Winter Coats - Parkas, Down Coats and Jackets
The outer shell layer, wind proofing and waterproofing

Antarctica does proper wind

Proper biting - gets through every nook and cranny - straight to the bones - wind

Some garments such as duvet style puffa jackets have a wind-proof outer nylon layer but are not waterproof. This has the advantage of making the garment softer, pliable and comfortable and of also reducing the cost .

Water-resistant or water-repellent are fine if you will not use the garment in extended wet conditions or and will have the opportunity to dry it out between uses. In cold conditions, waterproof is not necessary as there's not a lot of liquid water about!

500 / 600 / 700 / 800 fill down?

What's it all mean? The number is a measure of  "fill power". This measures the amount of space taken up by one ounce of down. Take one ounce of down, compress it and then release it - on release the down will expand and fill up a certain volume. The volume it occupies is measured in cubic inches and is the down's "fill power".

So if a jacket is said to have "550 fill down" for example, it means that one once of down in the jacket will fill 550 cubic inches of space. The higher the number, the higher the quality of the down - generally.

As well as down quality, the fill power is what gives the down its insulating properties. The more the fill power, the warmer the jacket - generally.

Generally? It also depends on the amount of down in the garment too. A small amount of the highest quality down won't necessarily be warmer than a larger amount of slightly lower quality down.

Waterproof shell jackets

Waterproofing has come on leaps and bounds in recent years due to the development of new light-weight, soft waterproof fabrics that all importantly are now breathable. Old fashioned coated nylon is now only found in the cheapest of garments and is to be avoided.

Materials such as GORE-TEX mean that being waterproof no longer means that the inside of the garment becomes damp and clammy from perspiration. New ways of using the material mean that the outer surface remains soft and pleasing to the touch.

A fully waterproof shell is not required for very cold climates however and is not appropriate in that the breathable characteristics become less effective at very low temperatures. For coastal and maritime Antarctica in the summer such fabrics are ideal and I unequivocally recommend the use of an outer layer garment that is made using GORE-TEX  in such conditions. This also has the advantage of being useful in the less cold, but often wetter conditions in everyday life, so the garment continues to be very useful for many years to come. Gore-Tex is also an excellent windproof barrier too and in appropriate conditions (above about -15°C / +5°F in my experience - though my Gore-Tex jacket is several years old now and the fabric has advanced since then) performs excellently.

See all Gore-Tex jackets - Men's  Women's

Choosing clothing for cold and extreme weather

The ankles, wrist and neck area should also be covered with no chance of exposing bare flesh when stretching, reaching or otherwise moving around. A scarf of some kind around the neck makes all the difference to losing warm air that can be "pumped" out by even small movements.