Need gift advice

[raintyger]

I drew my brother-in-law Bob for Christmas this year. He is a hard one because I think the household income is somewhere around $250K-$300K. So anything I can afford he can buy quite easily for himself, and probably more to his liking. I asked his wife and she said since they are moving to Oregon soon, maybe a jacket/vest. But I have lived all my life in Southern California and don't know how to buy a serious cold weather jacket! Can someone here help out? What are some respectable brands?

 

[happybird]

North Face and Patagonia are both good brands. Columbia is nice, too.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Columbia and North Face are the 2 that come to mind for me too.  

 

[Winchester]

I have a Columbia winter jacket that I use for for my winter walking; I've had it now for about 7 years and it's still going strong. It's a wonderful jacket, nice and warm. Although I've not had any trouble with mine (***knock on wood***), I've heard that people tend to have trouble with the zippers on Columbia jackets. 

 

[AbbysMom]

I agree with the names mentioned and would add LL Bean to the list also.

 

[raintyger]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone!

Are there good features to look for? Good places to buy?

 

[happybird]

The jackets that have zippers so you can remove the hood or the sleeves are handy. Also, some of the more pricey models are kind of two jackets in one, where you can separate the outer shell to use as a light wind breaker. Those are great, too.
As for shopping, a good outdoor or camping store should carry all these brands. REI is a chain here on the east coast, don't know if you have them out west. Most independent outdoor stores carry good brands, too.

 

[andrya]

North Face is popular up here too, in the frigid north! Burton is popular with the skiers. l have a Helly Hansen ski jacket that l love. lt's down filled and warm, but very thin and light, and unzips under the arms for driving.

 

[Winchester]

The jackets that have zippers so you can remove the hood or the sleeves are handy. Also, some of the more pricey models are kind of two jackets in one, where you can separate the outer shell to use as a light wind breaker. Those are great, too.
As for shopping, a good outdoor or camping store should carry all these brands. REI is a chain here on the east coast, don't know if you have them out west. Most independent outdoor stores carry good brands, too.

My Columbia has the two jackets together with a zipper. I like it because if I get too warm, I can always take the wind breaker off. Or just use the wind breaker alone or over a sweatshirt. Sometimes it's all about the layers that you can get. As you get warm, you can start removing a layer or two, if you have to. Mine does not have a hood and I rather wish it did. I think we got mine at Penny's. Or maybe at Dick's Sporting Goods, I don't remember. 

Don't get anything overly bulky as they can be a real pain to deal with when you're out walking or doing things outside. 

 

[swampwitch]

I wouldn't buy clothes for someone else as a gift. Most people are really picky about what they wear! And since you have no idea what kind of jacket would be his style, you are really shooting in the dark and setting things up for a gift he will never use.

Best gifts for people who have "everything" is stuff they use up. What are his hobbies, for example does he golf (buy him really nice golf balls - maybe with his name printed on them)? Think or find out what he likes to do in his spare time and buy him some additional supplies for that. Does he make his own beer? Likes to grill? Does he have a car collection? People are always needing supplies for things they like to do - you can make the gift great by buying some *really nice* whatevers... If it's several things, put them all together packaged nicely in a gift basket. Good luck!

 

[stewball]

Are you able to get gift vouchers from any of the known shops who have shops all over the country. Then he can buy himself something.

 

[raintyger]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!

I plan on getting something from a store that I know he patronizes and will enclose a gift receipt. I like that better than a gift card because it shows I made an effort to think about what he would like.

 

[stewball]

Good idea. What's a gift 'receipt'?. Does that mean he can change it?

 

[raintyger]

When you buy something at a lot of the retailers in the U.S., they print a special receipt that has everything but the price you paid on it. If your recipient doesn't like their gift, they can present the gift receipt at the store. The receipt has an identifying code so that how much was paid is then looked up in store records. The store personnel then tell your gift recipient they have $XX.XX credit to spend in the store. The original purchaser (gift giver) gets a normal receipt for their banking records.

 

[tammat]

When you buy something at a lot of the retailers in the U.S., they print a special receipt that has everything but the price you paid on it. If your recipient doesn't like their gift, they can present the gift receipt at the store. The receipt has an identifying code so that how much was paid is then looked up in store records. The store personnel then tell your gift recipient they have $XX.XX credit to spend in the store. The original purchaser (gift giver) gets a normal receipt for their banking records.

Wow! What a wonderful idea. Modern technology has everything covered!

 

[stewball]

If the store personnel will be telling whoever the amount he has to spend then why not on the thing itself? Silly screwball in case the whoever doesn't want to exchange it. See I ask and answer my own questions.