Moondoggy jackets and carseats. Good?

bnsnyde

New member
We have to do something! The fleece is not warm enough anymore. Real winter weather is starting tonight (here). I need my kids in a coat they can wear in the carseat (rear-facing and FF) or booster. My first grader is in an Oobr and hops out of the carline each morning. Having him put on a coat and hold everyone up (while he FREEZES) is not working out so well.

Is the North Face Moondoggy one OK? I've heard it's OK for carseats, but is it warm? I have a down coat and I can't even stand it above 32 degrees, it's that warm! So I figure the Moondoggy one ought to be good?

If so, these are my new go-to coats.
I always bought Columbia ski coats for myself and they are NOT warm compared to down.
Note the 20-month old is fine in his full-body Columbia fleece. He basically just rides along and isn't outside much.
 
ADS

Phineasmama

New member
Yup :) My almost 6 year old DD has one, it's her main jacket she wears everywhere, even playing outside at recess at school. Even in the snow. She's never complained about not being warm enough.

My other two kids have Perrito jackets and they seem to be fine as well, although I don't think they're quite as warm as the Moondoggy. But the Perrito starts in infant sizes and go up to 4T so I've been using them for my younger kids.

I will probably be buying Moondoggy for all of them next year though, since baby DD is already in 24 month size.
 

gigi

New member
The Patagonia puffballs are super warm and carseat friendly also...my husband said warmest cost he ever had. Just in case you needed another option :)
 

yetanotherjen

CPST Instructor
I want to try the LOKI K puff jacket to see if it would be car seat friendly. The last time I looked at them I thought they were fairly thin, even though they are called "puff". We have the sweatshirts that the boys wear now, that I LOVE, and so far those have been okay, but I would like to have an alternative to putting coats on once we get out of the car for the car line.
 

MotoMommaNH

New member
Wait...I thought that you couldn't use puffy coats in car seats? Just fleece? Don't puffy coats compress in a crash?
So confused...:confused:
 

Baylor

New member
I use regular winter coats if its really cold. I just unzip do harness and rezip.

No puffy coats should be used in car seat under harness. My kids usually wear fleece and each have down vests to put on when they get out if seat to go into school b

auto correct hates me
 

bnsnyde

New member
Wow, the down Moondoggy one is great! It does not affect the straps. I am impressed. It's certainly puffy looking but warm and overall, I like it. Love the hood! No need even for a hat for most activities, in and out of places.

Our Columbia fleece affect the straps more (still don't have to loosen with fleece, but it's super tight). This Moondoggy coat is better than fleece, and warmer! (But hot if worn too long in the car).

Today the windchill was about 12 and my 5-year-old was in a fleece in the car and "too hot, Mommy." I sweat this child can't stand a coat at all in the car. And we don't use the heat. Unless I need to defrost windows. I hate heat! It dries me out.
 
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Xandra

New member
Wait...I thought that you couldn't use puffy coats in car seats? Just fleece? Don't puffy coats compress in a crash?
So confused...:confused:

It needs to be thin enough to not need to change the harness tightness. To test a jacket, put them in their set without and tighten straps. Take them out without loosening straps. Put them back in with jacket on and buckle. If you can't buckle it's too bulky.
 

Baylor

New member
I think it works better the other way. :) Put the jacket on adjust it and then take them out, take jacket off put them back in and see how much room there is. Even for a fleece I need to adjust harness differently than if just in a shirt.

auto correct hates me
 

gigi

New member
I think it works better the other way. :) Put the jacket on adjust it and then take them out, take jacket off put them back in and see how much room there is. Even for a fleece I need to adjust harness differently than if just in a shirt.

auto correct hates me

With a Puffball there is NO difference wearing it or not. I actually am not comfortable with fleece if I have to loosen the straps...so I buy puffballs instead. I do use snug fleeces, when necessary, because my kids get HOT in the puffballs if we drive more than a few mins.
 

Baylor

New member
With a Puffball there is NO difference wearing it or not. I actually am not comfortable with fleece if I have to loosen the straps...so I buy puffballs instead. I do use snug fleeces, when necessary, because my kids get HOT in the puffballs if we drive more than a few mins.

Snug fleeces? I'm surprised. I need to adjust straps all the time. Even jeans seem to affect fit as opposed to sweats. Tshirt a as opposed to tshirt and sweatshirt.

Fleece is not puffy. I am sure you are right as I have never seen a puff ball but I can't imagine a coat called puff that would not need adjusting. Lol.

auto correct hates me
 

gigi

New member
I almost never adjust straps at all, especially for my FFer...if it doesn't fit, he takes it off. Maybe once a season...summer would be slightly snugger.

For my RFer, I sometimes have to loosen to get her in if she is fighting me.
 

jacqui276

New member
I will have to keep these coats in mind for DS for in the future (DD just leaves her jacket undone and then does it up when she gets out of the car).

I have DS in a one-piece fleece thing or a jacket similar to the one in my signature but sometimes have to adjust the straps slightly to be able to buckle (more so with the fleece than the jacket). Everyone on here recommended previously to me when asking about winter wear to layer, rather than using a compressible jacket. If I add a onesie, a shirt, then put on a hoodie, I still need to adjust the straps slightly compared to if he were just in a t-shirt. I was assuming that with it all being thin layers, that it shouldn't compress like a big puffy winter coat would ... .but now I am totally confused.
 

Baylor

New member
Hmm. I adjust most every day. Our weather is kooky. We have had really warm days and freezing days. Some days a sweat shirt some days fleece. But I was under the impression that fleece does not compress and that is why it was recommended.

auto correct hates me
 

Phineasmama

New member
We actually found that the jackets we use take up less room and compress better than our fleece ones. Granted I use the thicker fleeces (north face Denali) for my kids, but I think you're thinking of a much puffier jacket than we're talking about :)

The "puff ball" jacket by Patagonia is actually thinner than the Moondoggy. The name is deceiving :cool:

ETA: See my siggy pic, that's baby DD wearing an 18-24 month North Face perrito jacket. The harness straps are set the same as they are when she's wearing a fleece or a sweater.
 

VoodooChile

New member
Wait, so am I getting that these Moondoggy coats are car seat safe and warm enough for a Chicago winter?
Man, did I pick the wrong coats for my kids!
 

Mugsmom

New member
I was assuming that with it all being thin layers, that it shouldn't compress like a big puffy winter coat would ... .but now I am totally confused.

Me too. Even when I use a thinner Fleece (like Carter's) or a medium weight hoodie, I need to adjust the straps quite a bit. :confused:
 

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