I was looking for a warm, tough vest, and found this vest on Amazon for much less than I would pay for it elsewhere, and in great colors!  I ordered the purple, and I love the color which is a very nice, bright purple.  The vest is tough, like all Carhart products and has plenty of pockets.  It is also warm, and while it's true the sherpa material isn't terribly soft, it is still warm.

I read the reviews here, and decided to size down on this, so I ordered a large rather than an extra large.  I usually wear a size 16, but also wanted to be able to put layers under this, so I was a bit apprehensive about sizing down.  I have a Carhart jacket in size large that is a bit tight in the bust, so I wasn't sure about this.

The size large fits perfect in the waist/hips  (and I'm not hip heavy, but I do have a bigger waist), but it zips snuggly in the chest (in fact, it fits just like my Carhart jacket).  So I decided to try the xl just in case.  Way too big!  That one had the wierd flaring effect in the hips/waist other people noted (simply because it was too big), though it did fit nicely in the bust.  But it wouldn't do to keep the larger one, because the wind would have come right up through the bottom--seriously, I it was more than one hand-span of space there!

I tried the large on again over a fairly heavy polar fleece jacket and I can zip up the vest just fine in the waist/hip, and CAN zip it in the bust, but it's a bit tight (imagine a really really supportive sports bra effect!)  I decided that the large, even if it was tight in the bust if I had on a heavy layer underneath, was still a much better fit for me.

So if you like Carhart products, and are looking for a tough, warm vest that also comes in nice colors, get this.  The price is great!  Just be aware that you might need to size down.