What’s the Difference Between a $200 Coat and a $1,200 Coat?
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Welcome to Coat Week on the Strategist, where we’re asking everyone — from New Yorkers to people living in the coldest parts of the U.S. — about their favorite coats and trying out every puffer we can. For more, head over to ourCoat Week hub.
When it comes to down-filled parkas, prices range from less than $150 forthe now-famous Amazon coatto over $1,700 for aCanada Goose Expedition. Coats from either price category appear all too similar in online product shots, so you really need to see them in person to get a sense of how they actually differ. That’s how I wound up atMcNeil & Reedy— one of the last family-owned menswear and tailoring shops in New England — with a representative from each category in hand: a $200Quince parkaand a $1,200Nobis Yatesy.
Casey McNeil is the store’s third-generation owner-operator and he’s also its lead buyer. He explained that Rutland, Vermont, isn’t known for luxurious appetites, so the continued survival of his family’s business depends on his ability to source garments that deliver exceptional value regardless of price point. For McNeil, evaluating quality in all clothes comes down to material, construction, and fit. I’d told him that one jacket cost much more than the other, but not by how much. With that in mind, I handed him both parkas for a close examination. Although our observations are specific to these particular coats, they are generalizable to other coats in similar price brackets.
The Nobis is made of better materials
The first thing McNeil noticed when he picked up both coats was that the Nobis coat’s herringbone face fabric felt much softer and more supple than Quince’s slick, stiff, ski-jacket exterior. “You’d definitely have to break this in for it to feel good,” said McNeil of the Quince. The Nobis coat’s front closure was similarly polished. In addition to its smooth and beefy two-way zipper (interestingly, made by TAT, not YKK), the Nobis has an extra-wide, moleskin-lined placket that protects both the hardware and the wearer from wind and weather. Not only is it an inch wider than the one on the Quince, it also contains sewn-in magnets, which quickly seal it shut without any effort on the part of the wearer. For extra protection, it also has metal snaps that click into place with a satisfying ping, unlike the scratchy Velcro on the Quince’s placket.
Upon opening the Nobis up and feeling the inside, McNeil pointed out the loftiness of the baffles. They were plump and pillowy, but not overfilled to the point of stiffness. And the down was evenly distributed without any lumps. “There’s nothing pokey,” he added, while running the backs of his hands up and down the interior. “On a lower-quality jacket, you can sometimes feel the pointy parts of the feathers.” To the Quince’s credit, there weren’t any pokey bits, but its baffles were only half as tall as the Nobis coat’s when laid flat side by side. Just from holding them, it was easy to feel that the Nobis was more substantial.
Both parkas are well-constructed, but the Nobis has more features
Beyond the filling, McNeil pointed out that the Nobis had three interior pockets, whereas the Quince had only one. The Nobis also has an additional layer of interior lining, protecting the baffles from abrasion and skin oils, while the Quince’s baffles are directly exposed on the interior. And the Nobis also has a little insulated powder skirt running along the waistband, which would help keep drafts from entering your core through the bottom on a particularly frigid day. McNeil was particularly fond of the moleskin lining that runs along the backside of the zipper’s storm flap as well. The softer material improves comfort and also reduces its abrasiveness when layering over more delicate knits and fabrics.
Unlike Canada Goose, Nobis manufactures their coats in China, not Canada. And Quince makes their parka in Vietnam. Both Asian countries are home to excellent textile manufacturing plants that produce clothes for brands renowned for their construction quality, such as Arc’teryx and Patagonia. Both parkas have dense and even stitching throughout the interior and exterior, which is not true of all the other Quince coats I’ve tried. If I were picking nits, the bar tacking used to reinforce the pockets of the Nobis is neater than that of the Quince’s, but both are well-sewn garments.
The Quince’s fit is imperfect — and relies heavily on Velcro
Trying on the parkas only heightened the contrasts between them. McNeil started with the Quince, which initially felt fine, but the closer we looked, the less we liked it. “They’re very short,” he observed of the sleeves. With his arm resting by his side, the cuff barely covered half of his watch, and his entire wrist was fully exposed as soon as he bent his elbow. The body was also a bit shorter than expected, only covering his upper thighs — more like a jacket than a coat. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he observed that it had a boxy, unflattering fit when zipped up. He also pointed out that sitting down would be challenging given the lack of side vents along the hemline. “You’ll feel extra stuck, trying to get out of your car while wearing this thing,” he said.
His least-favorite part about the Quince parka, however, was all the Velcro. “It makes it look and feel a bit cheesy.” And it’s not just about aesthetics. “Velcro is quite loud, and no matter what,” he said, pointing at the patch by the collar, “this bit always ends up touching your face somehow.” When he took it off to try the Nobis, loud tearing sounds erupted as each bit of Velcro running the length of the placket had to be ripped apart.
By contrast, the Nobis made a positive first impression that only improved upon closer examination. For one, the sleeve cuffs went down to McNeil’s thumb knuckles — the ideal length for a coat, he said. And it also had sewn-in knit glove garters, which are like built-in mittens that you can pull into your gloves so that your wrists stay covered no matter how you move your arms. The shape of the coat hugged the contours of his body, which isn’t only about looking nice. “Garments that are big and bulky will catch on things and wear down over time,” McNeil said. “Whereas if it’s tailored right to you, it’ll last longer.” It also moved with him as he walked around the store — especially with the side vents unclasped. It has minimal Velcro and none where it might come into contact with exposed skin.
Overall, the Nobis is made with more intention, but the Quince works just fine, especially for its price
“I’ve got nothing against the Quince. It’s great for the price,” clarified McNeil, “but these are two totally different things.” In McNeil’s estimation, a designer at Quince is probably being told to take an existing garment — in this case, theNorth Face McMurdo— and figure out a way to make it profitable to sell a couple hundred thousand units at a target price of $200. Whereas the Nobis is likely made with much more intention. “You can feel that every piece of it was thought through by a human when you zip it up,” he said. “The interior pockets, the reinforced elbows, the snap vents … There’s a reason these glove pockets are so deep, and why they added these glove garters. It’s probably designed by someone who’s tailgated a Montreal Canadiens hockey game in the dead of winter.”
At this point, I told McNeil that the Nobis cost $1,200. “This is definitely still what I would want to buy,” he said. “People’s budgets always are going to dictate what they can afford, but the way I try to think about things is,What can I buy once and have for five, ten years?This is a coat that could last a lifetime, whereas the Quince will probably have to be replaced after a few winters.” He then proceeded to take off the Nobis, whose magnetic closures parted silently in anticipation of his hand, as it slid the zipper down, unimpeded by Velcro tabs.
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