How to Select Outerwear

Greg Towe: When selecting outer wear and picking out the proper winter coat for yourself, activity is going to play a big part in what you are looking for. You have a couple of different options, when selecting the liner for your outer wear. One of the products that's on the market is goose down. A down jacket can be a great product for someone who is going to be participating in mostly stationary activities. For instance, out of a very cold football game or you are sitting through something that is going to keep you pretty stationary, but if you are going to be up and about perspiring, or on the ski slopes, or out in the weather, you are going to want to go with something that's in synthetic nature.

Some of the synthetics that are out there are going to offer you the option of that same warmth and give you the ability to have a drying effect as well. When choosing a shell or the external piece of your outer wear, I want to cation you as to the difference between water resistant and water proof. Water resistant is going to wick away a slight bit of moisture but in a rain storm or if taking a tumble on the slopes, the outer wear is going to dampen and get severely wet. If being completely dry is of the essence, water proof is what you want. Some of the outer shells that will be water proof are going to be lined with Gore-Tex or another synthetic fabric that basically locks out any sort of moisture.

Make sure you are checking the label and not taking something that's water resistant when you truly need that water proof capability. Some of the shells are white waves; some of them come in a 3-in-1. A 3-in-1 is going to have a outer wear shell that's going to keep you dry. The initial layer on the inside can be a PrimaLoft another synthetic. It can also be down. Then you are going to have the two of them together making the third option. So there is the 3-in-1.

Some of them also come in where the shell itself is lined, that's not a zip away liner. Outer wear pants for the winter time will come in the same kind of liners and the same external shells that are available in coat. So in a lot of cases, you can get matching pants to go with the jacket or shell that you have selected. Once again, it all boils down to the winter activities that you plan on participating in.