Chris

This is my absolute most satisfying camping/hiking purchase in my life. I am absolutely in love with this top. And it is by far the best TNF product Ive ever owned. Is it pricey? Yes. It is worth it? YUP! I searched high and low for a top that was able to actually keep me warm without having to wear a jacket when I am out camping in the spring, summer, and fall. This thing more than delivers. My body almost always feels to be at the right temperature without ever making me feel too hot as to where I feel like I need to take it off. In the winter months, it is HANDS DOWN the best mid layer Ive ever owned. I can wear this under any jacket and I am warm guarenteed. I actually wore just this top on a winter day-hike in about 10F-15F temp with a baselayer under it and it was perfect. This top wicks great too. In one word it's just flat out versatile. Ill admit, I have a hard time taking this thing off, it's just that good. Plus it looks amazing and is extremely comfortable and soft on the inside. It can def be worn casually too. The Polartech Powerstrech material is great. I bought the Asphalt Grey and love it. I am considering buying the other colors as well! Beware, it does have an athletic fit, so it tends to be a little slimming. I am 5'10, 175lbs and the Medium fits me well, but any tighter and I might have had to resort to the large.

I am not sure why people say this is a must have... Is it nice to have? Definitely. Is it a must have? I wouldnt say so. Any stuff sack or bag would really do just fine to hold the pad. I look at this as more of a Want then a Need. Maybe people arent folding the pad down properly but ive never had a problem with it fitting in the sack, infact I can almost fit 2 pads in there if I tried. But, I am not complaining.....I got it for free :)

This pad is definitely comfortable no doubt about it. But there are 2 drawbacks that probably shouldnt be looked at as drawbacks but more as what people should be made aware of. This pad is intended to be a perfect blend of lightweight and comfort. It achieves both flawlessly. I bought the large and it folds down way smaller than a medium sized pad with foam. But this weight and size comes with a price. There is no self inflation aspect at all. It takes about 20 breathes to fill up, again not a bad thing but something people should be aware of. Its more of a double edged sword for me. I love it when I am packing my pack and blazing the trail, but when I go blow it up a slight annoyance comes over me. But this thing is COMFORTABLE. It has serious loft to it as well. The last thing is because it is a blowup, it does seem to lose some air over night like everything else. So it needs a freshening up daily which is why I give it 4/5 stars. But if you're fully accepting of these things I definitely recommend this!

Okay, I bought these pants on a suspicion they SHOULD be good. I searched the internet for a review of these darn things and came up empty every time. Well, Summit Series strikes again. These pants are simply amazing. I originally bought Outdoor Research Furio Gore-tex pants and I was extremely disapointed with them. OR has a good track record and it's not that they were cheap quality, but they totally did not fit right and felt extremely bunchy in the legs. So, I checked TNF out and these pants were the only Summit Series Gore-tex shell they carried. I was shocked to not find one single review on these but I took the chance anyway. I swear I am so satisfied with these things I'd buy them in another color as well. They fit so nicely, not too big, not too small, and they fall right. The nice thing about them is they seem to be designed to compensate different body types. I can see the medium fitting a range of people in the medium sizing category, as a good pair of pants should (especially a shell). They arent too baggy where you feel like you should be walking down the street in the ghetto and not too tight where you feel they are almost spandex. These things are exactly what they should be. The venting under the thighs is a nice touch as well. I wore these on a 3 day winter camping/hiking trip and I didnt get one drop of moisture inside. They also are not hot and clammy like other shells. I hiked in with these on and I did not feel the least bit sweaty. I am 5'10", 175lbs. I bought the black pair. And at the end of the day, not only do they perform, but they look good doing it. I would definitely recommend these pants.

I originally bought the last version of this jacket last year and I loved it. Unfortunately, the drawstring in the hood failed on me so when i returned it to BC, the new version is all they carry now. Boy am I happy that happened. Summit Series products fail to disapoint me. This latest version is every bit as good as the older version and then some. The added waterproof zippers on the front pockets is a welcome addition but I'd say the biggest improvement is the removeable hood.. I am in my glory with that! Anyway, this jacket is warm as hell thanks to it's Primaloft insulation. around 15F it does sound a little crinkley but that isnt the jacket it's the Primaloft inside. For anyone who is not familiar with Primaloft insulation it is the warmest material per weight currently available and the best IMO. I wouldnt call the neck high, but rather exactly what it should be. This is definitely the best bang for your buck out there as far as insulated jackets around $300. I do not believe there is anything warmer (for it's weight) in this price range. I am actually surprised I dont see more of these things around. If you go Arcteryx you're paying $400 and that's a base model. You have to pay $500 to get anything great. I bought it in the TNF Red and it's stunning! Definitely the best color IMO. I am 5'10", 175lbs and I bought the Medium and it fits perfectly.

I bought The North Face Ligero 50 Backpack (Black) for a winter camping trip which consisted of a 3-mile hike both in and out on snowshoes.

I liked the pack itself; it is made well, it is comfortable and it held up well. Best part about it was it came with the rain cover which proved to be handy when it started raining/sleeting/snowing on the hike in. Fully packed, (if not over packed) the rain cover fit almost over the entire pack very nicely. It just left my sleeping pad exposed at the bottom of the pack which was fine.

One grip with the pack itself was that what I received differed from the picture on here. For the black backpack, the picture on here shows the zippers to be GREY, but they are actually WHITE. This probably wouldn’t bother most people but I would rather have the grey because the white shows the dirt and grime more and faster.

My other problem (NOT A PROBLEM WITH THE PACK, JUST NOT WHAT I NEED IT FOR) was it was way over packed for a backpack of this size. I was probably pushing around 60lbs. I am returning it for the Crestone60 which should be large enough for what I need it for. For an overnight hike, or maybe even a weekend hike in the summer months it should prove to be very competent. Winter hiking just requires more space for all of the large and heavy apparel and what not.

The pack seemed to be made well. When overstuffed, I've never seen any seams looking as though they were being stressed too much or anything like that. The zippers are a little tough but that’s to be expected with something like this.

I agree the pocket structure is nice on this pack, however I would have liked a sleeping bag compartment and front access to the main pack better, which are not available on this pack. Also, when fully packed I had a hard time inserting and removing the water bottles from the holders on the sides. They are made to be somewhat tight to the pack so if packing light they should be fine, but again for what I did it seemed to be a hassle. I had to pack the bottles first in order to get them into the holders because the pack was so stuffed, and then getting them back in while on the trail proved to be a challenge.

If you’re into your pack looking cool as well as it performs, I’d say this pack stands out in that area.
I would recommend this pack to anyone who is looking for a pack of this size.
I would keep this and buy another larger pack if I had the money to do so.

I bought The North Face Plasma Thermal Jacket for my winter camping trip. The trip involved a 3-mile hike both in and out and 2 nights in a lean-to & tent. The jacket was obviously too warm to wear for the hike in, but while I was there it kept me nice and warm. I also use this as my winter jacket for cold (Central New York) days and it keeps me perfectly warm day to day. The only thing cold about it is on the really cold days the material on the inside is chilly against your skin, but that’s the case with any jacket without fur. As long as your skin is covered with a shirt or anything at all you’re fine. And again, this is only on the really cold days. I was not a fan of the hood at first but it really does its part in keeping you warm up or down! Even down, it really keeps your neck nice and warm. The hood tensioners work fine except for when one of mine came undone internally. I called Backcountry and they are replacing the jacket with a new one. I would presume this is a fluke, or The North Face needs to get their stuff together! Other than that, my only complaint would be that the main zipper does catch a bit but if you take your time when you zip it up it shouldn’t be a problem. Don’t let these things sway you from buying it though. This jacket does employ PrimaLoft which in my opinion is the warmest stuff around for its weight. The jacket is extremely thin for its performance capability. This was the cheapest winter jacket I could find that had PrimaLoft and was waterproofing. For somebody on a budget who is looking for a serious winter jacket, I would definitely recommend this.