Kids Winter Coats?

I don't really care for the 3-in-1s for myself I always end up missing part of it. I put a fleece on my kids for the car and I usually get them a nice columbia down jacket to wear to play outside. I get them at my local kids outlet at the end of winter for a bout $20 and they last. My oldest son's snowsuit from when he was 3 he got two years out of and 2 of my nephews have used it and this year my youngest will use it. I don't know how the children's place or lands end coats hold up I do know the one year I bought my son snow pants that weren't columbia they had a rip in the knees about a month and half into winter after that I said nothing but columbia for jackets and snow pants.

Personally here in Georgia I always buy my kids coats at Burlington Coat Factory! They are a lot cheaper and always have a HUGE selection! I don't know if they have locations in IL and I don't think you can order online-they have a website but I don't believe you can order from there.
Technically you are not supposed to put a child into a carseat with the jackets on. You are supposed to take them off and buckle them in. A fireman told me take the jacket off and put them in the car seat and then if you feel they need to wear it while in the car place the arms of the child into the sleeves or just simply put the jacket over them.....personally I never did because it was too much of a hassle. Put a jacket on walk to the car take it off then load them in the carseat and buckle drive to destination unbuckle child put jacket back on again....I have twins and mornings were normally rushed during daycare days. Do what you feel is necessary.

I don't really do the 3 in 1 but I usually buy used Land's End coats for my kids on Ebay. For the littler ones I get their fleece snowsuits for the car (LL Bean and REI are good too). They are great, nothing beats them for warmth and durability...even buying them used they work wonderfully and still look great. Last year I was in a bit of a pinch in the middle of winter cause he ruined his coat and ended up getting my older son a coat from Osh Kosh outlet in Huntley and that worked out really well too, he never seemed cold. I got the new Land's End catalog for outerwear and they are offering new sleeves that grow with them and some of the coats have the fleece handwarmers that come out of the sleeve that you can use either under gloves on really cold days, or by themselves on days when it's not too bad. I just buy mine used because although they are worth it, it is hard to afford such a pricey coat each year. Good luck!

We may have similar winters to yours here in the Indianapolis area. We've had both LL Bean winter coats as well as the Children's Place 3-1 coats. It's a toss-up either way. Our kids have never complained.

We've only recently started using Lands End a little more now that they have a megastore in our local Sears.

For us, the 3-1 has been great to get us through many seasons and changes in weather. The outter shell is usally good down to about 20-30 degrees, and I've never found them to be too bulky. Last year, we found some LL Bean coats on clearance that had good weather ratings, and we got those.

It can get down to subzero temps in February, so we're really needing good protection, as well. Our kids were 1 and 3 last winter, and we had no complaints from either.

I have always been very happy with the Gap winter coats that I have purchased.

Lands End or L.L.Bean...they have great coats for warmth without the bulk! I just ordered my son a jacket from Lands End online at 25% off plus free shipping. If you'd like me to pass on that savings, message me your email adress & i can forward you the email. :) One thing i love about them is if it does'nt fit or work out, you can do returns at your local Sears store.

Is there an REI by you? We get our winter gear from there and have been very happy. We get a couple of years of use out of it as well because of the "growth tuck" options on most of the winter clothing... works wonderful to have an extra 3 inches for the next year.... and the coats are not big and bulky... but warm and water repellent.

I buy the Children's Place 3-in-1 for my kids. They have always been plenty warm in them even after playing outside for hours in the snow.

I like the hannah anderson, lands end and columibia if you have more then one child. I usually put the under three kids in a snowsuit that way they have a full layer over their clothes and it easier to strap them in. If they want to walk a little bit in the parking lot then they are covered. You can try Farm and Fleet they have good prices on out door clothing that is warm too.
J.

Gap. They have down winter coats that are very warm.