Lands' End Men's Classic Squall Jacket

Late 1983 - early 1984 I ordered a white Squall size M. I goes with all my shirts and trousers, breaks the wind - and keeps me warm. With a wool sweater underneath - it enabled this old sailor to get comfortably thru a winter visit to Mount Washington.

Just purchased another Squall jacket, definitely l8ke it but it doesn't seem the same weight as my others that I purchased over the last 20 + years. Not sure if the specifications have changed?? Hope it's warn @ that it's as durable as my other jackets were.

This garment is described as a "classic" squall but it's anything but. The design has been changed. It's a full two inches shorter and made of a stiffer outer material that bunches up. The jacket rides high and leaves your waist cold at the back. The jacket is thinner and the lining has been changed to thinner, poorer quality fleece. The pockets are higher and not at as convenient a place to stick your hands as before. I wish they hadn't ruined such a long-time winner.

This is a fairly good lightweight jacket, and fits well, but is definitely less warm than the squall jacket I bought five years ago. The really disappointing feature is the inside pocket. My old squall jacket has a zipper pocket large enough to actually hold something. The pocket in this jacket has no zipper or other closure and is so small that I can't even get my hand into it. Very odd design. The one improvement over the old jacket is the reflective stitching. I may end up donating this new jacket to a local charity.

It's a nice jacket. There are nice touches throughout and it feels to be of good quality. There are, however, a few issues that kept it from working for me. I am a reliable size small at Lands' End, but this small is way too short. At 6 feet tall it barely made it to the waistband on my pants. The armholes are so low that when I raise my arms the jacket hikes way up. The body is made for layering. There is some wiggle room with a thin sweater on. The next issue is the sleeves. They are a great length and the cuffs are comfortable. They are lined with polyester so it's easy to get your arms in. Even if they were lined with fleece it would be easy because the circumference of the sleeves is huge. I was surprised how voluminous they are. Combined with the short length of the torso, the jacket looked kind of funny. The final complaint is that the jacket is super loud. Yes, loud. The nylon shell not only makes noise when it brushes against other parts of the jacket but the whole thing makes crinkly noises at every movement. Just walking around the house with it on was distractingly loud. Overall a nice jacket but the fit and sound did not work at all for me.