I visited a Canada Goose Cold Room where you can test its jackets in below-freezing temperatures, and now I understand why they cost so much

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Shopping for a winter coat is a particular challenge because it's hard to know how it'll perform until you actually wear it in severe weather. By then, it's likely too late to return it if it doesn't live up to expectations.

To let customers experience its coats before buying, Canada Goose has installed the "Cold Room" in select stores that simulates cold-weather conditions — particularly useful if you're shopping during warmer seasons.

The brand assigns a Thermal Experience Index (TEI) rating to all of its coats, but considering how expensive they can be, the Cold Room is a smart way to allow shoppers to put those TEI claims to the test.

I visited the Cold Room at the Canada Goose store in Short Hills, New Jersey, to test the brand's coats, learn more about the TEI, and experience this unique store feature.

What is Canada Goose's Thermal Experience Index?

If you've ever shopped for a serious coat, you've probably heard the phrase "fill power." It's a number that measures the amount of space one ounce of down will fill in cubic inches. Generally, higher fill power indicates higher quality down being used, making the garment warmer for the wearer. But fill power doesn't take into account the efficacy of technical materials or design, and it's not easy to estimate actual warmth based solely on the fill power number.

That's why Canada Goose developed its TEI rating, which clearly identifies the differences between its five levels of warmth and the best uses of its coats. Everything from raincoats and vests to hoodies and parkas gets its own TEI rating.

When picking out a Canada Goose jacket to test, the TEI ratings definitely helped me make a decision. I went with the Crofton Puffer Jacket because it's lightweight, has a modern puffer design, has lots of versatile features for wearing in city environments, and features a TEI 4  rating. It's one step higher than the fundamental everyday warmth that TEI 3 garments provide, yet not as extreme as TEI 5 garments designed for the coldest places on earth.

What it's like inside a Canada Goose Cold Room

The Cold Room is a small, temperature-controlled, in-store facility designed to help you test coats before you buy them. The thermostat was set to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, but it can be adjusted (at or below freezing) depending on the temperature at which you want to test your jacket.

I casually stepped in with my Canada Goose Crofton Puffer unzipped but quickly realized that 0 degrees Fahrenheit is a lot colder than an average winter day in New Jersey. After putting the hood on and zipping up the jacket, the upper half of my body was completely warm.

I stayed inside the Cold Room for about 10 minutes and could feel the freezing cold air ripping through my jeans, but I couldn't feel a bit of cold elsewhere with the Crofton Puffer on.

After using the Canada Goose Crofton Puffer in the Cold Room and in the real world, it has become one of the best winter coats for men I've tested.

Granted, you will end up wearing your jacket in real-world cold weather for much longer than 10 minutes at a time, but the Cold Room gave me the confidence to know that my jacket could handle it when the time came. Every time I wore my jacket in real-world cold weather, I was reminded of how effective the Cold Room test was.

Although I used the Cold Room to test a winter coat, it's also a great way to gauge the performance of lighter jackets and hoodies for transitional spring weather or layering.  

The bottom line

Canada Goose provided me with a coat to test and review, but my experience in the Cold Room helped me understand why its jackets are priced higher than many others on the market. 

Canada Goose is driven by performance and results, and its products directly reflect that. The jackets are made with the highest quality materials and lab- and field-tested technology that translates to real-world warmth. 

It's tough to justify spending so much on a jacket even if you can afford it, but Canada Goose's products live up to their cost. If there's a Canada Goose Cold Room near you, I recommend it as a way to experience the products' warmth for yourself.

Shop all Canada Goose gear here.