The North Face Summit Series Breithorn Hoodie Review

There are so many down jackets out there, and they vary wildly in quality and price. I’d be leaving something out if I didn’t say that much of my down jacket time is spent in a very cheap one I picked up from Costco so many years ago. It’s nice to feel the freedom to sit as close to the campfire as you like sometimes. That jacket shows it too, but it was never super warm. Sorry Gerry. The North Face Summit Series Breithorn Hoodie is on the other side of the earth from that old beater. It’s super warm, high quality, and… not so cheap. I’ve been sitting farther from the fire, but still staying comfortable.

The North Face Summit Series Breithorn Hoodie Features:

• 800 Fill Prodown™ retains loft in wet conditions and compresses well
• Attached, adjustable, climbing-helmet-friendly hood
• Recycled nylon Pertex Y Fuse body fabric
• Center front zip with internal draft flap
• Hand pockets with water-resistant zippers and single chest pocket
• Internal hem cinch cord
• Non-PFC DWR finish for added weather protection
• Raglan sleeves and underarm gussets for added mobility
• Stows in left hand pocket
• Stretch knit cuffs with FlashDry™
• Two Large, Internal Drop-In Pockets
• Weight: 490g (as measured in size Large)
• MSRP: $430

Warm, Techy Fluff

Everything I’ve ever owned or tested from The North Face’s Summit Series line has been good. It’s all been expensive, yes, but each one has been generally excellent and thoughtfully designed. The Breithorn Hoodie continues that trend on both fronts, so let’s just get the pricing thing out of the way. At $430, it is costly. Glad we cleared that up. Is it worth it? Really that’s up to you, but I’ll tell you about my experience with the jacket thus far, starting with warmth.

Other than my beloved, burn-ridden beater Gerry jacket, I cycle through 2 down jackets these days, both of which are 800 fill down. One is the Decathlon Forclaz MT100, and the other is a decade plus old Patagonia Down Sweater. Comparing to each of those 800 fill down jackets back when they were brand new, the Breithorn is materially warmer. It’s night and day, actually. The Breithorn is just absolutely toasty out of the box, and it remains that way still.

I can’t speak with absolute certainty about the causal relationship here, but part of that longevity of the jacket’s loft may be attributable to the Breithorn’s ProDown technology. ProDown is, at its core, just down treated to be water repellent. That helps things dry out faster, yes, but it also helps prevent every down jacket’s nemesis: clumping. When down jackets get wet or even just damp and compressed, the feathers like to grab one another and stick together, reducing the loft of the insulation. Whether the ProDown is to thank or not, the Breithorn hasn’t had the same proclivity to clump as many other down jackets I’ve owned. It’s stayed lofty and warm over the months of consistent use I’ve put it through.

Right out of the packaging though, I think that warmth was attributable to the fact that the jacket was inventoried and shipped lofty, rather than compressed. Yes, that means the box was larger than it needed to be, but it also means the jacket was as warm as it could be when it showed up at my door. That decision is an intentional one, and shows a certain attention to detail, which I’ve found consistent with the jacket’s design as a whole.

The cuffs, for instance, are a tight-knit stretchy material separate from the body of the puffy sleeves. Wearing the jacket in Bozeman in December on an ice-climbing trip, I felt the difference of that design. Those soft, but tight-fitting cuffs seal out drafts much more effectively than the industry-standard elasticated band sewed to the end of the arm.

The hood, too, is well put-together. It fits happily over a helmet when you’re using it as a parka, but it’s also designed to be comfortably directly on your head. You do need to use the elastic drawcord to cinch things down while wearing the hood sans helmet, but that’s understandable. Once on, it’s toasty and warm, and zips up past the chin for some extra wind coverage.

Storage, too, is well considered. There are 3 zippered pockets – two hand and one chest – and 2 enormous internal dump pockets. Each of those internal dump pockets has about a liter capacity, and can easily accommodate both of my heaviest long-gusset snow mittens. The zippered hand pockets are equally spacious, and sit above harness height for the person so inclined to climb with the puffy on. Each of the zippered pockets have good pulls on them too, and operate quite smoothly.

In my estimation, the fabric of the jacket is exactly what it ought to be: thin, light, and comfortable on the skin. It’s a rare occurrence where you wear a jacket this warm against bare skin, but hey, it’s got a good feel to it. The ripstop of the fabric bodes well for long-term durability. Perhaps most importantly, the Breithorn’s fabric should help keep the jacket warm over the years. Bold claim, I know.

How? I anticipate better down retention over the long term, thanks to Pertex Y Fuse fabric. Traditional nylon fabrics use a round filament, joined from side to side and woven together in tiny, tight patterns. The Pertex Y Fuse does not, instead using a vaguely Y-shaped filament, joined together in an offset pattern. That offset of the Y-shaped filaments tightens up the fabric, reducing pathways for down to poke and wiggle through from the inside of the jacket to freedom.

Overall durability is partially a question of materials and methods, and partially a question of luck. Unfortunately for my jacket, a mis-stitched seam at the hem opened up in a 2 inch section. Interestingly, that didn’t happen when I was doing anything particularly taxing. It just opened up in around-town use. I stitched it closed, but it wasn’t a job I was hoping to have. Still, in spite of a small amount of feather loss up front, I was warm in Washington’s Cascades and Montana’s Bridger Range.

My one final note about the Breithorn is that it is not really a slim fit. I don’t consider myself a complete stick figure, per se – there’s some muscle there – but I am slim. On me though, the jacket is clearly built to accommodate some extra torso layers. I think it’d be more fair to categorize its fit as standard.

Fit: I’m 5’11” and a lean 170 pounds, and I tested a size Large. It fit all my proportions just right, but it isn’t really so slim around the torso.

Buy Now: Available at REI