The North Face Varius Guide Jacket - http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/...de-jacket.html
$199-209; paid $139 on a closeout
I purchased this jacket 4 years ago primarily as a ski jacket although I have used it in the offseason as a casual jacket. The North Face still makes this jacket - http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/...de-jacket.html. Overall, this has been a good jacket, but not great. I prefer my 686 jacket that I used all of last season – roomier fit, nice fixed hood, a lot more pockets and nooks and crannies for storage. I think it also has higher performance fabric.
Overall, this jacket has performed well and held up great. Highlights of construction/features and my experience using the jacket:
--The exterior material has a nice feel to it – substantial and a slightly “knobby” feel to it – not slick. It has held up very well with no fraying, rips, etc. The jacket has held its color pretty well.
--Waterproof and breathable – to my knowledge North Face does not publish performance data – this is their Hyvent 2L waterproof/breathable fabric. My guess is that it is 10K waterproof/5K breathable. The DWR finish on the exterior held up well. I have refreshed twice with spray-on and once with wash-in (that was a giant mistake).
--Interior of the jacket is lined with a smooth synthetic (poly) fabric – sleeves and body. This does tend to be very wet when I am skiing hard. I think the water vapor collects on the fabric and gets saturated. My 686 jacket has a better interior – it is a combination of brushed fabric in the body and mesh on the sleeves – if feel much less moisture on the interior 686 jacket fabric.
--Cut is classified as “standard” by North Face. It is maybe slightly oversized but this jacket is definitely not baggy. In fact, the cut could be a little more generous. When it is really cold out and I am layered up the jacket is a bit tight in the shoulders and hips.
--Storm collar and hood – the storm collar is a nice height and provides good coverage; however, it gets to be a tight fit when really layered up in the cold. The collar flaps are very large and if the collar is not zipped up most of the way these tend to really flap around in the wind when skiing which is annoying. The zip off hood is basically useless. It won’t fit over a helmet all of the way and is too big, even with the adjustments pulled down, to use without a helmet.
--The pockets are lined with a nice material. No carabiners or keysnap attachments so I sewed some in myself. I like the “reverse” entry in the pockets.
--Sewn in powder skirt is nice. For me it is not big enough around to snap, and I am not that big with a 34 inch waist, but it doesn’t matter because the jacket bottom is tight enough to keep everything sealed up. I don’t ski powder so this is really just keeping drafts out.
--Napoleon pocket on the chest did not have a media access point or anything like that to connect the pocket to the jacket interior. I cut a buttonhole and sewed it so it wouldn’t fray in order to pass my headphone cord through.
--This is not a system jacket but it will accept a North Face zip-in liner. I don't like zip in liners so don't use this feature.
--Pit zips are bi-directional and large. These are just open though - I actually prefer pit zips that have a mesh lining.
$199-209; paid $139 on a closeout
I purchased this jacket 4 years ago primarily as a ski jacket although I have used it in the offseason as a casual jacket. The North Face still makes this jacket - http://www.thenorthface.com/catalog/...de-jacket.html. Overall, this has been a good jacket, but not great. I prefer my 686 jacket that I used all of last season – roomier fit, nice fixed hood, a lot more pockets and nooks and crannies for storage. I think it also has higher performance fabric.
Overall, this jacket has performed well and held up great. Highlights of construction/features and my experience using the jacket:
--The exterior material has a nice feel to it – substantial and a slightly “knobby” feel to it – not slick. It has held up very well with no fraying, rips, etc. The jacket has held its color pretty well.
--Waterproof and breathable – to my knowledge North Face does not publish performance data – this is their Hyvent 2L waterproof/breathable fabric. My guess is that it is 10K waterproof/5K breathable. The DWR finish on the exterior held up well. I have refreshed twice with spray-on and once with wash-in (that was a giant mistake).
--Interior of the jacket is lined with a smooth synthetic (poly) fabric – sleeves and body. This does tend to be very wet when I am skiing hard. I think the water vapor collects on the fabric and gets saturated. My 686 jacket has a better interior – it is a combination of brushed fabric in the body and mesh on the sleeves – if feel much less moisture on the interior 686 jacket fabric.
--Cut is classified as “standard” by North Face. It is maybe slightly oversized but this jacket is definitely not baggy. In fact, the cut could be a little more generous. When it is really cold out and I am layered up the jacket is a bit tight in the shoulders and hips.
--Storm collar and hood – the storm collar is a nice height and provides good coverage; however, it gets to be a tight fit when really layered up in the cold. The collar flaps are very large and if the collar is not zipped up most of the way these tend to really flap around in the wind when skiing which is annoying. The zip off hood is basically useless. It won’t fit over a helmet all of the way and is too big, even with the adjustments pulled down, to use without a helmet.
--The pockets are lined with a nice material. No carabiners or keysnap attachments so I sewed some in myself. I like the “reverse” entry in the pockets.
--Sewn in powder skirt is nice. For me it is not big enough around to snap, and I am not that big with a 34 inch waist, but it doesn’t matter because the jacket bottom is tight enough to keep everything sealed up. I don’t ski powder so this is really just keeping drafts out.
--Napoleon pocket on the chest did not have a media access point or anything like that to connect the pocket to the jacket interior. I cut a buttonhole and sewed it so it wouldn’t fray in order to pass my headphone cord through.
--This is not a system jacket but it will accept a North Face zip-in liner. I don't like zip in liners so don't use this feature.
--Pit zips are bi-directional and large. These are just open though - I actually prefer pit zips that have a mesh lining.
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