I bought the 24m suit for our 18m monster. She's above average in height for her age, so we're always buying regular clothes at least one size up. In this case, we probably could have stuck with the 18m suit as the one we bought is kinda big for her.She's now logged about 6 hours of snow time in it and we're pretty happy with the features. The fold-over hand flaps are great as mittens don't last past the door. She's perfectly warm in 30 degree weather and stays dry as she runs, dances and inevitably falls in the snow. My only complaint is that the stitching around one of the foot flaps started to come out on the second day. The thread is pretty thin and the spacing is a bit on the low quality sideWe're only going to get one season - about 10 days max here in Northern Virginia - of use out of it so it doesn't really make sense to send it in for a warranty replacement. To have a durability problem so soon after buying it is pretty disappointing.

I bough this jacket in '09 because it was one of the cheaper softshells on the market. It's served me well. I've worn it through countless miles of the Appalachian Trail and many nights snowboarding our icy little East Coast hills we call slopes. It's been on Rainier twice - once to the summit in July and once to Muir in December. On the December trip I was only wearing this jacket and a wool base layer and was pleasantly warm despite the rather nasty wind. I also wear it cycling to work and back during our Norther Virginia Winters, which typically settle around 20-30 degrees.

On the negative side, this jacket is kinda heavy compared to some of its more technical competitors. It's also not intrinsically warm - it's great at blocking the wind but once you stop moving you're going to feel the cold creep in. Lastly, and perhaps my biggest gripe, is that it really doesn't do a good job wicking away perspiration. I think TNF recommends "mild aerobic activity" and they're not kidding. It's simply not suitable for running as it'll just get soaked and stinky.

I think the bottom line is that this jacket is more fashion over function.