Quote:
Originally Posted by
Joker Man 
This is your best bet. Detachable hood you can leave off on warmer days. When it's really cold add wool pullover and hood and you'll be warm
http://tinyurl.com/5vsnz33
OP was actually looking to spend $500 so this is out of that price range.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Joker Man 
That's 14 F pal and it's very cold. And even cold Montreal has daytime highs in Winter of 20+. The middle and rest of Canada doesn't matter because no one lives there except dumb newfies and proles.
My, my, what's with all the negativity, dear boy? His comment was perfectly valid: It's actually not that cold. I think the assumption was that we're talking about an everyday jacket. The thing about living in a cold climate is that you never really spend too much time outside - it's all about going from house to car, building to building etc.
Some of that North Face stuff is perfect if you're spending hours at a time outdoors, but really is overkill for day-to-day wear at that temperature.