Which Canadian Designer Winter Coat Should I Buy? - Canada Goose, NOBIS, or Moose Knuckles?

Freeds is proud to carry a selection of premium outerwear brands that are designed right here in Canada and made with domestically sourced materials and fabrics. The brands include a variety of products but with the approaching winter, we are focusing on the brands carrying winter coats so those still searching for the ideal winter coat can choose a Canadian designer coat this season.

Canada Goose

With a well-established reputation at home and internationally, Canada Goose is known for its high-end winter coats with extraordinary thermal properties and sought-after designs. From the Expedition parka, which accompanied scientists at an Arctic research station all the way up to the latest Shelburne and Hendriksen styles, the Canada Goose coats have proved their resistance against the coldest temperatures many times. Originally from Toronto, the brand has, during its sixty years of existence, multiplied styles while maintaining the same level of elegance. From bomber jackets to long parkas, Canada Goose products are varied and handmade on Canadian soil.

❄️ Shop Canada Goose ❄️

Nobis (Freeds' Favourite This Season!)

If you're not actually heading on an arctic expedition, why dress like it?

The Canadian outfitter Nobis is on a cold-weather mission to locate the exact point of intersection between high-performance technical outerwear and street-ready style. If you can avoid it, why sacrifice one for the other?

A proudly Canadian brand, Nobis (Latin for us), emphasizes community and collectivism. Creating high-impact outerwear for customers who appreciate the adaptability of both performance and style - wherever it may take them. "Are you one of us?" they ask.

Because aesthetics matter in any weather, the adventure-ready streetwear company imbues timeless, flattering silhouettes with high-performance textiles to ensure that you keep warm and stay stylish. Specifically, it marries space-age cold-weather technology to recognizable fabrics like cotton, nylon, leather, and wool to create versatile pieces that go anywhere and do anything. Thoughtfully detailed and meticulously manufactured, the brand's coats and jackets are more than ready to embrace the elements.

Today, more than a decade down the line from its debut, the luxury men's and women's outerwear label is only gaining steam. Its down jackets, which are miraculously machine washable, are technical, functional, defiantly fashionable, and more than competitive in the admittedly crowded Canadian winter outerwear segment.

The designers have produced hit after hit with top-quality functionality and style. Designed in Canada with 100% Canadian down, this young brand is turning heads. People across the globe are taking note of Nobis’ Men’s and Women’s winter down collections.

You can quite literally feel the difference. Next to the competition, Nobis' soft-to-the-touch subtly textured crosshatch fabric seems positively luxurious.

Where Nobis really shines is in the technological department, as all their down jackets are fully water-proof and breathable; a fact rarely seen in the fashionable down market industry. Nobis also likes to offer a versatile product so in many of their jackets not only do the hoods detach, but the fur ruff as well.

Performance-wise, the label's sturdy signature polyester, poly/wool blend shells are carefully treated with durable water-repellant coatings. The coat's laminated Sympatex interior membranes and taped-and-sealed major seams combine to keep out wind and water. Inside, Nobis' industry-leading protective inner membranes minimize heat loss without sacrificing breathability.

As is the case of any performance-grade outerwear brand, a lot of the appeal is in the details. Some are obvious, like removable full-cluster, high-loft down-filled hoods with double-drawstring toggle systems.

Look closer and you'll find functional touches like storm plackets with magnetic closures, snap-button chest and waist-flap pockets, interior zip-stash pockets, and adjustable rib cuffs with thumbhole openings. Non-pill microfleece neck lining and fleece-lined hand-warmer pockets will keep you cosy.

Further features like waist-cinching draw cords, concealed two-way zippers, and underarm ventilation systems help you regulate your body temperature in unpredictable conditions. Some models feature a down-filled wind skirt with convenient magnetic closures and a removable coyote fur ruff with mouldable in-hood framing wire.

That said, perhaps its most important technologies are ages old: ethically sourced 100-percent premium Canadian-origin white duck down insulation and conscientiously purchased coyote fur.

Nobis' Fall/Winter 2017 collection doubles down on unquestionably stylish outerwear colour profiles in black, grey, and navy, but it also takes some measured risks by trying on more contemporary shades like deep, rich blues and cabernet. There are just enough pops of more assertive, sharper colours throughout. Statement pieces like the Cartel fur-trimmed bomber jacket and the Yatesy parka have graced the pages of splashy American publications like Esquire and GQ.

❄️ Shop Nobis ❄️

Moose Knuckles

Moose Knuckles? Who would have thought a designer jacket brand with the name of Moose Knuckles would take the world of bomber jackets and parkas by storm? Laugh or sneer, Moose Knuckles jackets are here to stay. In fact, these jackets have quite a cult following.

Devotees swear by the brand’s:

• Exceptional workmanship
• Quality materials
• Ability to withstand the harsh Canadian winters.

Like Canada Goose, Moose Knuckles makes super-warm, sweatshop-free and durably constructed parkas in Canada, but they offer more fashion-forward cuts than Canada Goose (and can cost you more, too). Moose Knuckles uses Canadian-origin gray duck down and farmed fox fur from Finland.

For something warm, functional and not by Canada Goose, consider Moose Knuckles. Based on the name, which refers to a rather unfortunate male wardrobe malfunction, you can already tell that this company knows how to crack a joke.

With a range that includes puffer jackets with leather details and real fur trim, they also have more fashion-focused products, including a multicolour fur coat exuding a cheerful and stylish vibe.

Moose Knuckles also plans to have a presence at Sundance, so prepare to see the pages of Us Weekly and OK! splashed with images of celebrities donning the brand.

❄️ Shop Moose Knuckles ❄️