It appears to be very similar, the blitz doesn’t have the flap in the back. The blitz seems to be more of an everyday jacket, while the Stevenson seems a little more specialized for rowers.

Aside from being pullover and the pocket configuration is this basically the same jacket as the Blitz?

This. But also heat pumps can be finicky, so if it is close, consider that. We had an installer ruin one and they wouldn't fix it.

If in northern US, they suggest you combine your heat pump with a furnace to cover, keeping the house warm under 32f. After building an addition in 2008, I went with a early 2 stage design heat pump in Massachusetts (at that time only single stage available and would not work under 32f) While is was OK, had problems holding the house at 68f when temp went into single digits not to mention an $800-$1000, electric bill for December to January. Ended up going back to oil.

If you have gas available, it's more reliable than oil.

We now use a pellet stove to heat an 1800 sqft cape to 72f, with the oil as backup when not home. This year, we used around 70 gallons of oil since September. Pellets cost us around $350 per ton, and I expect to run 3.5 tons by May. Est savings over oil of $2500.

https://www.pelletheat.org/compare-fuel-costs

You typically don’t wear a life jacket while rowing. I rarely ever accessed my pocket on the water, but the reason it’s a pouch is the oar will get caught and rip the sleeve style pocket on a hoodie.

I do when I can! As an idea- I can’t wear any high top converse without my pinkie toes going numb and my feet normally spill over any flip flops at least a little. Gladiators are tough too

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Wouldn't the center pocket be impossible to get into under a life jacket?

You are correct but you can actually sit on it and still have full range of motion.

It rolls up and you velcro.

Yeah fifteen years ago it was cheaper, especially when we ordered the group rate.

That makes a lot of sense.

HVAC people just really hate heat pumps. I ran into the same problem for my rental which is basically the poster case for it (small size, well insulated, Midwestern area)

They never have specific answers to anything. "It just can't do it."

They don't have any response when I say that these are used all over Scandinavia without problem.

Unless the person spoke with has installed one and had specific problems that they can articulate, you can ignore them.

Possibly; some towns allow those sorts of cross-subsidies and some towns ban it. But two things are even more likely: (1) they are getting a higher profit on the gas units right now; (2) the guys you've been talking to are really good at installing gas furnaces, and are more confident that they can install the gas furnace correctly the first time. The biggest financial risk for most HVAC guys is breaking something when they install it -- now they need to pay out of their own pocket to fix it -- so they tend to recommend things that they know they can do, instead of branching out.

I think he is talking about vibram soles in general as there are many of them on many different kinds of boots. Most of my heritage boots have viram soles of them of various types. A red wing iron ranger uses a Vibram mini lug 430 sole. So I believe the OP is talking about vibram soles in general not the five finger stuff they sell.

Can confirm this person is still alive

Vitamix feels as close to BIFL as you are going to get with a modern consumer appliance.

I think the first questions should be where do you live, and how much do you normally spend on fuel a year?

Next - approx cost of the other things. Gas line, panel, each system, new tank.

Personally, since you don't already have gas in the house, I think I would avoid that route.

As others have said, upgrading your panel has other benefits that help future proof your home.

Another thing to consider is parts availability. If something breaks on your furnace today, how hard would it be to find a replacement part?

Another thought - oil furnaces can usually run on minimal electricity. If you loose power, a small generator can power an oil furnace. You would need a much larger generator to do that with a heat pump.

Nope, I’ve worn em out on my leather boots twice now. Re-soled them twice. Took over 10 years of hard use to get to this point.

I’ve had a bunch of HVAC guys come out to give me estimates and most of them are really pushing gas. Is there a reason for this? Are they getting kickbacks from the gas company to get customers to start service?

You may want that for your EV and induction stove, as well.

No. Vibram is very durable, but I've worn them out and I'm still alive.

Yeah, and the shoes can't be resoled so deffo not BIFL.

That said, they last as long as any other shoe, and aside from looking goofy and being useless the instant there's a drop of water on the ground, they're super comfortable.

Edit to say that you need to consider that getting into town shoes requires an upfront investment in toe socks too.

No sole is bifl. A bifl shoe will allow re-soling.

I’d vote electric heat pump. If you want to get an electric car in the future, you’ll need 200 amp service. It would be the best investment for your future.