Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Kids Wildcat Water Resistant Ski Jacket (Big Kids)

This is a great jacket for my active grandson who loves to play outside year round. It keeps him warm and dry and it will be passed on to his younger brother when he outgrows it. LLB jackets are well made and long lasting.

Only had it a month, so I can't say it's been tested fully, but it's a light and nice looking jacket! Winter is coming, so we'll see about the warmth and waterproof part soon! If it's warm snd dry, then it's the perfect jacket!

Great jacket. Keeps my active grandson warm and dry when he is outside playing in the cold. The quality is A+ so I know that his younger brothers will be able to wear it when he outgrows it.

This jacket is great! Fits nicely, I'd say to size with a bit of room to grow. Happy with this purchase.

My grandson chose this from several choices available and he loved it. Warm and waterproof for school and play! He says it looks like a snowboarding jacket. Mom and I like it's trim looks, warmth and wash ability

I have 4 active sons and have purchased a variety of winter coats over the years. I prefer thinner coats that allow the boys to run and play even in freezing temperatures. I also like coats that are well made and can endure multiple winters as hand me downs to little brothers, are machine washable, and waterproof. This coat fits those characteristics. I paid full price and will do so again when my son grows and needs to next size up. Worth it!

This jacket is outstanding! I have purchased it in 3 sizes for my boys- Size down for best fit. This kept my boys warm & dry through ski season!

Great jacket for kids! Wish it had a sleeve pocket for their ski pass, but other than that it is terrific!

The grandson loves it, the grandson's parents love it. What's not to like? The price.

Its a bit big but my 10 yr old like the color, pattern and style. She will grow into it.

It runs large! My son is 8 turning nine. I grabbed a 6/7 and the sleeves are beyond long and hood is huge! But, it was the only jacket left on the rack. I will keep-as it is nice quality and he can grow into it. Love the color combo. Love that it's not bulky! Long-def covers his butt. Not cold buns!

We bought this for my 6, almost 7 year old son. He's currently a size 6, and I was worried about buying a coat in his current size so late in the season. But it's large enough that it will definitely fit him next year as well, without seeming gigantic on him. He loves it. It's very warm, but he can move freely in it. Our only complaint is the hood. Since it's designed to go over a helmet when skiing, it's HUGE and is completely useless for everyday use. Even with the adjuster at the back, the hood covers his entire face down to his chin when he puts it up. But it will be perfect the next time we go skiing!

My son usually wears a 7 for length. I ordered the little boys 6-7 based on reviews that it runs a bit big so I figured it would give him some room for growth. It was still way too big so I ended up returning for a 5-6 and it fits like a coat that will last 2 years. The quality is otherwise great. My son is rough on clothes and its been wet and cold here. He has come in covered in mud and coat wet, but he is dry underneath. I mostly clean just by wiping it off, but have washed once. It looks great with gray color waterproof snowpants as well.

Very well made jacket for Vermont winter. Nice waterproofing. Solid - not too thick, not to light insulation. Hood is too large and the jacket in general runs big. Wish it had extendable sleeves.

The sizing is off on this jacket, sadly. Runs very small. Will be returning. We bought the size XL/18 for a slim 14 year old boy and it barely zipped.

I've reviewed these coats before. I've purchased two, two years in a row, for my preschool/Kindergarten daughter, who is not hard on her outerwear. The pros are that the coat looks great and is surprisingly warm for how thin it is (and we live in northern New England where we need real winter coats.) In general it appears well-made and most of the materials are high-quality. I was disappointed to find that the exterior material wears away from rubbing from interior seams. The interior seams end up telegraphing through and fraying the exterior material, although this is more visible on lighter-colored coats. By far the most problematic issue, though, is the plastic zipper. It is not a high-quality zipper and is stiff right from the start, but twice now they have broken just out of the one-year return window. A coat at this price point should have a better zipper, not one with teeth which can bend and break. We would be able to get two years out of the coats for one child, and then hand them down, but that is not possible due to the zipper. I grew up near the L.L.Bean flagship store in Maine and there was a time they would actually repair things like this. I have kids coats I've paid one quarter of the price for which have more durable zippers.

Bought this a year ago, hoping to get 2-3 seasons out of it. My son tried to wear it for the first time this season and the zipper completely broke. It's a pretty cheap plastic.

Seems like a good jacket but it's advertised as a ski jacket and doesn't have an RFID pocket in the sleeve. I bought a great LL Bean ski jacket last year (Patroller Ski Jacket) and it checked all the boxes - super warm, durable, helmet hood, RFID pocket - and LL Bean stopped making it for kids. I appreciate the helmet hood but without the RFID it doesn't cut it as a ski jacket these days. Sadly I'll have to return these and shop elsewhere.

a good ski jacket

I wrote a pretty recent positive review of this coat after my daughter wore it for an entire season. The coat was great - lightweight but warm, and attractive. The light grey color had become a little bit dirty, but the construction of the coat was pristine, and I expected to get another season out of it for another child. I washed it just once, according to instructions, and the coat is now beginning to develop holes similar to what is shown in another review. It appears that the interior seam allowance under the zipper, which you can actually see telegraphing through the exterior fabric, rubs, or causes enough creasing for the fabric to basically crack. This is very frustrating. There are other areas like this, too. I have much less expensive children's coats which have held up far better, yet I just bought this same coat in a larger size, thinking it was higher quality. Now I have to decide if I should return that second coat. I am just past the one year period for the first coat.

Warm and waterproof in Minnesota winter BUT as other reviewers mentioned zipper is cheap and sticks- difficult for me to work as an adult and I suspect it will wear out long before the rest of the coat. Also, yes, the hood is comically and problematically large, and my kid has a big head.

We really liked this coat. Nice color and seemed like it would be warm. My daughter is 8 and although she is petite, the size 8 was ridiculously big on her. We returned it and got the 6x/7 and it was still too big. Arms were too long and overall just too big. I know that they say it is sized to fit over base layers... but this just is not proportioned correctly at all.

We just received the wildcat jacket, which is marketed as a ski jacket, and it's going back. It doesn't have a ski pass holder on the sleeve, nor a snow skirt, and will not be warm enough for northern Vermont skiing. Please bring back the kids' ski patroller jacket and pants. We love them and are running out of hand me downs!

Pros: Large hood for helmets when skiing or skating, water resistant Cons: The zipper is so difficult that my 8 year old and 6 year old need assistance with these at school or walk around with their coat wide open. The lining is also quite thin and they complain of being cold. While the coat runs a little big, that's not an issue with growing kids.

I have been an LL Bean customer for 30+ years and have always been willing to pay more for high quality items that last. After only two seasons, the cheap plastic zipper on this coat broke. For the price of this coat, I should be able to hand it down to the next child, but instead it's going in the trash.