First half: Just in case anyone is in the market, I just bought a great jacket and since they are on sale I wanted to pass the info along for general consumption. The company is Duluth Trading Company. I am not a rep or in any way affiliated, just a very happy customer. The jacket is their Waxed Cotton 3-in-1 Parka. It's on sale through March 15 for $118.99. I just received mine today and it is pretty darn nifty (if you like waxed cotton products). Plenty of pockets. Two chest level hand warmer pockets (wool lined); snap closure patch pockets in their usual place; shoulder pocket (for pens, pencils and such); and plenty more elsewhere. It is made of very heavy cotton canvas (14 oz according to the product description) and has a wool zip-out liner (nylon lined). I haven't had a chance to take this thing out in cold weather yet, but Duluth claims comfort to -5 Farenheit with the liner (please take a grain of salt now). Anyway, since it is the season and this was what I thought a great buy for the money, I wanted to make folks aware. Oh, the site is, as you might expect, www.duluthtrading.com

The second half: Synthetics versus natural fibers. Anyone have any particular feelings on this topic, particularly for outer wear? I favor natural fibers (wool, silk, properly prepared cotton), but am not going to look askance at Gore-Tex or polypro.

Thank you for any input.
Philip Works