My first Canada Goose jacket was a gift from my wife 2 years ago. Talk about an awesome gift. I wear it all the time to this day. Since then, the only outerwear I wear is Canada Goose. It’s so good. I’ve bought several more Canada Goose jackets. I’m very familiar with all the different types of Canada Goose jackets now. I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time on the website (I’ll be buying more). Below I step you through all the different types and explain what they’re designed for. Note that there are the same types for both men and women.
Overview listing out the different Canada Goose Jacket Options
Read about how to choose the best Canada Goose jacket for you.
Let’s break it down. Here are the details explaining the various types of Canada Goose coats and jackets.
1. Parkas
A parka is a long, large coat with a hood designed for cold or severe weather. Parkas are Canada Goose’s wheelhouse item.
Canada Goose established itself with its Snow Mantra Parka. It’s still the parka you get if you want the warmest, best sub-zero weather coat. It’s arguably one of the best sub-zero climate coats in the world. In recent years, Canada Goose has expanded its parka line considerably with many new designs.
What’s annoying about the CanadaGoose.com website is that when you click into the “Parkas” section, it lists coats that aren’t parkas. This should definitely be addressed. Regardless, it doesn’t take long to get an idea as to the various parkas sold.
Their parkas range considerably per their temperature rating. In other words, not every parka is rated for -30° or colder (TEI5). The fact is most people don’t need a jacket designed for -30°C or colder. I don’t. For example, I have the Brockton parka which is rated for -10°C to -20°C which is more than enough for me. It seldom gets colder than -5°C where I live and when in the mountains I’m skiing so I wear a ski coat. That said, the parka with the warmest temperature rating -10°C to -20°C (TEI3). If you don’t need a coat for that cold of weather, look for a different coat from Canada Goose.
Here are the main parka lines:
- Snow Mantra
- Expedition
- Resolute
- Citadel
- Langford
- Brockton
- Emory
- Carson
- Maitland
Why buy a parka? If you’re in cold weather for prolonged periods of time, get a parka. If not, don’t bother. My kids play outdoor sports throughout the winter so I’m spending an hour standing or sitting in cold, wet weather. My parka is perfect. If you like the parka design but don’t need it for cold weather, consider the Kent lightweight jacket.
2. Bombers
A bomber is a shorter, waist-length coat. They can be made from a variety of materials. Bomber applies to the design, not material. They can be heavy-duty for cold weather to lightweight. I have the HyBridge Base Down Bomber. Bombers are more of an everyday coat. Canada Goose bombers are rated anywhere from 5°C to -20°C. I often wear mine in warmer weather and it’s totally fine as in I don’t get too hot.
The Chilliwack Bomber jacket is rated to -20°C while the Faber is rated to -5°C. There are other lines within those ranges. They vary from thick, puffer style to lightweight jackets.
Why buy the bomber? Buy a bomber if you like the design. Bomber jackets by Canada Goose come in all thicknesses and materials. You can buy a lightweight bomber or one rated for up to -25°C.
3. Down
Canada Goose down coats come as both bomber style and parka style jackets. Some are the short bomber style (most of them are) while some are longer. Many are the popular puffer style. What ties the down jackets together is that they are filled with down. Canada Goose jackets use two types of down: Goose and duck. When searching down jackets, be sure to check the “Materials” section to see which type of down a particular jacket uses (unless you don’t care). FYI, geese live in colder climates than ducks. Goose down is considered a superior down because its clusters are larger than duck and less likely to cause an odor.
Why buy a down jacket? Buy a down jacket to stay warm. Down is extremely effective for insulating. I love my down jacket; I’ve seldom gotten cold with it on.
The one problem with down is it doesn’t do well when it gets wet. Most down jackets sold by Canada Goose are not waterproof. When it’s cold and raining, I either wear my parka or I wear my raincoat on top of my down bomber.
4. Puffers
Another Canada Goose jacket categorization is the puffer coat. My goose down-filled bomber is a puffer jacket. It’s not ridiculously puffy (a la George Costanza’s famous puffer) but it has the puffer look.
There are many options under the puffer category with Canada Goose: very cold rating to lightweight puffer to puffer vest. For example, the Crofton puffer is rated to -25°C while the Hybridge Lite Tech Down jacket is rated to -5°C.
Why buy a puffer? The puffy style is in style plus it’s warm. If you’re in cold weather regularly, the puffer is a good coat to get.
5. Raincoats
I’m so glad Canada Goose designed a raincoat. What they came up with is nothing short of amazing. I’ve owned a lot of raincoats over the years (I live in rainy North Vancouver, BC) and no raincoat I’ve ever owned is as good as my Canada Goose raincoat.
There aren’t a whole lot of different raincoats to choose from. They’re rated to -5°C. The only real difference among the Canada Goose raincoats is length. I have a shorter one but you can opt for a longer design.
Why buy a Canada Goose raincoat? These are not cheap raincoats but if you like the best and you live in a rainy area, you’ll be delighted with a Canada Goose raincoat. I wear it all the time, either on its own or on top of my down puffer. If you’re in the rain, buy a raincoat.
6. Vests
Are vests a jacket? Debatable but let’s include them because they are outerwear. I have a heavy-duty Canada Goose vest (the Freestyle vest). I love it in Spring and Fall. I used to never wear vests and now I own several for outdoor and indoor and wear them all the time. What I like about vests as outerwear is it keeps me warm but I’m able to shed excess heat via being armless. It’s quite good.
All the vest lines sold by Canada Goose are rated to -5°C. Makes sense given they don’t have arms so no matter how thick they are there is a limit to how cold of weather you can venture out with your vest.
Vest buying tip: If you suspect you’ll mostly wear just the vest, a thicker one is fine. If you suspect you’ll often wear a vest under a shell or other coat, a lighter-weight vest is better. I have a very lightweight vest from Lululemon I often wear under my down puffer or raincoat. My Freestyle Canada Goose vest is too thick to wear under another coat. The Hybridge Lite Tech Down vest is one you can wear under a puffer or parka or raincoat. Something to keep in mind.
7. Lightweight jackets
Canada Goose distinguishes between lightweight down jackets and lightweight jackets. All of Canada Goose non-down lightweight jackets are rated to -5°C. They’re shell-like coats to protect from the elements without being extreme outerwear; designed to provide some warmth without overheating. Most are water-resistant (not waterproof like the raincoats).
8. Types by line
In recent years, Canada Goose launched a and more recently . The Black Label line is outerwear for the urban setting. It’s not for quite as extreme of weather and comes with a less obvious Canada Goose badge. The Northern Lights line takes existing products but goes with brighter color schemes.
Hoodies
Since hoodies are often outerwear, I’m lumping them in as a jacket. Actually, much of what Canada Goose sells is a hoody, from parkas with a hood to sweaters with a hood. In fact, I don’t own a Canada Goose jacket without a hood come to think of it. The only reason I mention “hoodies” as a type of jacket sold by Canada Goose is it’s a feature you should double-check when choosing any item. Maybe you don’t want a hood. In that case, either look for an item without a hood or a removable hood. Read about my lighter hoodies here.
What type of jackets would I like to see Canada Goose design and sell?
There are two types of jackets I would like to see Canada Goose design and sell. The first is a ski jacket. Not a shell-style but a fully insulated ski jacket. While you can use some Canada Goose jackets for skiing, there isn’t a jacket designed specifically for skiing. I suspect the company could come up with something amazing.
The second type of jacket I’d love to see Canada Goose sell is a pea coat. I suspect Canada Goose would come up with its own spin on this iconic coat that would be awesome.
With a lineup of insanely high quality jackets like that, it’s no wonder Canada Goose is so popular.
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