I bought this coat for my upcoming Alaska trip. I live in Florida so I didn't want to invest a lot of money on a coat I may not wear again. I love North Face but I have to say this coat was a great dupe at a great price point. It has a thick and luxurious feel about it. I love all the pockets, you can cinch at the waist so it won't look boxy and the length is perfect, hits me right past my knee.

***Editing a few days later to add more context aftwe reading more of the recent reviews

I think the biggest problem with this coat is either a design or manufacturing flaw. I've noticed some reviews saying the coat is very tight in the arms and that's almost it- the problem is really that proportionally, the coat doesn't have enough material in the upper back/ behind the arms. After the seam ripped, I used an older north face parka I have, size small- it's overall too small for me right now- I can zip it up and all but it's overall snugger than I'd want in a winter coat. But even that coat is still very comfortable for me in the shoulders-upper back and allows a complete range of motion of my arms and ability to reach without any strain on the seams. By comparison, I bought this coat in a medium and it really doesn't allow for that- it is proportionally very tight across the back/upper arms, even though it's roomier in the rest of the cost than my small north face

Original -
overall pleased with this coat- it isn't absolutely perfect, but it is well designed, with seemingly quality, sturdy materials, and warm enough for most of the midwest winter. I like that the hood in particular has useful adjustments- finding a vegan cost with a great hood has oddly been challenging.

The misses:
- as other reviews note, it's odd that the zipper stops where it does. That could have been a design choice to allow better movement- not sure.
- the main pockets are just not as deep as they should be, and placed a little too high. I don't terribly mind that they are top vs side opening, though side would be better for my hands. But since they hit me right at the hip and are somewhat shallow, it's not a great place for a larger phone, and it's definitely hard to fit anything in addition to a phone like gloves, keys, etc
- sizing seems hard to gauge. I would probably size up (or at least not size down) if you're busty at all. I'm not surprised to see the reviews commenting both that it's bigger and smaller than expected- I know the vendor says it's roomy which probably influences size selection, and women's sizing generally is so ridiculously inconsistent.
- stitching could be better. The stitching attaching the arm to the body of the coat just snapped on me when I was reaching for something and viewing the stitching, it seems a little flimsy as compared to the construction of the rest of the coat. I could feel one stitch pop and the rest are now unraveling. I guess that in part means I should have sized up, but I've been wearing this coat for a few months now with no issue doing the same things. Just something to be mindful of
- I haven't had to really put it to the test in the brutal cold, but I suspect it wouldn't ward off the subzero m temperatures. But I've been comfortable in it down to maybe 10 degrees F

Even with those downsides, I would still purchase this coat again.

Its a beautiful parka, gorgeous in fact, super warm for the coldest Minnesota winters ! I got it for my significant other, she is a freeze bug ,but this jacket is so warm it even keeps her warm, she loves it. The fur hood is not an issue for her,as some reviews suggest , the plum color is very beautiful and she has gotten rave comments on how nice of a parka it is. Got her normal size and it fits great. The only down side and why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars is that it is A very straight fit around the waist, it makes the person look a little bulky at the waist, it could use some kind of a drawstring around the outside of the jacket to pull the waist area in, as some of the reviews suggest also.

Thick and warm good for zero temperature

Purchased this coat for a trip the Sub-artic. We reached our Canadian destination during what the locals called their "deep freeze". It had been in the negative 30-40s for numerous days with windchills making it feel like -60-70s. Since I don't have a real need for a parka I didn't want to shell out the money for some of the more expensive Canadian brands. As you can see my eyelashes and eyebrows have ice crystals indicating how cold it really was. This coat kept me warm and sometimes "hot". I went snow shoeing, dogsledding, chasing auroras and walks through town and was comfortable. The length was good. Covered my behind but was not restrictive when sledding. It has numerous pockets inside and on the exterior of the coat. Good for phone, ID, credit cards, etc. no need to carry a purse. One of people I traveled with purchased the same coat. She was pleased with her purchase also. Now I have to find another "extreme" cold vacation so I can wear it again. By the way, this color is beautiful.