Men's Fire Hose Goose Down Snorkel Parka

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

I received this jacket as a gift five years ago. At the time I was a Facilities Tech for a national chain of restaurants. I had to spend two days on a roof in 5 degree weather and never got cold. In fact I had to open the zippers both top and bottom to ventilate, it was that warm. I began to notice that the cuffs were fraying which surprised me because of the fire hose Fabric. I would have thought that there would be visible wear on the seat or elbows but there was none. I sent the jacket back and received a replacement within a week. Now THAT is a no bull guarantee!

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

BOUGHT AT THE RETAIL STORE IN PORT WASHINGTON, WI. WISH I HAD IT FOR THE ENTIRE WINTER. COYOTE FUR RUFF CAN BE REMOVED, IF DESIRED, JUST ON WITH SOME WELL CONCEALED SNAPS. I GUESS HAVING THIS JACKET WILL BE SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO NEXT YEARS COLD WEATHER. BRING ON THE WISCONSIN COLD WEATHER!

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

I got this parka only because I got tired of freezing my butt off in New England, and the price was right. The zipper eventually get better the more you work it. The storm flap is secured by what I feel are the best snaps available. A plus are the pockets,you'll never fill them, although you will have to increase your cell phone volume. Otherwise a very warm and comfortable parka.

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

Seems like, with all the consistent complaints, a properly functioning zipper could be used instead of all the "secret techniques" suggested. The zipper is the only complaint I have with the coat. It is a MUCH warmer coat than the Whaleback parka that I returned. I intend to keep this coat but it really is aggravating to be standing in the bitter cold trying...and trying...and trying to zip it up. Usually takes 5-6 tries; by then my hands are so cold and aching, the problem is compounded.

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

All in all, a nice parka. Let me give a short instruction on zipper that will save everyone a little time.
1) Make sure the 2 moveable zipper slides are at the lowest position.
2) Insert L side of zipper
3) Grasp cloth on each side of coat near bottom. Do not touch metal zipper parts. I have no idea why but if you hold metal zipper sliders together with thumb and fingers, zipper binds and won't zip.
4) Firmly slide L side of zipper, while holding L side of cloth, into the two sliders, while holding opposite R side cloth, do not touch zippers metal parts. and ZIP!
It took me about an hour of trying different techniques but now I can zip it everytime, no problem. It would have saved a LOT of time and CSR calls if coat mfg'er would have added simple instructions about zipper operation method. Zipper has a YKK instruction tag but pretty much doesn't give the fine points on zipping it up. Never had a coat that had this type of zipper but now it works fine since I solved the puzzle.

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

A lot of people are having trouble with the zipper, so I wanted to provide a how-to:

1. Push the tab with your left hand into the slider you're holding in your right hand (like a normal zipper)

2. Slide your hands apart so that you are holding ONLY FABRIC on each side of the zipper.

3. Pull gently APART, then DOWN with your left hand. The tab will snap down into the slider.

4. Push up on the lower slider with your right index finger to lock it in.

It's simpler than it sounds, and once you get it, zipping up will be a breeze and you, too, will love this coat.

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

Bought this for below zero winter activity. Unfortunately, I removed it from packaging, tried it on, tried to zip it up. After 10 minutes of trying to get the zipper to work, it's going back in the box and back to DTC. It seems well made but the zipper is totally trash. It is a YKK so you would think it is quality but it is either poor installation or poor QC by zipper mfging. Can't even make it start no matter what. You'd freeze (or sweat) to death before you got it zipped up. Living in Northern MN I've had my share of two way zipper clothing and this parkas zipper is poor. They are sending me another parka and return label for this one but I am not sure if it will be any better. I asked them to make sure zipper worked properly before sending the replacement and they said they couldn't do that.??? So I'll probably be sending two parka's back. I'll follow up with another update when second parka arrives. Plan on putting a high quality solid metal YKK zipper in if you want to keep this parka. I think the factory installed YKK black plated zipper is a low quality YKK zipper.

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

I have had this coat for almost 2 months. I find it to be well made, true to size and with a abundance of pockets. The one (1) bad comment is the zipper. It is atrocious to use. I am about 53 years of age and have been working zippers for well over 40 years. This is the worst I have had to use, I even contemplated returning the coat for a refund. I decided to deal with this one short coming because the rest of the coat is so good. I also would have paid a higher price for this coat if it had been made in the U.S.A.

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

I received my jacket today and I am 100% satisfied. Ignore all the complaints about the zipper. I'm sure there is the odd defective one out there but the zipper is just fine. It is a big heavy duty zipper that is full length. This is not a dress zipper by any means. Before putting the jacket on, assess the zipper. The only thing you need to understand is to fully insert one side of the zipper into the receiving side fully. It needs to be all the way in and then just pull up slowly on the upper tab and you're good to go. I had this zipper done up on the first try and I don't see any reason for it to give me any trouble whatsoever. Now the rest. The jacket is a very well put together piece of clothing. The material is fantastic. The styling is great. Would even be suitable to wear to church on Sunday if you keep it clean. As a work coat it will keep you good and warm with the down insulation. It's put together solid. A few of the pockets on the inside are indeed a little small but really no issue for me at all. I'm from up in Canada and it does cool down pretty good up here so I'm sure it will keep me warm as ever. I hesitated in the beginning about buying it but received great advice from Dawn at Duluth which put my mind at ease and convinced me to buy it. I'm glad I did. You will too. Again, don't worry about the zipper. Just be a little patient and try it first before putting the jacket on and you will fully understand how this zipper works. Enjoy

Comments about Men's Down Parka - Fire HoseGoose Down Snorkel Parka:

My wife and I live in the interior of Alaska and only burn fire wood for heat. This parka is GREAT in doing my wood cutting chores and other tasks. It breaths just great and is plenty big in the shoulders. I figured out the zipper real fast. My only complaint is the length is too long and the bottom of the coat when fully zipped is way too small in diameter causing the zipper to separate when bending or squatting. I would order this parka again but in the next size bigger.