Baby Clothes

[xcmountain80]

Well the baby has come and we are off to a good start relatively speaking of course. While planning for a trip in late December I ran into the who makes outdoor baby clothes? I found that Patagonia made a windproof waterproof jacket for $50 on eBay regularly $90 but wanted to see if anyone else made this gear. While I would love to keep the cost to a bare minimum as the clothes won’t fit for long. Suggestions….hmm I’m thinking good will or salvation army

 

[mountainpete]

Mountain Equipment Co-op here in Canada sells EXCELLENT baby and kids clothes and gear. The MEC branded items are good value.

Based on the US/CAD dollar right now, it may be worth it for you to order from Canada. They sell Patagonia too, but only ship to Canada (otherwise you guys would get too good of a deal with exchange).

Take a look here: http://www.mec.ca

Pete

 

[xcmountain80]

Mountain Equipment Co-op here in Canada sells EXCELLENT baby and kids clothes and gear. The MEC branded items are good value.

Based on the US/CAD dollar right now, it may be worth it for you to order from Canada. They sell Patagonia too, but only ship to Canada (otherwise you guys would get too good of a deal with exchange).

Take a look here: http://www.mec.ca

Pete

I have family in Toronto perhaps I could swing some shadyness.

 

[Alchemyguy]

MEC is where we shop for outdoor babywear as well; $50 for a jacket the minion is way, way too much for our budget, especially when she'll only wear it one season at most. Looks like REI has similar deals as MEC in the US, so that might be somewhere to look too.

 

[SilverBullet]

about specific makers, but free cycle is a great resource for gently used stuff.

 

[java]

rei has lots of stuff these days

 

[Alchemyguy]

about specific makers, but free cycle is a great resource for gently used stuff.

I thought of something like this yesterday, when I was lugging the wee one around the trails of the off-leash park; We have a shop where people bring in their used kids stuff (clothes, toys, furniture) and the shop resells it to the rest of us at a pretty reasonable price. We find all kinds of kit there. It probably won't be exactly that top-end product in the colour you wanted, but to be realistic kids don't need technical gear.

 

[Brian McVickers]

I'm not sure how old your baby is but for our two kids we tried a few things.

1 - We have a second hand store around here called Kid to Kid. It's all nice gently used if used at all stuff. You can often find fancy name brands for a fraction of the cost.

2 - General outdoor stores often have non-name brand clothing and outerwear that will do the job and not break the bank.

3 - Try the online outlets like REI outlet, Campmor and Sierra Trading Post. I found a great two layered technical jacket by North Face for my daugher at the Cabellas bargain cave, a $200 jacket for $10!

On top of that my personal oppinion is that I never found it practical to buy the high priced top quality stuff that you may buy for yourself for the baby. Now, before that sounds bad and negligent consider that when we buy outdoor gear for ourselves we are expecing to use the same jacket for 5+ years and probably subject it to harsher conditions than you will likely choose to subject your child to. They key is to keep them dry, warm and comfortable.

At three and four years old i have just started buying the more high end top quality gear for my kids because they have leveled out a bit on thier growth pattern. They are still growing but now I can roll up the cuffs and get a few months, maybe even a year, out of a piece of clothing vs a few weeks.

Brian

 

[JPFreek1]

Also check out Mountain Sprouts clothing. You can see a good listing of items for infants and toddlers at:

http://www.playoutdoors.com/brand/mountain-sprouts.aspx

Good luck!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I was at MEC on the weekend, checking out their offerings for kid's jackets. I'd like a rain coat for my boy, but $50 for a coated nylon jacket for a 4 year old is a bit much. I'd be happy with a simple PVC yellow jacket, but I can't even find those anymore. I guess part of the "kids don't go outside anymore" thing.

 

[Black09JK]

I was thinking about this about a month ago in anticipation of the warmer months. What I came up with was that we were going to get my daughter, who is only 7 months old, decent "base layers". In all reality she's not going to be out in the rain. If we're on the trail when the skies open up she'll be in the carrier with the rain cover on it. If we're at camp, she's in the tent or under the tarp. So in my opinion outer wear for the first few years isn't the priority. The clothes under the jacket are more important. Don't get me wrong, she will still be wearing a jacket, it is just going to be the same one she wears to the store. At least until she's a few years older. That's my take on baby clothes and the outdoors.

 

[Alchemyguy]

Ours is 14 months now, started crawling at 7 months, walking reliably at about 12 and a half. If yours is anything like mine, she won't be content to just sit in the tent and watch the world go by; mine threw a screaming fit when I tried to bring her in the house when the rain started, and yesterday was supremely happy to sit in the garden playing with the dirt. I would suggest you're going to need *something* in the next 6 months; at bare minimum they're crawling around and her town jacket won't cut it in the yard, nevermind the outdoors. Right now she wears a fleece lined rain coat-type jacket, and I've got a one piece rain suit for when we're out camping.

You say you'll just use her town jacket "for a few years"; I don't think that's terribly realistic. I can't imagine a 2 or 3 year old not going out in the rain/snow and getting down and dirty, and I'm certainly not going to carry mine for the entire time when she's 3. Heck, it doesn't have to be raining for a little one to be digging in the dirt, and I like to have at least a jacket she can get messy and still have a going-out jacket.

 

[Black09JK]

Ours is 14 months now, started crawling at 7 months, walking reliably at about 12 and a half. If yours is anything like mine, she won't be content to just sit in the tent and watch the world go by; mine threw a screaming fit when I tried to bring her in the house when the rain started, and yesterday was supremely happy to sit in the garden playing with the dirt. I would suggest you're going to need *something* in the next 6 months; at bare minimum they're crawling around and her town jacket won't cut it in the yard, nevermind the outdoors. Right now she wears a fleece lined rain coat-type jacket, and I've got a one piece rain suit for when we're out camping.

You say you'll just use her town jacket "for a few years"; I don't think that's terribly realistic. I can't imagine a 2 or 3 year old not going out in the rain/snow and getting down and dirty, and I'm certainly not going to carry mine for the entire time when she's 3. Heck, it doesn't have to be raining for a little one to be digging in the dirt, and I like to have at least a jacket she can get messy and still have a going-out jacket.

All very good points. I guess I hadn't taken into consideration what SHE would want to do. Now you're gonna make me rethink everything. :Wow1:

 

[Alchemyguy]

I don't think you need to shell out for a North Face or Arc'teryx for a little one; as long as it sheds rain and looks cute with her little rubber boots it's all good in my books. I don't even think I would buy more than two outer layers; a one piece rain suit like the one I linked to should do pretty much everything and keep her more or less clean if she flops down on wet ground, and a simple rain jacket if total containment isn't really an issue.

I know mine won't stay within any imaginary boundaries, like beneath a tarp. She's got far more pressing matters to attend to than my desires.

 

[southpier]

i was 40 years old before i had my first Patagonia shirt.



often wondered why 8 year olds expect 100$ sneakers and their own cell phone . . . .