When coming to Madison, Wisconsin for 9 months, you are undoubtedly going to be here in the winter months and that means you need a coat and not just any coat but a coat that is especially designed for extreme temperatures. And most importantly, a coat with a hood that has a built in face mask.
Madison, Wisconsin is located between two large lakes and with these lakes comes intense winds. Madison, is also a very cold place during the winter months. Obviously, anyone coming to Madison knows it gets cold here and buys some expensive coat to keep them warm in the dead of winter, but not all winter coats come with a face mask. Just for reference it gets cold in October and finally warms up in May. With this extended time period of extreme temperature and copious amounts of wind, having a warm winter coat with a face mask built into the hood has become a necessity for all.
There have been many walks to class in the wee hours of the morning and the wind is howling away and every has their shoulders shrugged and coats zipped up to cover their chin and maybe their nose. Meanwhile, having a face mask has allowed me to walk comfortably to class and not have my face completely numb, chapped lips, runny nose, sore around your neck and shoulders, or being in a tremendous amount of pain. The face mask has given me the relief I needed when my professors or anyone else wouldn’t.