I have to say that I'm truly disappointed that LL Bean is no longer using Polartec fleece to make this jacket. I don't care what anyone says - Polartec makes the best fleece, with the best tactile quality, hands down.
This new fleece feels qualitatively different, and I can only hope that it will feel less cheesy once it's washed. I know Polartec costs more, but LL Bean just raised the price as it is, so why not just continue with the Polartec? Please bring it back.
I am quite happy with this product however, it runs rather large. I ordered a Med for my 5 yr old. The size says Medium is equiv. to size 5-6. My daughter is usually a 5/6 in most clothing. However this fleece was a little too big on her. I prob should have gone with the Small but decided to roll up the sleeves and hope to get a few years out of the Medium.
ProsDurable, Comfortable, Performing as Expected, the best!
Just the best. I have bought the fleece jacket in colonial red 3 years in a row (thought the site will only let me review the "print"? not sure why). My daughter usually wears out clothes before she out grows them EXCEPT this jacket. This jacket has taken a pounding. She wears it almost daily. In the winter she wears it under coats. I will order this jacket every year for her. It is true quality!
The plain colored fleece jacket is great as far as comfort, material, and looks. The problem is that there is no coat hook strap for kids to hang it up. They use the L.L. Bean label and then it falls off, then they use the size label until that falls off and unravels the stitching that it was attached to as well. My son began wearing this in September and it is now October and the labels have both come off and the stitching has come undone. I like the coat except for this and will exchange it for another of the same to see if this particular coat had a flaw or if they all do. Thanks goodness that L.L. Bean has such a great return/exchange policy! I would rate it 5 stars but the ability for a child to hang up the coat at school is important to me so I gave it only 2 stars.
