The North Face Varius Guide Jacket - Men's

Excellent coat for many reasons. 1) The material is VERY durable. I crashed my bike and skidded across the pavement for a few feet and the jacket only developed one very small hole, and that was only through the outermost layer. The North Face was able to excellently repair the hole, and now it is indistinguishable from the original material in both looks and weather resistance. 2) Speaking of weather resistance, this coat will do a very good job of keeping you dry and fairly warm. This jacket is only a thick shell, extra insulation IS NEEDED for wintersports like downhill skiing. This jacket was made with this in mind as it features zip-in compatibility. Personally, I zip in a Redpoint jacket for insulation in the winter, and the result is a bomber coat that is really warm and comfortable without extra bulk and weight. 3) The jacket looks awesome. This is not one of the North Face's flashy, glitzy, ski-bunny styled pieces of apparel. This is a serious jacket, made for people who want to brave the elements, and the jacket's appearance reflects that.

This fabric, when comparing to other coats, is not the slippery nylon feel of many waterproof fabrics. Rather, this is a thicker, rougher texture. As a result, the jacket is much more durable. HOWEVER, water does not simply bead off this jacket like wax paper. In fact, the fabric actually gets pretty wet on the outside, and it takes a little while to dry. Inside, though, you will never have to worry about getting wet. Overall, This is an AWESOME coat for someone looking for a durable, weather proof shell that works great when layered in winter, or as a stand-alone in spring/fall.

Great jacket for the outer layer (shell) while skiing. Good fit. Plenty of well-placed pockets. Not warm by itself..., make sure to have a fleece jacket inside.

This jacket is fine, but I agree with other reviewers that you could get a better jacket for the price. It does fine in snow, but saturates in rain and could be lighter. It needs a snow skirt to be a good ski coat, and lighter material to be a good rain shell. So all and all not to bad.

This jacket will keep the rain off and the wind out. It's durable material and HyVent weather protection won't disappoint. The hood doesn't stay put as much as I'd like, and I can't imagine a situation when I'd want it all the way off rather than just pushed back. I'd recommend another jacket with a fixed hood, but that's more preference than anything. A fleece, zipped in or not, is definitely necessary for high-altitude/low-temp conditions. You'll need the insulation.

This seems to be a nice jacket except for one major problem - tiny armholes. I bought a large which comfortably fits me in every area except the armholes, which are tiny and uncomfortable. I don't have big arms and at first I thought I just got a bogus jacket, but then I see that someone else has had written on the same issue. There is no way I could zip in a fleece liner or even wear a thick sweat shirt with this jacket. I'll have to return it and look at something else.

I spoke with a representative online as wanted to purchase an all-weather jacket that was of the utmost quality and was directed towards the Varius Guide as a shell .. the gentleman online knew his stuff!! I've worn my jacket to work with a wool sweater underneath in windy and snowy conditions and it has held up superbly. It is the best purchase I have made in a long time. It is well made, seems extremely durable, and surprisingly warm, in below freezing weather you will need a fleece or a sweater underneath but an excellent product. WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!

After reading the reviews I knew what to expect from this jacket. I wanted something warm and dryer than my old jacket, with a heavier & stronger shell. The waterproof rating is one of the highest I found in this price range so I went with North Face.
A couple of the reviewers complained of smallish arm holes and this was a concern for me as I intended to layer with my new Underarmor jacket. I spent a lot of time in the store trying on size medium and large jackets with my Underarmor and a fleece North Face zip in vest. Although the armholes did seem a bit smaller than expected, making the jacket a bit more difficult to get into, the fit was fine in my usual size medium. (I'm 5'8" 155 lbs with kinda longish arms) I swung my arms in every direction possible and felt no restriction. Thinking of extra insulation for really cold days I zipped in the fleece vest (a size large vest in a medium jacket) and wore the jacket over my underarmor. Things were a bit more snug but stilll OK and I intend to order a vest the correct size. The large size jacket did fit looser but the sleeves were noticably longer and the jacket "puffed out" more. I would have bought the large if I intended to wear my down jacket underneath. I think the stretch fabric in the shoulders and outer sleeves allows for freedom of movement even with the slightly tighter arm holes.
All in all It makes a nice system for skiing with my existing insulation layer. I wear a ski helmet and wanted a removable hood. The zipper is so well hidden beneath a layer of fabric that you'd think it was a permanently attached hood.
I hope this helps people concerned with fit issues.

I got a pair of the varius guide pants last season and really liked them.
So i got the jacket,and it workes and fits great.I wear it at the resort,
a little heavy for the back country.I would recommend this jacket.Warm and
dry.

I just got the various guide jacket. I LOVE IT. after two walmart jackets and sum other bad rain jackets it gives me pleasure to look down at the jacket in the middle of hurricane season and laugh at the water forming droplets on the outside. HAHA take that rain.

I purchased this jacket to use as an outer layer on snowshoe outings here in the San Juan Mtns of Colorado. I wear it over a light or mid-weight fleece and capilene 3 base layer. I am amazed at how comfortable I am this way. Although the jacket is not insulated, I have been completely comfortable in cold, windy situations with wind chill as low as -25F. The quality is excellent, like all of the other products I have purchased from The North Face.

Got this for a trip to Ireland since I was going during Winter/Rainy Season. Not only did it keep me dry, but it also resisted a lot of wind and kept me warm when we were hiking up a couple mountains. Highly recommend this coat. Will have it for a long time.

I am pretty satisfied with the Varius guide jacket. It is a nice coat for the price, but the hy vent zippers under the pits are somewhat annoying. I read that they were annoying, buy I am still glad I bought the coat. I bought an xxl even though I am an xl in most jackets except for North Face. Which always seems to run small, but it is pretty big without a fleece underneath. But if I zip in a fleece I wouldn't want it to be an xl. The only other negative is the colors North face had this year. I got the basin blue which is very blue. I didn't care for any of the colors they were offering so I thoght this was the best one. In any case I really like the jacket and it seemed to be a good deal for the price.

This is my first real shell and it worked just fine while mountain climbing. I wore this around the camp, on the climb with and without a zip-in fleece and in the rain. The only complaint I have is the hood as the buttons tend to pop off when you try to pull on the hood to cover your head.

This HyVent shell is nice and durable but noticeably heavier than say, a Gore-Tex TNF Mountain Light. That being said, it suits my needs perfectly for everyday wind/waterproof protection. I layer it with a TNF Pumori fleece for added warmth. Great combo.