Chicago winter puts Canada Goose and other gear to the test

SHARE Chicago winter puts Canada Goose and other gear to the test
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Residents try to keep warm and dry on North Ridge Boulevard near West Birchwood Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood after Chicago more than 3 inches of snow, Monday morning, Jan. 28, 2019. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

I bought a Canada Goose coat last winter because I was desperate.

Wait –– before you judge, I hung onto a shearling coat for more than 15 years. Frankly, the coat had given all it had to give.

After buying two down coats that ripped within 30 days, I plopped down an obscene amount of money for the brand.

Whenever someone asked me about the coat, I’d mumble something about it being really warm.

But this winter, Chicago is putting Canada Goose –– and all our other winter gear –– to the test.

After slogging through mountains of snow and slush (praying fervently that I don’t slip and fall), I can now give an assessment of a clothing brand that is so coveted, thieves are snatching the coats right off people’s backs at gunpoint.

Some people are now reconsidering their purchase.

But I digress.

While “Kenny” of South Park wasn’t quite the look I was going for when I purchased a Canada Goose coat, I now don’t have to wear long johns or snow pants to take my dog for a romp in the snow.

For warmth and comfort, this brand gets a top rating — four stars.

My 2016 BMW-X1 is another story.

When I purchased the car, the finance guy assured me that come winter, I would be really grateful. No more slipping and sliding all over the road. That was true.

What he neglected to tell me, however, was that the Beamer is quite a diva.

I left it in the frigid parking lot overnight and I had to call on my husband’s muscle to get the gas cap open and the doors unlocked.

And on the first really, really cold day, the netting covering the moon roof completely collapsed, and the parking assist feature malfunctioned.

Those are easy fixes.

What disappoints me the most, however, is while this model has seat heaters, it does not have a heated steering wheel.

Brrrrrrrrr.

For those reasons, when it comes to winter driving, my car gets two stars.

How about gloves?

Mine are bulky and they look really warm. But if I don’t keep my hands in my pockets, I am flirting with frostbite.

My Thinsulate gloves get one star.

Headgear is another item that is critical to my well being in winter.

I remember sitting outside through President Barack Obama’s inauguration on a frigid January day in 2009 thinking I would never be able to hear again.

Since then, most of my winter hats come from Lillie & Cohoe, another Canadian company. The hats are fully lined with flaps that not only cover my ears, but the back of my neck. Perfect.

I give them four stars.

Finally, footwear will make you or break you in the winter.

Growing up poor, I know what it feels like to wear plastic shoes with cardboard paper in the bottom in the winter.

Our feet grew fast, but new shoes didn’t appear until Easter.

It’s a wonder I didn’t lose a few toes.

About three winters ago, I was caught with Uggs that, in slush functioned no better than shoes. I ran all over town and most stores had sold out of snow boots.

I finally found a pair at Alamo Shoes on the North Side, where the salesman introduced me to Sorel boots.

I bought two pairs and I still wear those boots. I give them four stars.

Obviously, there are people who can’t afford to buy any of this stuff. They make do just like my family did.

But there are armed thieves among us who will take what someone else has worked hard to obtain because they can.

Unfortunately, the Canada Goose brand has given me a warm coat, but a new safety concern.

My son has urged me to remove the patch on my coat so I won’t become a target for robbers.

I’m not convinced that defacing an item I paid a lot of money for is the answer.

The Canada Goose thieves are the same people who smash and grab merchandise from high-end stores, car-jack luxury vehicles, and rob people of their cell phones.

And contrary to a lot of rhetoric I’m hearing these days, coveting someone else’s stuff isn’t about need. It’s about greed.

No one should risk losing their life over a brand — no matter how much they paid for it.

But anyone that would leave someone coatless on the street in this dangerously cold weather should be thrown under the jail.


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