I am not sure if this is the correct forum to ask, but it seems logical to me: which furs etc make the best coats for keeping warm?

I am thinking of the long coats you see in cowboy films worn by indians, cowboys, mountain men and today, in places like Central Asia and Siberia.

In the cowboy films I guess they are wearing buffalo robes or bear skins?

Pictures of central Asia - Kazakhstan etc, they appear to be a mixture of wolf, fox, lynx (trim) and sheepskins. These coats are quite long, like "dusters".

What sort of coats were / are worn in places like Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas etc? Cost wise, I am guessing sheepskin coats are the most common.

I have an interest. Work maybe sending me soon to 'site' where -30 centigrade is nothing remarkable. It is a dry cold.

check out foxx furs
they may have an answer for you.
Foxx Fur Co.

Now to answer you in my opinion these garments were either made on site, by natives or by toiler/seamstress at one of the randvuee's. I would go as far to say that each one was purpose built meaning each one was custom unless one was picked up along the trail from some merchant.
Some would want long and some would want short. If I had one it would be just over the belt and have several large pockets inside and out.
I just cannot afford or justify the cost for one, even using my own pelts.

I had a Beaver coat made by USA FOXX with furs caught on a local trapline. They do a fantastic job.

One of the ways that fur will keep you warm is becasue of its ability to stop wind. Wind has a very hard time going through leather.

But fur coats are heavy. Very heavy. You may want to consider that before you have one made or purchase one.

Thank you for he information.

Here in the UK, sheepskin coats are quite popular for cold weather. But they are heavy.

Wearing a fur coat in public in the UK, unless you were the partner of a large, aggressive Russian, would be taking risks..... Most of the women you see wearing furs in London are Russian, Italian, Chinese and Japanese tourists.

Most British people are too poor or frightened to follow their own concience in public. Going to work in -3 to -5 Centigrade, and waiting for public transport, I saw a quiet, slow revolution / change in attitudes - 'sod it, I am cold!' People starting appearing in sheepskin coats and lined (Ugg) boots.

My colleagues working out in Kazakhstan report the locals encased in sheepskin and fur during the winter period.

I thought furs had better warmth to weight ratios than sheepskins, but I have never experienced them, so do not know.

Caribou. would be real good though not soft like wool.
Had a coyote coat once, it was real warm.

Seal, too..

watson Lake

Watson Lake:
That coyote coat. Was it long tail, or above the waist? Fur in or out? Lined? IF so with what?

I'm wanting one real bad but, haven't been able to get out calling to collect the furs.

I have a steer hide coming before long. Hair on. Leather has been thinned to 1/8". Intend to have long vest made of it.

Very pretty brindle on charlais background.

Thank you,
George

If you put your hand between two caribou rugs you'll immediately feel how warm they are. The innuit had it right I think. I've got some coyote mitts and they are warm as heck, my muskrat hat is also warm and my head never gets itchy like with a toque. I also have a buffalo jacket that's incredibly warm. I do wonder though what the "warmest" fur really is?

the chef

I once owned a bison floor length coat, tanned with the hair on. It was used by the US Cavalry by sentries during the late 19th century out west. Weighed about forty pounds. Warm as toast in -20 to -40 weather, even with the wind blowing to wind chill of over -70. Walk ten feet and you were starting to break out in a sweat though. Ventilation is rather lacking.

Rich

Musk ox is the warmest with buffalo next.

Wrong! Female Human hands down!

Hands down where??

quote:

Originally posted by SAFARIKID:
Wrong! Female Human hands down!

You talking "Silence of the Lambs" here or what?

"It puts the lotion on it's back....."

Coyote coat was long (knee height) hair out, lined with fleece..

Watson Lake

Hand in hand with a fur/leather coat would be a leather vest. If you have the material, they are easier to make than you might first think. It does not require a commercial sewing machine--the home variety will work fine if it has zig zag capability. I had access to scraps from a boot shop. In my books, ostrich is the absolute best. It is soft and very durable. An older bird skin might be too thick---like the difference in bull hide and calf skin. To start off you need a pattern. Making your own is fairly easy. If you have a vest that fits you, just trace out one front panel and allow for seams and you have it. The vest consists of 3 pieces--the two fronts and the back. The pattern for one front makes the pattern for the other side by just turning it over. Once you have a paper pattern, out of cloth cut out those 3 pieces. Start placing a scrap leather piece on the cloth and zig zagging it down. Let the next piece overlap onto that and zig zag it down (overlapping vs trying to butt it in to fit works better and is easier). Continue until you have the 3 panels filled. With the skin side together connect the three panels---that will be at the shoulder and down the sides. Now use your paper pattern to cut out your cloth liner--again 3 pieces. Connect the liner pieces the same as you did the outer. With the outer inside out connect the liner--except across the bottom at the back. You will use this opening to turn it right side out. Then you just sew across the bottom. When you turn it right side out the edges will be rolled and have a finished look. You can top stitch around the whole thing if you like. Now all you need do is make button holes and attach the buttons. An upholstery shop can make you some covered buttons from pieces of scrap. I made my first ostrich vest over 25 years ago and it still looks good and is going fine.

For practical use coyote is probably about the best for warmth/weight/availability.

quote:

Originally posted by Watson Lake:
Caribou. would be real good though not soft like wool.
Had a coyote coat once, it was real warm.

Seal, too..

watson Lake

Caribou would be my choice

Here in rural Alaska, everybody wears beaver hats & mittens; so much warmer at minus 60. They are easy to make, my wife made mine; would be much easier with heavy duty sewing machine though. The local Indians have a rough pattern (like a dress pattern) that can be increased for all the big headed types. Always use a nice liner & it will last a lifetime; just don't get too close to open flames; burns off guard hairs. People also like seal skin hats as much as seal oil.

Most Alaskans don't work in fur coats, many of the Indian Women have made their own fur parkas and embroidered beads intermixed with the fur; not something that can be bought as they take time to do the beadwork. I've seen caribou/beadwork jackets used functionally.

25 years back, we lived back east in Pennsylvania. I actually caught more beaver there than I do in Alaska, younger days and hard to play around with beaver at minus 50. I saved about 9 light colored skins, (the 2 year olds have the nicest fur) Had them tanned at National Superior in Chicago and had a local fur coat store make my wife a coat. I ended up having $900 into tanning costs, furrier and everything. I think most expensive fur coat stores have a sewing machine in the back and make a few coats right there in the back room. Back then, a similar commercially made coat was priced around 4-5 thousand bucks.

I suggest that a lot of it has to do with what is available regionally.

On the prairies of Canada, full length buffalo hide coats were the most used for a long while in really cold areas (think -55 F and a 35-45 MPH steady wind!) The Edmonton police and Winnipeg police used them when walking their beats at night as late as the 1970s. Their two main problems were... 1, they can get pretty danged stiff in bitter cold, and 2, they are very, very heavy.

The joke on the Edmonton PD back in the politically incorrect days of the late '60s was that they helped prevent women from becoming regular constables...'cause if they fell down with one on in the winter they would freeze to death before they could get back up.

They were eventually replaced by down parkas with Wolverine frost tunnels (sometimes layered over other down and/or wool garments) for a number of reasons...cost, lack of availability, and the frequency with which the buffalo coats required repair being some of them.

I suggest maybe in Alaska the lack of Buffalo (Bison) may have been part of the cause of choosing Beaver...that and the warm thoughts the name "Beaver" alone conjured up in some of the young male users.

And, of course, the Inuit (Eskimos) never had direct access to either woods buffalo or Bison in large numbers. For them sealskin was probably the handiest warm furred resource available in large amounts for pants and jacket making.

I don't know about polar bear skin, but doubt it is that warm for humans. Polar bears likely get a lot of their anti-cold protection from the large amount of fat under their skins.

Anyway, my choice of a good warm parka today at a reasonable price would be a Canadian "Woods" brand top quality eider down rig with either a Wolverine or Coyote frost tunnel (Wolf would be good too for a frost tunnel, if you could find any).

As usual, YMMV with no ill effects.

Thank you for all your suggestions and comments. Please keep them coming.

Looking at the weight - cost - availability issues, the race is down to a somewhat heavy, but generally available etc long sheepskin coat.

I quite like he look of the "sickafus" brand or make of long sheepskin coats. I think they are made in either Ohio or Pennsylavnia.

Unfortunately, I think the ladies style with a hood and / or some sort of wrap /choke collar are the most practical for places like Astana in Winter with the strong winds and -35 degrees centigrade, not counting wind chill effects. Ouch!

On the other hand, I could get myself a local traditional Kazakh "Postin" or "Ton" long sheepskin coat when I am out in Kazakhstan this Summer.

One more thing to consider.

You ask about which fur is the warmest, but really, that is a misnomer. You, or whomever is wearing the garment, provides the heat, and the fur, or any clothing for that matter, is there not only for your modesty, but to keep that heat inside of it.

So, besides the fur, its almost as important, if you want warmth, to consider how the garment is made, and the style of it.