Dog + fleece jacket + chocolate = sadness for printchick

August 19, 2006 1:17 AM

So my dog ate a piece of chocolate THROUGH the pocket of my very favorite, reasonably-priced, paprika-colored REI fleece jacket. The dog is fine; the jacket is not. Please help me find a replacement.

My mom, God love her, managed to do a decent repair job on the pocket, but the lining of it is still kind of funky and the dog also ate through the zipper, which is not repairable. I mean, why couldn't the dog weasel his big beak into the pocket the normal way instead of chomping through the fleece? Anyway, I bought this jacket maybe about five years ago, and it's kind of getting matted and needs replacing anyway. The cheaper REI jackets out there now just seem too...I don't know...puffy. And if you're looking at something for under $50, you're at risk of getting fleece that looks cheap. It's also difficult finding something online because it's hard to judge what the fleece is like just by looking at a picture. I want something nice-looking, but not too puffed out or too thin. Am I being too demanding here? Are people happy with LL Bean? Please help!

posted by printchick to shopping (7 comments total)

LL Bean fleece is great; it's resilient and cozy and warm. I'm not sure what you mean by puffy, though.
posted by thirteenkiller at 6:11 AM on August 19, 2006

Mountain Equipment Coop sells fleece jackets that are very nice - not too expensive and do the job well. They also sell other branded jackets in addition to their trusted and well-loved house brand.

You might want to write to REI to get your jacket's zipper repaired? They do this kind of stuff iirc.

As for the dog - they chew, it's in their DNA. I'm glad the amount of chocolate your dog got to didn't hurt your dog
posted by seawallrunner at 7:35 AM on August 19, 2006

You don't say where you live in your profile. This time of year a few years back The North Face store in San Fran had their fleece for half off. If you live near one of their stores, check it out. Or, give them a call and see if they have any. I believe they will ship, especially if you know the weight that you want, size and color.

Good luck.
posted by 6:1 at 7:45 AM on August 19, 2006

The Humane Society can help you replace your dog. As for the jacket, I've been really happy with Patagonia. It's a step up in price but I more than got my money's worth.
posted by maniabug at 9:01 AM on August 19, 2006

Land's End also has inexpensive but durable, warm and soft fleece jackets. I use one as my winter coat most of the time.

As you probably know, a lot of companies seem to have fleece "ratings" of 100, 200, 300, etc., describing the weight and best uses for their jackets, with 100 being on the light end.
posted by sueinnyc at 9:40 AM on August 19, 2006

They may not do it for free, but (as seawallrunner mentioned) REI may repair your jacket. Usually, zippers can be replaced.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:15 AM on August 19, 2006

Er...just wanted a replacement for the jacket--the dog is fine! (I figured that was a joke, maniabug, but thought I'd clear the air.) By "puffy" I guess I just meant heavy. I'd describe the one I had/have as a mid-weight, not too thin, not too heavy. Not sure what rating it would be.
posted by printchick at 4:09 PM on August 19, 2006