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OK, so it’s getting about time for me to replace my winter coat. Too many seams are ripping, the zipper is broken, bits are frayed and worn beyond hope, yada yada. I’ve had it for 7 years, and worn it every day during the winter, so I can’t exactly complain.

Problem is…technology and whatnot keeps changing, and I hate keeping up with fashion, and hate shopping, so now I’m kind of lost with this whole buying a new winter coat thing. Help?!

Currently, I have a North Face coat. It’s a combination of a heavy-fill down insulating liner, plus a windproof shell. It’s about hip-length. Yes, I look like a bright blue marshmallow, but I don’t particularly care since I buy my coats for warmth and only warmth, when you get down to it. (This is what living in the Adirondacks does to you. Screw looking all chic and stylin’ *cough* with a trendy wool coat…I want my friggin’ insulated-to-withing-an-inch-of-my-life down coat dammit.) I am wary about going with another North Face coat; while it was very warm, it did not hold up as well as a $600 coat should, IMO.

So. I would like a combination of heavy-fill down + wind/water-resistant shell. Preferably something long enough to cover my butt (so, mid-thigh or knee length), but that’s not a deal breaker. Stylish and vaguely professional looking would be nice, but I’ll take warmth first. I will not be using this for anything like skiing or something where I’ll be generating substantial body heat on my own–I’ll be using it for standing on a train platform at o-dark-thirty in the am, so I’m going for WARM.

Thoughts? Opinions? Recommendations? Pros/cons of major brands? Any and all help greatly appreciated.