Customer Reviews L.L.Bean Baxter State Parka

I give the Baxter State parka high ratings for warmth and ample pockets but a low ratings for the placement, or misplacement, of the handwarmer pockets, a troublesome zipper, and weight. The handwarmer pockets are too low, and are better aligned to apes than to humans. The zipper frequently jams at he lowest point when unzipping. This parka is also surprisingly heavy for a down jacket. The parka was, however, nice and warm in near zero temperatures.

When ordering, I felt this coat would be perfect for keeping me warm on those freezing NH days. Important when you have a dog to walk. Happy to say I wasn't disappointed; however, the coat is Very, very bulky and when wearing, feels very heavy. Sizes run big. Nice looking, but not what I thought it would be.

Tried this coat on in the store and the small was too small and the medium fit better. It just wasn't the color I wanted. So I ordered it on line and my coat must have been mismarked as it did not fit like a medium at all. It fit like a large! Now none available until April! Seriously? Why offer a winter coat that wing be available until after winter???

Jacket was very well made and I am sure it would have kept me warm in very cold weather. I have 33 inch arms and a 42 inch chest which means I have size medium arms and a large chest. That makes it hard for me to get a good fitting jacket. As I expected the sleeves were to long and it fit me fairly well across the shoulders and chest. The problem was the length and the lower part of the coat. I looked like I was wearing a tent. Thought about ordering a medium but there were a few other things I did not like. I have a Baxter State Parker I purchased in 1989. I still wear it and its a great coat. I did not like the design changes in the new version. The new coat did not have the chest pockets like the old jacket. They have zippers which were very difficult to unzip and get your hands in. I also realized this coat is much more than what I need to keep me warm where I live in NC.

Although I haven't bought one of these parkas, I have purchased a half dozen Bean parkas, and am looking for another suitable one. I have two comments: I absolutely loathe the double zippers. Despite your video, I always find them troublesome and have thrown away otherwise good coats/jackets because of them. Second, with everyone carrying around cell phones, it is imperative that all parkas have a zippered outside pocket. No one wants to open up his coat to answer a phone that's in an inside pocket because there was no outside pocket for it. Now please show me a down parka, with no fake fur, no double zipper, and an outside breast pocket.

this was the fourth State Baxter Parker I've purchased from LL Bean over the years. It is, by far, the warmest parker I've ever owned. However, the outer fabric on this one has been changed. It is totally different. It is stiff, and heavy and feels almost like denim. I disliked it so much that I returned the jacket.

This coat is made for cold weather, and is very warm and well-made, with lots of pockets, but the material is very stiff. So stiff that my husband, for whom I bought it, was uncomfortable, and we had to, alas, send it back. My husband is old and frail, so the stiffness might not bother everyone.

I returned my parka because it was way too large. I ordered a large, but it was sized to fit someone who was at least an XL, if not a XXL.

Very nice jacket for cold weather activities. Although the jacket is only a few years ago, every time I sit down goose feathers fly. I looked at taping the seams but I would have to tape the whole inside of the jacket. Overall, it's a nice jacket but I thought it would last longer than it has. My wife has the same jacket and her top pocket is full of feathers.

Got this parka two years ago and was happy with the item until recently. I live in NYC, where the winter temperatures are not usually extreme, and never really needed a tight-fitting hood until the last few weeks, when it got much colder. At that point I found that the hood's draw cord did not work. Believe it or not, at several spots the cord had been stitched to the fabric around it and I couldn't pull it tight. So I've ended up with a defective product. Would appreciate having the hood replaced.

I bought one a couple years back & love it, but was looking for another, not that there is anything wrong with mine, just need a second for a cabin. Mine is a nice dark green, I was considering a few colors from black to navy, to a true red(not ORANGE), to even another of the dark green. Save the black which appears to have a texture woven in now, I can't say I care for any of the neuvo current colors/patterns.

To be clear: this is a great winter coat for cold / wet climates. It keeps me warm in Southeastern Michigan and during my trips to Canada. I'm 6'4, 210 lbs, and the large-tall fits me perfectly. Very comfortable with good hood position. The problem is the zipper. The bottom zipper gets stuck regularly (as I'm zipping upward to get seated in my vehicle). The top zipper gets stuck regularly (as I'm trying to unzip it when I enter my office). Terribly annoying, and I'm tired of wrestling with it. I'm going to try some non-destructive self treatment for the zipper, and if those don't work I will need to go to the LLBean store to see what they can do.

Bought this item for my son who has been a small in other LLBean coats. This coat was massive on him, too long, too wide, too much!!! It was swimming on him. Tried to cinch up waist but the coat practically needs instructions. Finally found the drawstring hidden deep inside a zippered pocket. Could never get it cinched sufficiently. Coat is going back. Please consider XSmall sizing in men.

I bought a Large Tall version of this parka. I'm 6-2, about 195 lbs with an athletic build. However, even though I had a Tall size, the sleeves were too short, when I extended my arms horizontally, they pulled back a couple inches from my wrist. Even my Patagonia Large jacket that isn't a tall size has longer sleeves than this one. Another problem with the fit is that a Large it too big around the midsection and seems similar to an Extra Large in other brands. Lastly, like other reviewers have said, I didn't like the location of the hand warmer pockets. They are unnaturally low, so if you stuff your hands in your pockets to warm them, they are too low, and not at a comfortable angle. I returned mine.

The jacket is warm but the zipper is cheap and jams a lot. And wouldn't you know it, it broke two years out. I'll also throw in that the pockets are too high and too lowfour outside pockets and I'm either reaching up or way down to access them.

It is advertised as DownTek insulation. I don't believe it is. The feathers coming out of this jacket all the time and everywhere on your inner clothes. I am quite unhappy with quality.

Down leaks from inside the right sleeve. A nuisance.

While the picture makes it look great, it look pretty shoddy we hen warn. I would have been embarrassed had I worn it.

Let me first say that the jacket looks great and is very warm. But - I think in the quest for a good looks the design of the jacket left me cold, which is why I returned it. the pockets are weird. The side hand pockets are way too low. I tried putting my hand in the two lower buttoned front pockets, but that felt awkward and let in the cold. Moreover, the upper front pockets require you to put your stuff (wallet, phone, etc.) in from a very awkward angle - from the shoulder in towards the center. If you don't mind that, it's a very good coat.

The sleeves were too short. When we've ordered medium tall in the past, the body was ridiculously huge. The zipper didn't work easily. Didn't want to take a chance on it breaking.

I searched high and low for a new coat and finally decided on the baxter. Loved everything about it until I tried it on. I ordered a small and was swimming in it. I felt like it was closer to a large. So disappointed! Back to the drawing board for my next coat.

I thought this parka was excellent in many ways, but had one serious flaw. It fit as expected, was comfortable and very warm. It has lots of pockets in good locations. I use a parka for skiing with a helmet, so I took the hood off immediately, but it looked to be well made and functional. The flaw is in the zipper. Every time I put the parka on I had to fiddle with the zipper repeatedly to get it lined up so I could zip it up. When I laid the coat on a table it was no problem to zip it, but when the coat is on, you can't see the zipper and the two halves do not want to position themselves properly so the zipper will go up. Sometimes I would mess with it for 30 seconds or more to get the coat zipped. After struggling with this issue for a week, I gave up and sent the parka back for a refund. Overall I think it was a great coat, but it had a fatal flaw that I was not willing to live with.

I so powerfully wanted to believe the rhetoric they use regarding this parka. I got my first Baxter State Parka early January of 2005. That was an absolutely fantastic parka. It was made so that the down could loft well. It was a good 2" thick. I was out at night in 15 degrees below zero plus wind chill many times walking with the malamutes. Always very comfortable. This was my good winter coat for 10 years. I didn't just use it in winter, either. I used it as a blanket during medical treatment (dialysis) 3 days each week. So, this parka was well used year-round. It was in its 8th year that I first noticed a few cool spots. By its 10th year these cool spots had become a large enough nuisance that I replaced it. Its replacement (2015 Baxter State) Parka was not designed like the old one. They said it had as much down as the 2005 parka. The design had narrower horizontal stitching than the 2005. This served to limit how much the down could loft. This parka did not begin to approach 2" of loft. I returned it. This 2022 Baxter State Parka is even less of a parka. They have added vertical stitching and reduced the down fill by 4 ounces (to 9oz). At most, it might be 1/2" thick. They also changed the chest pockets, making them difficult to use. The outer fabric, when a sleeve moves over the body, is noisy. No thanks, LL Bean. Please, stop using the advertising rhetoric for the old Parka. There really is no comparison. John in mid-Michigan

Was not happy with TEK she'll. Crunchy like tin foil, so I returned the Parka.

I'm 6' 185lbs. and bought the medium. A small was too small. I wore this coat a few times and returned it. Every time I took the coat off I had feathers on my shirt. There was also too much room between my body and the coat, even with a sweater on, and the cinch did not pull tight enough resulting in a draft on my back. The cinch at the hem also made the coat feel tight on my thighs when hiking uphill. The faux fur on the hood also shed. For $300 this is not a quality garment. My wife has the Maine Parka and hers is not falling apart like the Baxter. I may try a Maine Parka but I have my reservations after purchasing the Baxter.