alaska1Have to remember the type of use this jacket caters to. While pockets down by the waist line are much more popular from a style and comfort standpoint, pockets near your chest are going to be more effective in terms of warmth (why else would your hands be in the pockets?) because there is more body heat being expelled from that region of the body. The pocket location also compliments the assumption that you would be wearing some sort of shooters/rigger belt with items around your waist, in which case having pockets right there might become uncomfortable or awkward giving you'd be hitting your hands on stuff.