This is a very good jacket, for walking, climbing, skiing and most other outdoor activities. I have had many jackets, and this one is among the best. Could do with an internal pocket. The mesh pockets are good for 'venting' if you need to cool down a little but don't want the hassle of opening the arm pit vents. Without the inner it packs down small which is good.

And to top it all, it looks good ;-)

Product AAQJ Ladies jacket....terrible! My husband bought this for me. I am in Scotland right now. I wore the jacket and I was soaked through within minutes. So glad I hadn't gone up the cairngorm mountains in it or I'd be in a wooden box right now! Looks nice, but didn't keep the wind or rain out, and I have had 15 North Face jackets in my lifetime....this is more like something from Walmart!

Customer Service

Told me to send it back...which I will! Im just glad Im still alive to send it back! Some poor sod might not be so lucky!

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Any previous North face jacket.

The 2008 model is TERRIBLE!!! No liner can be zipped in, it feels like it's gonna rip any second and I have my 2007 model next to it and they really blew it this year. Wait until 2009 to see if they wake up.

Customer Service

SHAME ON YOU, North Face company. Is this scam done to make more money?

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2007 same jacket. The 2008 model is AWEFUL!!!

(price in USD equivalent)

So I HAD a 2007 model of this jacket, which i was hugely impressed with, fantastic (albeit 2 layer) Gore-tex pro shell, highly abrasion resistant, stretch pannels on shoulders, powder skirt, waterproof zippers etc. etc.

now, this jacket was stolen from a locked car a month ago...so ordered the 2008 version with the insurance payout.

I'd just like to say just how dissapointed I am in TNF. the 2008 model is now single ply regular gore-tex, flimsy feeling nylon outer that wouldnt last a minute on a real rock without being torn to shreds, lower quality design with no high strength pannels, and a removal of the zip in fleece liner design of 2007. the cut of the jacket is slightly different aswell, and the 2 to 3 inch wide pannels that masked the pit vents are now gone.

this jacket is still priced at teh 2007 level though the quality and spec is now closer to a $100 jacket, all it has from what i can tell is the "Sumit Series" badge.

Needless to say its going straight back for a refund. please dont buy this jacket, spend your hard earned cash on an Arc'teryx or similar. very poor North Face.

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2007 model

This jacket is too heavy to carry for serious mountaineering. The usefulness of this parka in snow and sleet is limited by the fact that the lapels funnel water into the interior of the jacket.

Customer Service

Not needed.

Ideal jacket for all seasons outdoor activites. Well designed features and good materials. Works well in rain and snowstorm. Best jacket I had so far. Guite expensive here in scandinavia. Even with discount. :)

Customer Service

not needed

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Halti goretex
Fjällräven

This is a great jacket. I live in a town (Ketchikan, AK) that rains a lot (200 inches, which made it the 4th wettest spot on earth in 2005), so I needed a jacket that can stand up to the rain, wind and cold. Skiing and technical jackets are the best way to go. So, around the spring of 2000 I bought the Mountain Guide Jacket. It has worked great for the six years I had it. A tooth in the zipper broke once (in 2003 I think), I mailed it to North Face and got the jacket back 3 weeks later with a brand new zipper. I lived in Fairbanks, AK for a few years, and this jacket worked perfectly, both as everyday wear and combined with either a TNF Denali fleece or a TNF Nuptse Down jacket while snowshoeing, skiing and camping in -30 degree weather.

Pros:
Good Weight
Completely waterproof
Great venting
Adjustable hood
Warm
Works great with liner jackets
Plenty of pockets

Cons:
No pockets for your hands
Traps sweat
Snow Skirt is useless

Customer Service

The customer Service is great. I didn't even need to contact them when the zipper broke, I just put the jacket in a box and mailed it to them with a note asking them to repair. 3 weeks later I was wearing the jacket again.

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Colombia Double Whammy
Ski jackets from various brands

Yeah, I paid full retail price plus $30 tax for this coat - that's the bad news for me. The good news is that I couldn't care less, because this is the best coat I have ever owned! Money well-spent! I bought this to replace my trusty old Patagonia Liquid Sky jacket (Goretex), because it was getting old and had some annoying things about it like: the hood was too small to be functional, there was no ventilation, it was really long (this style of raincoat I don't like). Plus, after buying a North Face sentinel fleece last winter, I wanted a shell to zip it into - Patagonia obviously didn't work. While research, I immediatley ruled out a few North Face coats because although I liked them, they didn't have zip-in integration. Bummer. The only two coats that did have this, and where Goretex XCR (I figured I should upgrade from traditional Goretex), were the Mountain Light and the Mountain Guide. The Mountain Light, was, hence the name, lighter. But I'm not some hardcore expedition mountaineer - I just snowboard ocasionally and live in a cold enough climate (NYC), that I like to stay warm and dry. So I appreciated the extra fabric of the Mountain Guide, and ruled out the Mountain Light. I will say that the Mountain Guide, like others have said, is a bulky coat. Not so for walking around town, camping, skiiing, etc., but for climbing, I would look into something thinner. Anyway, I purchased the 03' model, and am thrilled. First of all, this coat advertises as having core vents. But my sentinel has those, and although they do work (in theory better than pit zips), I really prefer the hidden aspect of pit zips. So I was a little annoyed that this only had core vents, but I went to the store to buy it anyway. What I found was that it infact has core vents AND pit zips - how cool is that? The core vents double has pockets, because the ingenius design team at North Face created the interior of the coat around the pockets as mesh, so air can blow in when you're not using them as pockets, but they also work as pockets. The core vent/pockets also have a great feature where there's an internal velcro tab that is revealed when you upzip the zipper, so you can just attach the rain flap onto that internal velcro instead of having it close up on you all the time. The pits zips are also great - really long, easy to reach, and has no velcro to close while in use. The velcro around the writs is also really thick and high quality - more so than my Patagonia coat. The Mountain Guide also has two internal pockets plus a hidden exterior pocket. One thing I really love about the North Face coat is the hood. Not only is it adjustable in more than one way so it fits to perfection, but its also MUCH bigger than my patagonia hood, which I love. It even has a little baseball cap bill thingy on the front to filter water off. I also like the snow gaiter this coat has - I'll definitely use that while skiing. My old Patagonia coat also was annoying because the interior collar was just nylon, so when you zipped it up all the way, it rubbed against your chin and neck and was uncomfortable. The North Face interior collar is all fleecey (plus much of the back area), so when you zip it up it feels soft rubbing against your neck/chin. Finally, Goretex XCR is fantastic. It is as waterproof, if not more so (better DWR finish?) than my former coat with traditional Goretex, but the 40% more breathable claim ain't lying - it's very comfortable. Today was 63 degrees, so not cold at all, but pouring, so I wore the coat. I didn't get hot at all for like 15 minutes of fast walking, and when I did, open went the pit zips and core vents, and I was totally comfortable! What more can I say? I paid full price and I couldn't be happier. The stuff about TNF decreasing in quality since becoming so mainstream is evidant in many of their products (mostly with wrist seals and zippers), but definitely not with the Mountain Guide. BUY IT!

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Patagonia Liquid Sky

It is a real good jacket against wind, rough weather, rain, snow. It is very strong and won´t rip! It is not as breathable though as TNF says. A T-shirt in summer is way enough and you won´t get cold, in winter it is perfect with a fleece under it.

I bought this jacket at a killer end of season close-out deal three years ago. On the positive side this jacket has been bombproof and has stood up to everything I have thrown at it from snowboarding, on and off piste, to winter ascents, to snowshoeing, to winter camping. It has never once ripped, broken down, or thrown a zipper. However, I agree with many of the other reviewers on weight. This jacket is just too bulky and heavy, both in ounces and in insulation. I have always had to put this jacket away in the closet and use an older, and much lighter, gore-tex shell from another company for spring, summer, and most of the fall. Also, I always end up having to lash this jacket to the outside of my pack because it takes up too much space and nearly fills my day pack! I am planning to purchase a new technical shell and give this one to my wife because she likes the added warmth and does not do near as much hiking/backpacking as I do.

Customer Service

Haven't needed this because the jacket has held up to everything and more.