Souvenir

That is a problem with some of these clothes. I had a down jacket. It was great but I had to take it off immediately if I went into a shop or I'd start to feel faint.

My bro suffered when we went to Quebec City in Feb. He wore long johns plus my Columbia ski pants. Talk about over-heated.

rae

winners good for discounted stuff, especially for the kids. bought my girls snow boots for next year, the ones with the polar bear on, apparently a good make though can't remember name. $30 to -45.
compare the north face website in uk and ca for the fancy stuff, i got a christmas treat with a nice mountain type jacket and saved quite a bit over buying in the uk.
columbia discounted just about everywhere now, most winter jackets at sportsmart for less than $100 for example, same in sports check. pants seem to be still quite dear though for some reason at about $75.

iaink

Sorel?

MikeUK

You have to be careful what people are comparing

In the UK you would expect your winter jacket to be waterproof for the winter, You don’t need that here and its that type of jacket that’s expensive ,
So if it’s the Goretex type stuff then you’ll often find it cheaper in Europe, but an equivalent type of fleece jacket combination but not waterproof will be cheaper in Canada
As for quality, on both sides you pay for what you get, that’s just one of the reasons why Wal-Marts so cheap, and products from North Face/Canada Goose are called expensive.

My basic rule of Thumb, if its waterproofs buy in Europe, if its for warmth buy here, if you want it to last don’t buy it from Wal-Mart

clynnog

That could apply to any of the clothing sold at SprawlMart.

MikeUK

In my world it applies to anything sold at Small-Fart

mandymoochops

I disagree with the people on here that say bring it all from the UK I have a Helly Hansen down filled puffa and have lived and died in it this winter.

Coupled with a pair of snow pants and Timberlands with lots of layers underneath you are good to go.

My layers have been bought from either Marks WW or Walmart and have been fine.

My best buy ever was a fluffy headband thats huge and goes around your ears $7 from Marks WW and worth every single cent!

iaink

Your mistake seems to have been to go to a specialized store. For everyday wear you dont need mountain grade equipment , you just need everyday canadian winter stuff from the usual cheapo canadian stores.

Sure, if you are going to climb Mt Logan, then you will want to push the boat out, but for filling your car with gas in February...not so much.

Souvenir

Why? Much of the stuff sold in WM is the same you'd get in other stores. A can of Heinz beans bought in WM is no different to the same can bought in Loblaws or the corner store, except it's cheaper. WM makes its money on rapid stock turnover. It will flog a shipment of stuff, and be earning interest on the cash received, long before it has to pay its supplier. Because of that it can work with razor-thin mark-ups.

I used to have dealings with a guy who ran a slipper manufacturing company. His products were sold by all the chains, including WM. He told me that he would sell a pair to WM for $15 and they'd be retailed at $17.

I'm no apologist for WM, don't get me wrong, but it has a business model that works for it and also for a rather large number of cost-conscious consumers. It's not going to go away.

It does admittedly sell some real crap. Not my felt-lined snow boots though. They cost me $50 and have lasted well for four winters now.

Souvenir

MWW does fluffy?

I can just see Mike Holmes wearing one of those. Mind you, he does have an earring. Perhaps he's a friend of Colin and Justin?

clynnog

Or those two Canadian guys on CBC that seem to be everywhere?.

IMHO a little bit of Colin and Justin (especially Justin) goes an awfully long way.

lauder99

Mars wouldn't be far enough

Tom

iaink

Dunno about where you are, but MWW here has half a store of girly stuff...

Souvenir

The Designer Guys are crap compared with C&J, who are much more entertaining. And very, very tall from what I can make out.

Souvenir

I dunno where my nearest MWW is. Last time I went into one was about six years ago in Mississauga.