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As polar vortex grips US, turn to top-rated winter gear to stay warm

Brace yourselves because the polar vortex has fractured ... Below, we rounded up top-rated winter gear on the web — from coats to boots and accessories that are currently on sale — to keep you warm ... read more

Gear Review: Polartec Jackets

I took occasion to test three new jackets made with Polartec fabric. Based in Lawrence, Mass., Polartec LLC is often associated solely with “polar fleece,” its ubiquitous synthetic wool product that’s ... read more

PURCELL: Erasing capitalism? Consider the pencil first

You see, the standard pencil begins when a cedar is cut down and crews using ropes and gear tug it onto a truck or rail car ... Each pencil receives six coats of lacquer. Complex processes employ ... read more

Cold freeze warms up winter sales

The polar vortex, which plunged parts of the country, including Chicago (pictured above) into bitterly frigid temperatures, boosted retail sales of parkas, batteries, portable heaters and other ... read more

Arctic, Antarctic vets offer warm advice for surviving the polar vortex

Now, as the polar vortex bears down on Chicago ... a down jacket and a puffy red parka on top of that. She wore two pairs of socks and cut off sections of wool sock to cover her wrists between her ... read more

OROS Discovery jackets review

OROS apparel sent me some jackets and outerwear ... I’ll update this review in a month or two after we’ve had temps in the 20’s and lower. We’ve had quite a few sub 20F degree days due to the Arctic ... read more

Backcountry Test: Polartec 'Alpha' Jackets (in Tetons With Exum Mountain Guides)

As we noted in the initial review last year, “down feathers and most synthetic insulation can poke through permeable fabric. This means puffy jackets often use dense materials to encapsulate the ... read more