Review: The North Face Men's Summit Verbier GORE-TEX® Jacket
What we liked
This jacket feels and rides like a high quality piece of kit that you can take into the back country or ski the resort with under all but the very worst conditions
Not too heavy, not too light, so both carriable in your pack and good for bad weather days.
A hefty 7 pockets for your gear
What we didn’t
Not much, if I were forced to gripe (not a griper) I’d bring up two points
Personally I’d like this jacket in wackier colours, its all a bit staid. Bring back 80s flouro!
It's a hefty price tag, having said that all the big brand gore tex jackets are around this price.
The Verdict
THE SHORT READ…
Putting the North Face Jacket on I immediately felt snug and protected from the elements. This is exactly what I look for in a hard shell on a tour, or in resort. Add to this 6 exterior pockets, including an easy to access phone pocket (for right handers zipping to the left), and 2 interior mesh fabric pockets, you can carry a LOT. If you are like me and like to carry a lot in the jacket for easy access, the pocket layout is a strong feature. Overall hard to fault this jacket, everything feels high quality and well thought out.
THE LONG READ …
I tested the jacket in St Jean d’Aulps and Chamonix in the French Haute Savoie. One day bootpacking/skinning, two days in resort. Weather was a combination of overcast and sunny. The jacket was not tested in snowy/wet conditions.
Its a top end North Face jacket so I had high expectations and I was not disappointed.
Fabric - 100% recycled three-layer shell harnesses breathable-waterproof GORE-TEX®, its a hard shell jacket which repels the wind effectively.
Fit - I’m 6’0, slim, and wore a M. The jacket is longish and has an adjustable powder skirt which would certainly be useful in deep/fresh snow. Worked well with a polyester base layer and a piled wool mid layer.
Performance - Going uphill, the jacket provides plenty of protection as you would expect from a hard shell, so I gained heat quickly bootpacking/skinning up from a cold start. Going downhill I barely noticed wearing it - this is what I referred to earlier, the jacket makes a nice compromise between light (carriability) and heavy (protection).
Pockets - As I said before, the pockets are a great feature on this jacket. I’m not a pocket minimalist so 6 exterior and 2 interior mesh pockets work well for me. Many resort jackets tend to have 2 exterior chest pockets, 2 interior, probably mesh pockets, and a ski pass wrist pocket. To this ‘standard pocket layout’ North Face adds an additional outside ‘phone’ pocket and 2 further ‘waist level’ pockets. I like this layout because I can carry a pair of shades, a beanie, a pair of over gloves, a sandwich, some snacks, and some suncream. And a kitchen sink. And I can access all of this without stopping and opening my backpack.
Hood - Hood sits nicely on the bonce, not too far back or forward and big enough to go over the helmet on bad weather days, with an adjustable cuff.
Cuffs - Sturdy large velcro cuffs give confidence. There’s also an internal elastic strap if you want to get a super tight fit. Personally I would add more velcro across the circumference of the cuff for max tightness, its a small change to make for a more customisable cuff.
SUMMARY…
Overall I’d give this jacket a strong recommend. It oozes quality and protection, without being too heavy to stuff into a pack.