Does the zipping coat over harness trick really work?

Mommy0608 · Oct 13, 2009

I've seen the video, I know it's possible. Is it really doable though? Does anyone here do it on a regular basis? I'm just having a horrible time finding a thin enough, yet warm and water/snow proof coat for Jessica. Last year she had a thin fleece plus a poncho. This year, with preschool, I want her to have one coat that is good for outside and safe in the car seat. So far, that doesn't seem to exist around here. The more I think about it, I'm leaning toward getting a thicker coat and then unzipping when she gets in the car, buckling, then zipping over the harness since I can't find anything thin enough for my taste.

joolsplus3 · Oct 13, 2009

It's still kind of thick, but any coat that's like polar fleece with a nylon outer is not going to compress like a 'down' coat will... so like Lands' End squalls or LLBean coats, though I've also found some for the big kids at Walmart the year before last (it seems like a fashion thing, sometimes puffy coats are all you can find, sometimes they have these kind). Oh, JCPenney, I've heard they have them, but if it's a fashion thing, they could be hard to find. I know I've bought most of my Squalls off ebay, usually so cheap I end up with one or two too many...oops...

Ok, now maybe someone can answer your actual question....

melniemi · Oct 13, 2009

Did you look at the lands end marinacs? They were cheap in their overstocks and I got one for dd1 and me. Super thin and really warm. I think they are rated down to 15-20*.
http://www.landsend.com/pp/KidsMari...B&CM_MERCH=IDX_00008__0000000428&origin=index

NannyMom · Oct 13, 2009

I had A and J do it last year. We've had to loosen J's harness a tad for his sweatshirt (but not too loose w/o the sweatshirt- he and I usually prefer the harness tighter than necessary). That should be how we leave it for the coat. Last year he had a Target coat that was 2 pieces that zipped together (A had a similar Columbia coat). Sofi gets a thick fleece and I do the same with her. It would probably be fine to leave her zipped, but I feel better with the harness tighter

BW1426 · Oct 13, 2009

I did it. The thing I ran into issues with though is when E had her snowpants and her coat on and even the coat trick still left more bulk that I wanted.

Mommy0608 · Oct 13, 2009

Definitely not going for the "puffy" style jackets even with the zipper trick... just thicker fleece with a nylon outside.

I tried the Squall on her, just won't work. To get it with long enough sleeves, the coat was just way too big. She's got very long legs and arms but is super skinny. I guess now that I'm going to zip outside the harness, it might work.

I saw the LLBean version online and I love it, but would prefer to see it in person, and there's no stores near me that carry it according to their website.

Thanks for the help. I'm actually going out right now to look at a few stores (Sears and Marshall's) then tomorrow morning while she's at school I'll try a few others (JCP and Kohls).

If anyone else has input or suggestions, please post. Thanks again!

Pixels · Oct 13, 2009

Yup, I did it all last year with DD's fleece. It was bought oversized so it would last from late summer (camping, cold overnight) through spring, so there was enough bulk I wasn't comfortable with it under the harness. Sometimes I left it unzipped and just pulled it out from under the harness; other times I zipped over the harness. It couldn't be zipped quite all the way up to the neck because of the shoulder straps, but it was above the level of the chest clip, so most of the way up.

Shanora · Oct 13, 2009

I did it with Liam all last winter (-40 Temps), and had no issues with it. I just made sure that the harnesses were next to him, and not over a coat. He is FFing and the harnesses are about .5-1 inch above his shoulders so I would push the collar of the coat back into that 'void' and then do up the harnesses, tighten, and then zip the coat up. Worked perfect everytime!

Although my Son does NOT like to wear his coat in the van AT ALL, so this year I think I'm going to find a nice sweater he can wear under his coat so that he can take his coat off.....

TechnoGranola · Oct 13, 2009

I don't do it, because I don't like to make it complicated to get DD out in an emergency situation. It's not always possible to take the seat out with the child in it (for example, drive off icy bridge into water).

Last year we bought the Patagonia puff-ball jacket (which unlike it's name is NOT puffy, it's actually very thin but has really warm insulation). A tech on another board had one and thought it was thin enough. It's a nice coat, expensive, but nice.

Baby/Toddler Puff-Ball
Kids Puff-Ball

We also had the Puff-Ball pants because the wind gets brutal here, but this year they don't fit, and they don't make a kids version in the pants, only the jacket. So, she's wearing the Puff-Ball jacket for days when she can do without pants, then on days that the wind is bad, we're going to try the Columbia Annie Angel pants ONLY in her seat. She'll wear the jacket and pants out to the vehicle, but take the jacket off and wear the pants in the car seat. The top half is fleece so these aren't near as bulky as regular snow pants and the fleece top half is like wearing a fleece vest for warmth. Then I'll just throw her jacket on top of her if she wants to cover up (or a fleece blanket). We'll see though, I have to test it out to see if I am happy with the harness fit. I do know that it's much easier to adjust the hips than to fiddle with getting the shoulders adjusted around a hood or collar on an unzipped jacket.

Plus, my kid is like Shanora's and HATES to wear a coat in the vehicle or even out to the vehicle. She demands her coat be taken off when she gets in her seat, and that's assuming you could get her to put it on to start out with. I am hoping the pants will solve the frost bite and wind chill issues but keep her happy that she has no coat!

melniemi · Oct 13, 2009

The marinac is super thin compared to the squall. I have both

I'm thinking the size 4 would work for her and with a sweatshirt (maybe left at school) for really cold days should be good.

solmama · Oct 13, 2009

We do, but I don't zip the jacket over the harness. Both of my kids have thin fleece jackets with a nylon shell. It's mainly so I don't have to remove the jackets each time we get in/out of the car.

all together ooky · Oct 13, 2009

I do it sometimes. Gwen has a squall parka. Most of the time she prefers to take it off and just use a blanket instead. Man, I hate winter.

Mommy0608 · Oct 13, 2009

Thanks for the replies everyone! Like I said, I had seen the video, however, I hadn't really heard of anyone actually doing that so I figured I'd ask. Tonight I went to Kohls, Sears, JCPenney and Marshall's. I bought 4 coats for her to try on tomorrow (she was going to bed when I left). They are thicker, but they aren't what I'd call puffy. Hopefully the zipper trick will work with these. She will be FF soon, so having that bit of space in the harness above her shoulders should help, but in the meantime it'll be difficult with the True Fit RF because it's so difficult to adjust the harness in that seat even without a jacket.

kittykate · Oct 13, 2009

If none of those work, try Old Navy. We have this coat in a boy style and it works great in the car! (and it was long enough to cover DS1's monkey arms)

If she's not a fan of pink, they have orange in the boys section

Mommy0608 · Oct 13, 2009

Doh! I forgot about Old Navy, and I was just right by there tonight! She loves pink actually. Before I left to go shopping this evening, she made it clear that she wants a pink or purple coat. Of course, almost everything I find is brown... at least it's brown and pink.

I do like that coat you linked. Hmm. DH likes one of the ones I got tonight while I was out... if that one fits her and works with the zipper/harness thing, then I'll probably just keep it (of course, she may protest the brown). If it doesn't work out, I will check out Old Navy tomorrow. Thanks! :thumbsup:

mykidsmom · Oct 14, 2009

I guess I am confused. I thought all those 3-in-1 or 4-in-1 system jackets were all way to thick to use in a car seat. So I have never bought one for use in the car. We've owned them before, but never used it in the car because it seemed like it would be too thick and bulky for the car seat. So I had a different coat for her for in the car.

Last year, my older dd wore either a Lands End Squall or a quilted down coat. My younger dd wore the same quilted down coat in a smaller size. I didn't think the squall was the best because it was a bit thicker than the down coat. I felt I could tighten the straps as normal or pretty close to it with the down coat because the coat was thinner.

In fact I bought ahead for this year and bought a large down coat from LE that was on sale pretty cheap. I thought it would be great in the car seat because I could compress it to keep the harness tight.

tiggercat · Oct 14, 2009

I usually put my kiddos in fleece, but on those ridiculously cold days I do the coat trick with Megan. I don't actually zip up the coat though, just pull it around. I wasn't sure if zipping might interfere with how the harness works.

ilo · Oct 14, 2009

Can anybody give a link to the video where it is shown. DD only wears thin fleece but even that is too bulky for my taste. It makes it much more difficult to tighten the harness in her Boulevard than just a thin shirt.

Mommy0608 · Oct 14, 2009

Of the 3-in-1/4-in-1 coats I've seen, I do feel they are too thick for the car when wearing both pieces of the coat together, even with the zipper trick. I think a lot of people with these coats put one of the layers on in the car and put the other on outside the car.

The coats I picked up for her to try are all one piece. I tried them on her this morning and one of them fit quite well.

It wasn't the easiest thing to do with a rear-facing seat, but it was doable. I didn't even have to loosen the harness! :thumbsup::thumbsup: I didn't bother zipping it over the harness though since our van heats up quickly. She didn't seem too happy about it while I was stuffing her arms in

but once she figures out how it works I think she'll be okay. She LOOOVES the new coat though.

I don't have a link to that video, but I think Kat made it... anyone else have the link?

cookie123 · Oct 14, 2009

Kate, does that ON jacket have something to keep the sleeves down inside the shell when taking off the coat?

Does the zipping coat over harness trick really work?

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