. This parka has been a bit of a disappointment. I had it made specifically for me and they “upgraded” the cashmere wool to a finer cloth. This was a mistake. The wool is more like a suit jacket weight, and it is not very warm. The hood is wonderful - the two layers and the trim keeps my face well protected . 

Once it is colder than -5 C, I add the puffer jacket underneath or an extra sweater layer. I do love the knee high winter boots that go with it (Goose Prima). After only 5 years, the coat is showing wear. I expect winter coats to last longer than that, but this one will not.

Once it’s -10C I move to the serious parka - my new Moose Knuckle coat. It is an investment but it is warm and very functional and I love its different pocket options.  It is a slim fit and I had to select size L in order to have room for layers underneath so it goes to my knees. And let’s face it, I don’t imagine I’m going to drop significant amount of weight in the future. 

 I also bought of a pair of Wind River winter hiking boots that are pretty amazing. Most of the trails are snow packed and these give me good traction. 

When it’s -15C or colder, I add a snood (Outdoor Research) to keep my face warm with this parka.

Once its colder than -20 (and I recently experienced -34 C) I added snow pants. The dog has his own winter wear! Because rain or shine, freezer temperatures or not, this bundle of energy needs a walk. He may only get one walk instead of his normal two each day, but needs to get out and burn off energy. 

But Canadian winters are unpredictable, and recently, when it was a high of 7 degrees, I simply wore this vest over a sweater and mittens. 

 

It felt freeing!

And then there is the sport specific gear. 

Curling and skiing all have different jacket needs. Below is a well used but very old Columbia jacket and pants. They have served me well, and expect I’ll need an update in the near future. The obligatory Sorel boots are in the car just in case in stuck on the side of the road. 

So in summary, six options for a Canadian winter and I’m still in desperate need of a 7th. My next goal is to get a good wool topper coat for dressier occasions - Ideally in camel. I tried on an alpaca coat many years ago, and still dream about it. It was so light and instantly warm.

So more coats are anticipated in the future… It’s good to have goals, and smart to have winter coat goals so you can easily embrace a Canadian winter.