In this article, we’ll get into the depth of how warm are the North Face jackets and does their warmth worth the price we’re going to pay.
Let’s dissect it!
How warm are the North Face Jackets?
Yes, all the insulated jackets provided by The North Face (TNF) are warm.
However, the amount of warmth varies from jacket to jacket depending upon the insulation used in it. Like Thermoball or Goose Down (Explained later in the article)
The reason behind why some people complain about the warmth of a particular TNF jacket is – due to lack of information they end up buying a jacket that may not suit your needs but perfectly keep the next guy warm.
In a short, Summit Series is the warmest jacket available in the North Face. Because of featuring goose down of 800 fill power and other technologies, these jackets can even be worn in extremely cold temperatures (like Antarctica with layers).
Apart from the Summit series, North Face Trevail and Impendor also uses 800 fill goose down which also provides the superior warmth-to-weight ratio.
Read Also: How Waterproof Are The North Face Jackets? (With List)
Don’t worry, The North Face also manufactures lesser warmer and insulated jackets for our typical normal winter day which includes the Nuptse and Massif ranges that use 700 fill down.
To be honest, the ranges can go down to 550 for mild cold temperatures.
I hope, now you have a clear picture of how warm the jackets of this company are.
But if not, then let me explain their insulation technologies including the cons so that you’ll buy a North Face jacket that is warm enough for your needs.
Read Also: Are Patagonia Jackets Warm (With Temperature Rating)?
Explaining North Face Insulation:
Goose Down Thermal Insulation
If you want the warmest jacket from the North Face then you should always look for their Goose down, thermally insulated jackets.
In North Face, the fill power of down starts from around 550 and ends at 900. Though, there are very few models that come with 900 fill power.
Read Also: How North Face Jackets Fitting Run? (With Table)
As you increase your budget and go for the higher fill power jacket such as 750, 800, or 900 which are reasonably warm for freezing temperature.
Apart from getting the insulation, higher down fill will also result in lighter weight insulation, superior warmth & comfort, and increased loft which can only be seen in the North Face’s 800 and 900 fill goose down.
It is the 900 fill goose down which is the highest quality down available commercially and referred to as ultimate gold standard insulation because of having an incredible warmth-to-weight ratio and being amazingly warm.
But here is sad news, the 900 fill goose down is only available in their premier summit series. (Scroll a little and you can see an in-depth table about the best North Face goose down jackets warmth-wise).
Before even directly jumping into the manufacturing process, the company always tested the down in three stages, which are, loftiness, moisture resistance, and the ability to regain the loft after compression to get the highest in quality.
If you’re a big fan of sustainable and ethical down, you’ll be happy to hear that North Face is using RDS (Responsible Down Standard) certified down in their jackets since 2015 which is on board to ensure animal welfare.
Overall, the warmest North Face jackets you can buy are made of goose down.
Read Also: How Warm Down Jackets Can Be? (Explained)
Thermoball – Alternative to Goose Down
Even before knowing all the depths of ThermoBall™, I want you to know that it can not beat the 800 or 900 geese down in warmth and insulation in dry conditions.
But, you may consider a ThermoBall™ insulated jacket if you live in humid, moisture, and rain prominent areas.
Because Thermoball can easily beat the natural down jacket in terms of insulation and warmth when getting wet.
As we all know, down is the best insulation but it is vulnerable when gets wet.
Let’s talk a bit about its background and how it came into existence.
Thermoball is a synthetic insulation that is developed by The North Face in partnership with one of the best insulation providers – PrimaLoft®.
The idea behind this innovative insulation is to offer a solution to the problem of the natural down lacking its ability to insulate and remain warm when gets wet.
For this, they created the technology where they feature the small round PrimaLoft synthetic-fiber clusters closely to imitate the natural clusters of down.
And the North Face got success in it by trapping the heat within small air pockets to retain warmth which is much alike what the geese down does.
The real magic starts when it gets wet because according to the CLO testing done by Kansas State University, Thermoball tech can offer the low weight, warmth, loft, and compressibility of 600 fill goose down along with the wet-weather insulating power of synthetics.
Polartec
During the time of writing this article, The North Face Denali 2 Jackets are the only one who features Polartec.
Merely wearing the Polartec insulation will not help you much in winter but they can perform well when got a hand in layers.
Polartec Thermal Pro, Polartec Classic Series, and Polartec Eco are the three available models of the same tech where with every version you can expect it to be warm, comfortable, and breathable.
The versions have some exceptions but they are nothing to do with warm so it’s not the scope of this post to discuss them.
The only thing I would suggest is to wear this insulation when you feel like the jacket is not warm enough to handle the surrounding temperature.
Otherwise, you can skip it without any worry.
Which North Face jacket is best for cold weather?
The North Face does not provide temperature ratings, hence I’m categorizing them in 3 levels on behalf of insulation and technical details.
So if you’re an average person then most likely you’ll find this data set ‘close to accurate’
- Mild warm (Good for normal winter)
- Warm (Can be wear in above or around the freezing point)
- Very Warm (can be wear in freezing temperatures)
| North Face Jackets | Insulation Type | How warm? |
| W’s Arctic Parka II | Down (550 fill) | Mild Warm |
| W’s Thermoball full zip jacket | Thermoball (equivalent to 600 fill ) | Warm |
| M’s McMurdo Parka III | Down (550 fill) | Mild Warm/ Warm |
| M’s Thermoball Eco Triclimate Jacket | Thermoball Eco & PrimaLoft Black | Mild Warm |
| M’s Super Diez Jacket | Down (850 fill) | Very Warm |
| Stretch Down Jacket (M’s/W’s) | Down (700 fill) | Warm |
| W’s Arctic Down Parka | Down (550 fill) and 150g Heatseeker Eco | Warm |
| M’s Summit L3 50/50 Down Hoodie | ProDown™ (800 fill) | Very warm |
| W’s Summit L3 50|50 Down hoodie | ProDown™ (800 fill) | Very Warm |
| M’s Himalayan Suit (Summit Series) | 800 fill goose down in the upper body and 700 fill goose down in the lower body | Very Warm |
| Hmlyn Insulated Parka | 350g 100% recycled polyester insulation | Warm |
| W’s Sierra Down Corduroy Parka | Waterfowl Down (600 fill) | Warm |
Are North Face jackets warm enough to worth the price?
Yes, trust me, the warmth we’re getting in The North Face jackets is worth every dollar because all the insulated jackets of this company are reasonably priced.
Why am I saying this? Because I’ve seen the very expensive jackets in my life such as Moncler and Canada Goose which are so heavily overpriced in terms of warmth.
For example, a Moncler jacket with 750 fill power goose down comes at around $1,000-1,500.
On the other hand, the North Face 800 fill power goose down comes at around $450-500 dollars.
Now, you may say Oh, the Moncler is charging thousands of bucks then it will be for sure providing 100% better warmth than the North Face.
If that’s your question, please click here to read the article where I talked only about Moncler jacket warmth.
At the last, in my opinion, The North Face Jackets worth every penny at least when it comes to warmth.
Read Also: Do North Face Jackets Run Small?
Is North Face fleece warm?
Yes, the North Face fleeces are warm enough for mild cold temperatures because of using TKA thermal fabrics.
Though, it would be best if you use them as layers in winters.
TKA stands for the Thermal Kinetic Advancement, which are the fabrics created by the company for good insulation and wear resistance.
There are three different weights of TKA fleece – 100, 200, 300, and a TKA Superstretch fabric that is ideal for aerobic activities.
Theoretically, they all have the same functions such as all are warm, insulating, and wear-resistant.
The only difference you can see is in layering. For example, TKA 100 is good for lightweight layering, 200 is best suited as mid-layers, and the 300 can either be worn as a heavy layer in extremely cold conditions or can be worn by itself as a casual outer layer or a great alternative to a cotton sweatshirt.
Here’s the link to shop the North Face TKA fleece (Don’t worry it’s not an affiliate link)
Read Also: Where Are North Face Jackets Made?
Michael is heavily inclined towards traveling to natural places and documenting cultures/people from different parts of the world. He also loves hiking and camping and is spirited toward all outdoor activities. He will share his passion for outdoor life and brands or products we use outside our homes. He has good research skills, and that’s why you can see why his articles are packed with info that is factual and not readily available. He also has the vision to travel the whole world and share it with all readers of Outdoor Favor.
