Great jacket, but zipper should be better - Western Mountaineering Vapor Jacket - Men's

First of all, let me say that I love this jacket -- so much so that this purchase was a Christmas present for my financee. I've had a Western Mountaineering Vapor Jacket of my own for several years now and it is still my favorite jacket for skiing or cold weather in the Sierra Nevada mountains. I usually will layer a fleece underneath, however on not so cold days it is warm enough with just a shirt underneath. It strikes the right balance of warmth and loft without feeling too bulky. However it is not perfect. After a couple years of regular use the zipper overshoots at the bottom when attempting to join at the front. It has become quite troublesome to find the sweet spot so I can zip it up, and I anticipate I will need to have the zipper professionally replaced. The zipper just seems to be a bit underspec'd for a garment of this caliber. Another issue is that some down will poke it's way through the material from time to time, ending up sticking to the fleece or shirt I wear underneath. Yet, this jacket is super warm and comfortable with very high quality of down, and unless I can find something better in this (already high) price range, I can figure I can deal with the few shortcomings. For comparison, I also have a Feathered Friends Helios Jacket, also made with high quality down. The FF Helios is actually a bit warmer than this WM Vapor, but it is also quite a bit bulkier and limiting in mobility. The Helios has a weird 2-zipper design in the front to alleviate drafts, and it will also provide redundancy should one of the zippers fail. The FF Helios also seems to be made with stronger zippers and material which does not shed down like the WM Vapor. So why did I purchase the WM Vapor instead of the FF Helios for my fiancee? The answer comes down to comfort and color. The WM Vapor is significantly less bulky and restricting than the FF Helios, the WM Vapor is also available in red, her favorite color. That said, I would generally only recommend the red color for a woman -- for a man it's just too bright.

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.