Imagine my first Avs game in Denver, I look at my date and say "who's that Roy guy in net".

Got any Foppa cards?

Roy-ha-ha

I've used Noso patches for a similar use case. I can attest that they work. They've held up sitting in my closet for a year /s

They shortened the warranty period to five at the most.

I bought some cargo shorts that lasted probably four years but I was tough on them. I felt like I got my money's worth but I was expecting a longer life span.

Over the last 1-2 years I loaded up on more shorts and cargo pants (that don't look like cargo in the least)and I have high expectations of them. I really like EB when they're on sale. If I paid $100 for pants I would be ticked off if they went early. At $45 I can live with a shorter life span.

I wasn't sure if you were kidding. My son gets about 6 months out the his Adidas these would probably last until they grew out of then.

Yeah well, I have a pair of their convertable pants that I loved, but they shrunk around the waist making them worthless to me. They just shrunk in the waist after I stopped mtn biking all the time. Seriously, those pants are flawed. I mean there's no other way the pants could have shrunk, unless, well, maybe they didn't shrink, then that would mean......ooooooooohhhh.

Interesting. You sound like you know what you're talking about.

Anything the consumer should look for that would indicate a significant loss of quality?

I was surprised to see quality go down with what I would consider BIFL brands like Eddie Bauer and Filson.

Any brands you can share that are holding their quality? Any that you can share that have lowered their quality? There are plenty of lists on this sub, but I'm very interested in your observations.

I'll give it another go. I have pretty broad shoulders (6'4 and larger frame) but I have some suit hangers that would probably do the trick.

Here comes an incredibly obtuse question....I assume you need to steam once the garment is dry? I had to ask.

Thanks

How do you address the bumpy shoulders created at the end of the hanger?

I take the wisdom of the best survivalist/bushcraft expert Les Stroud aka Survivorman....his famous line is "if you sweat (dramatic pause) you die".

Ya'all get some brutal cold up there so I might have slightly underestimated the need for warmth when you're less active but I kinda fixated on your biking commute. A three mile commute should be 20-30 minutes depending on things like sitting at traffic lights...pretty sure you'll be warm by mile 2. Casually walking will require significantly more warm layers, or ideally a parka like the ones others are recommending.

I'm going in a different direction and recommend that you use layers to stay warm. Almost Everything you will be doing is active/athletic which requires the ability to add and remove layers as needed. Something with pit zips would be critical because you're going to burn up, sweat, then get cold from the sweat if you wear a parka riding your bike. Same thing with skiing. Sweat is your worst enemy when you're active in cold weather.

I've done fat bike 'fun runs' at night, in the winter at 10,000 ft which typically starts at 20 degrees and ends in single digits. When I finally figured out how to dress, I would wear a baselayer, midlayer shirt, and a light softshell jacket with the pits open the entire time.

I would recommend a merino wool layer, a warm fleece jacket, and a hardshell outer layer for cold days when you're active. Ditch the wool layer or the shell on slightly warmer dry days. Ditch the fleece on much warmer days. Cold non active days are a different story..add layers because you won't be fighting sweat as much.

Don't skimp on gloves and get face covering for super cold commuting in snow or sleet. Your 20 minute commute will double if you have to contend with slick roads, heavier traffic, etc.

I would consider a puffy for warmth but also for packability (not a word I'm sure). If you're traveling back and forth from California to Ohio it would be nice to easily stuff it in a carry-on suitcase.

I have a Norrona lightweight (that's the name btw) puffy that I really like. The brand isn't cheap but everything has held up over the years.

If packability :) wasn't an issue I would consider a wool coat. I have a Filson pea coat that I love but you'd probably want something that zips up. I feel like there's a bit of a cool factor because you don't see them as much these days, and wool just feels nice imo....and of course you will stay warm if wool gets wet.

Marlin Brando and John Elway

Nothing weird about this in the least. Most technical jackets are built to layer because you can shed layers as you warm up. That's what the cool kids do.

It's very warm. If you think about a pea coat, you essentially have two layers in front across your torso due to the overlapping. You do however lose heat because there's not a zipper to truly seal up the coat. Wear a warm sweater underneath and you're good into the 20's F.

Look no further, I have the answer. Move to Colorado. You can wear a ski coat/technical shell and hiking boots to a wedding or a funeral.

In all seriousness, the only recommendations I could make are $1000 Arcteryx or Norrona Oslo coats.

I would second that except they want to ski in it. I have a Filson pea coat that I love for warmth and style.