All guides

Each guide answers one buying question and shows the figures behind the answer.

3 guides

Small child in a navy padded coat with fleece cuffs and red boots standing in snow

How to choose

Choosing a winter coat by wind chill, not by the thermometer

Environment and Climate Change Canada's wind chill index tells you how long exposed skin lasts. Match the coat to that number and your longest wait outdoors.

Updated 3/11/2026 · 10 min

Photo: Shixart1985 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Garden table and four chairs buried under thick snow beside a snow-covered hedge

Budget and prices

What a parka costs per wear across a Canadian winter

A winter season is about 120 wearing days. Divide the price by that and a $450 parka beats both a $180 coat and a $900 one. Here is the full arithmetic.

Updated 3/11/2026 · 10 min

Photo: Spinarak · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Child's outstretched hand in a pale knitted glove dusted with snow, padded coat behind

Fit and sizing

Fitting a winter coat over the layers you will actually wear

Measure over a mid-layer, test the hood over a toque, and know the drawstring rules for children's coats that Health Canada sets out in millimetres.

Updated 3/11/2026 · 10 min

Photo: Shixart1985 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons