I bought this last winter to wear walking to work, and absolutely love it with the exception of the zippers. The main zipper, which others have noted, is TERRIBLE. It never really worked well - stuck, wouldn't zip, wouldn't unzip; finally some teeth came off and I now I have to go and return it. Bean, please put a real front zipper in this coat instead of the toy plastic one. The other zipper problem is on the the lower front pockets: WHY do these top-loading pockets even NEED zippers? The zippers make the opening too small even for my hands, and scrape and scuff my hands (not fun in the winter) whenever I put my hands in them. A couple of snaps on the flap would be more than sufficient. Other than those problems, I would've given it FIVE STARS, this coat is awesome: durable, tons of other well-designed pockets, and super warm. Bean, please fix these two obvious problems and I'll always have one.
I picked up the Warden jacket last winter as I needed something for extreme weather conditions. I use this jacket to go ice fishing in ME in Jan & Febuary and for Patriot Tailgating in December & January. The jacket is a bit bulky and you should not use this jacket if you are planning for heavy activity, its a bit heavy for that. Its perfect for low impact , limited movement activity in rain, snow or cold.
I do think they could have done a better job lining the main hand pockets for better warmth.
Despite another reviewer's comments, the inner liner down jacket IS INCLUDED with the jacket. The combo is great. I just keep them zipped together all the time and use it as my go-to coat for when it is seriously cold outside. I watch my friends shiver and complain while I chuckle to myself in my toasty warm Bean Parka. The gore-tex shell is very substantial and heavy-duty without being overly heavy or cumbersome. Another reviewer complained about the 2-way zipper: I happen to prefer a 2-way zipper on a jacket this length, because it's handy to unzip it a few inches from the bottom to make it more comfortable to wear while driving or sitting. The price is high compared to other Bean jackets, but you're getting Gore-tex and a very good product that I would definitely buy again.
I returned it because I had trouble getting the zipper to work. The zipper is a "two-way" zipper in that once you zip it up from the bottom, you can also unzip it in the upward direction from the bottom. I had trouble getting the zipper teeth to mesh properly so I can zip it up. I am willing to consider the possibility that I was the problem and not the zipper. Either way it was taking me too long to zip it up.
