Pincher

We are coming out to Toronto for thr New Year and I have checked a few sites to get an idea of what the weather will be like. Obviously it will be colder than in the UK, but should I be looking to buy decent cold weather coats and pants? I am particularly concerned for my daughters and want to make sure that they will not suffer in the cold.
Any recommendations as to what I should be getting. Type of clothing/brands?

indybrit

It's a shame you're not coming out earlier. That way you could buy them here. Probably be more suitable and a lot cheaper.

It's the coldest at the end of January and into February. New year should see temperatures down to -10C or colder. Mid December 1995 we had only been in Canada a couple of months and one night it was -21C, fairly cold for December. A few years back I was in Huntsville, ON. and it dropped to -33C.

Depending on how old your daughters are, most younger kids here wear snow suits in the winter. Probably about 50 to 80 bucks from Wal Mart or Zellers.

Pincher

The girls are 10 and 12.
I was thinking of snow gear and of buying it in Canada. However I would rather have the gear with us incase there is a really cold snap when we land.
We have alot to do and I really don't want to have to go shopping with 3 females unless I really have to!

Linda P

I've seen loads of ski clothes on ebay, and they go for a fraction of the price you'd pay in the shops!

indybrit

There is a little bit of difference between "ski clothes" and the kids snow suits that they sell in Canada around winter time.

Your kids may look a tad ridiculous walking around Ontario in "ski clothes".....trust me on this one.

Interested

You might want to invest in cold weather/ski jackets. Lots of people wear these in the winter months. They are a jacket with a water/wind proof outer shell and a fleece interior that can be zipped out in warmer weather.

The best brand would probably be Columbia Sportswear and you can find them in any sports shop here in Canada.

I don't think you'll really need ski pants (unless skiing), but some long thermal underwear under your jeans might help if you are going to outside for a long time.

In general people stay indoors in the cold weather, in the mall etc. So wearing really warm clothes can be a pain sometimes if you end up shopping inside, where it's 23C + !

Here is the link to Columbia... http://www.columbia.com/products/product_home.cfm

Hope you have a fun trip.

Int.

Purley

My granddaughter is 11 and she is getting to the age where its not cool to wear winter boots unless they are stylish. Don't ask me what is stylish for an 11 year old, but I would think that anything that is expensive would do!! So far as I can tell, lots of kids just wear runners in the winter. I always wear runner. This year I invested in a pair of expensive brown suede Merrill winter runner with grips on the bottom, but then I am not 11 and I don't want to fall and break something valuable - like my leg!

iaink

No need to go overboard, there is heating indoors in canada in the winter!

It really depends what you plan doing. If you are planing exploring the backcountry by sled dog, then your requirements may be a little different to exploring the urban environment by Audi.

I would think you will need a decent coat (fleece inner / nylon outer shell) if you dont have something fairly warm already, but it doesnt need to be name brand or fancy unless you are that type of person. If you want to go expensive, alternatives to Columbia wear (which you can find in many stores) is the mountain equipment coop clothing, its designed for real expeditions, rather than shopping expeditions and offers great value and features without the advertising overhead, same is true for North Face gear, but with the advertising overhead! I still use the same Sprayway fleece and Gortex shell I got in the UK 7 years ago, they are perfectly adequate for the SE ontario winter.

Personally I would buy once in canada at somewhere like zellers or walmart, its much cheeper, and I doubt you will freeze to death on the way from the airport to the hotel, even if you have to wear a few extra layers. If you are a difficult to fit size then maybe buy ahead of time in case they are out of stock of some items, which happens here late in the season. You will need a good pair of gloves (fleecy ones are a good compromise between warmth and bulk, I only use my waterproof/breathable thinsulate ones on extremely cold days as they are too bulky, mostly its just polartec fleece gloves for everyday wear, unless they are going to get wet in a snowball fight!)

Snow/outer pants are optional for everyday use. I doubt you will be shovelling snow from a driveway at 6 am in -20 temps, so for mooching around urban areas, going from car to restaurant to mall to hotel its really not necessary, likewise winter boots are only really necessary if you plan spending a lot of time outdoors, but boots of some sort are better than shoes as the snow wont come in at the ankles if you have to walk through a few inches to get to the car.

The key to comfort in the cold is layers, it is easy to get cold if you have thick insulated clothing and you start to sweat, better to have several thinner layers you can strip off to control temperature. I avoid cotton T shirts next to the skin if Im working outside as they get very cold once you start to sweat, poly is better. Sears and Zellers / Walmart have inexpensive thermal underware.

Enjoy your trip, I hope the sun shines

Iain

Airseir

Last year when I went over Xmas and New year it was colder in the Uk than it was in London and Toronto. Aslo went over to BC - same thing.

Pincher

Thanks all.
When we come out we will be discussing our plans to emigrate with my daughters. I don't want there first impressions of the country to be spoiled and blinkered because they are cold and miserable!

Linda P

Thats me corrected We are due to come over in March, I'll give ebay a miss and buy when we get there!