686

Willow GORE-TEX Insulated Jacket - Women's

Great Coat, minor flaws

Familiarity:

I've used it once or twice and have initial impressions

Size Bought:

M

Height:

5' 9"

Weight:

145

I just bought this coat and skied in 10 degrees, (0 with windchill) with a moderate snow all day. I wore a Merino Wool base layer by Smartwool and a Patagonia Nano Puff underneath. I was worried this coat wouldn’t be warm enough but I stayed very warm and dry the entire day. The GORE-TEX does a great job keeping moisture out. What I didn’t like: the logo on the arm looks really cheap. This is confusing and frustrating for a $360 coat and 686 needs to do better. The main zipper also sticks quite a bit and I would have expected better quality. Overall, I think this is a good buy and I like that it’s longer to cover some of my butt. I also like the neck coverage which is needed in colder, snowy, windy weather. The inside pockets are nice. As someone who’s taller and lanky, at 5’9”, the wrist gaiters were too short to use but that’s a normal issue for me.