I bought this last year for a March trip to Myrtle Beach thinking it would break the wind on our walks on the beach, it was usually too warm there. I wear it now everyday for running around in Massachusetts in the middle of winter. I love the dual pockets, inside and out, the fabric does feel a little more stiff than other fleece, but the jacket is so warm and comfy. I found it ran small and had to return a large for an XL. Quality of the material is excellent, love the pull string around the bottom too.
No breast pocket as in the men's version. Body length too short to be really comfortable. Inside of side pockets is a light color in the plum/raspberry so it shows when pockets unzipped. Does not fit large although advertised as relaxed fit. No drawstring on hood ; sleeves are finished loosely at the wrist and would allow the wind to blow up them. Not really worth the price.
I have been shopping at LLBean for 30 years so I tried this jacket out in real world conditions before sending it back. I wore it to the Seattle waterfront on a cold blustery day in early October. In the car I noticed that I was too warm. The fabric is softer than I expected but it doesn't breath. Out in the weather I was happy to have a warm torso and the zippered pockets were nice. But there is no hood tie so the hood kept blowing off. And there is no way to tighten the sleeve openings to keep the wind out. But the reason I gave this jacket only one star is because of the zipper. The zipper pull is on the left side. Every other zippered coat, jacket, and sweater that I've ever owned has had the zipper pull on the right. I found having the pull on the left was not only awkward but exceedingly annoying.
Please LLBean, return to zipper pulls on the right.
First, I love my jacket. I've been looking for this for many years. It's unbelievably warm and super thin and light weight. IF I could change ONE thing, it would be the zippers on the pockets. OMG. I hate them and they are making me uncomfortable. The problem is the zipper-pulls tuck into the bottom little niche, making them stick straight up, making them scratch my hands every time I put them in the pockets, which is a lot. I can zip the pockets up ever so slightly and push the pulls down, but then the pocket opening is not big enough for my hands. I'm contemplating cutting the little zipper niche to maybe allow the pulls to lie flat, but I just can't bring myself to do it yet. If this were not a problem, the jacket would be PERFECT. :)
