Karl G.

This jacket has a lot going for it. It looks great. It is well constructed. It is truly water resistant and sheds ice fog, snow, spills, light drizzle. The fabric works brilliantly in blocking the wind and is better than my Arcteryx Gamma as a wind block and slightly warmer, breaths as well and has core venting with pit zips. The pockets are about perfect in location and usable with a pack or as a hand warmer. 1/2 star zing for cuffs which are a little wide and have no tightening mechanism. WIth a tighter cuff or velcro cuff closure, this would be one of the absolute best hoodless jackets available in a soft shell at any price. Even with the cuffs being slightly loose, it still is a phenomenal jacket and comfortable in a temp range from 30's with mild exertion all the way up to indoor temperatures (70's). Really, really neat jacket and worth the price. Great as a stand alone, an outer layer or an inner layer.

The Denali is one of The North Face Company's best selling pieces and is very popular and you will see it everywhere you go on college students. It is almost a uniform top! As a layering piece, it is very warm and breathes very well, but is very bulky and heavy. Although it has DWR, it's ability to resist moisture and rain is minimal. Although some wind blocking is afforded by the panels across the front, over the shoulders and the elbows, wind whistles through the unprotected parts of the body and sleeves. It is very stylish, but you will be in a crowd of Denali wearers where ever you go. It's best uses are on a day with temps in the 30's, 0 wind, and no rain or as a super bulky wool sweater replacement. Better choices in The North Face line for people looking to have a jacket that can shed some light rain and provide warmth by blocking wind include Apex Bionic or the The North Face Apex Mckinley Softshell Jacket and the warmest choice, The North Face Apex Bionic Thermal Jacket. All are around the same price as the Denali and more versatile.

The Good:

These pants are very well constructed of Gore WindStopper which works well as a wind block and are very warm for their weight and minimal bulk. The sizing is dead on and allows these to easily fit over a base layer that is thin to mid thickness and the pants themselves are thin enough to then layer underneath a shell if needed. The velcro closures at the pant leg bottoms allow good tightening but also open to the full pant hem width. The side zippers work flawlessly and allow venting from the top side down or you can zip from the bottom up and pull the pants on over boots, etc. The Taslon-nylon on the knees and seat should provide decent abrasion resistance. Some Taslon on the inner lower legs would be appreciated but is not there or absolutely required.

The Bad:

Although these pants have a fly zip, they do not have a waist button system and are like sweat pants with elastic and a closed waist hem. They would be more versatile if they had a waist that opens above the fly and was secured with two buttons like some TNF pants or similar. This is a feature you can live with, but be aware you will be limited to the opening afforded by the waist elastic and belt for your pulling the pants on or pulling them down. A little more room can be gained by two side velcro adjustments over the zippers which allow the waist opening to relax some. The built in belt is a pain. The strap length adjustment is not a snap plastic buckle but a single slider. The end of the belt is blunt cut, not tapered, and folded over so it just fits on to the belt's slider buckle with a great deal of work. You can work around by not completely allowing the belt to open but if you loosen too much and an end comes through the buckle, you better be prepared to spend some frustrating time trying to get it back together. With you gloves off and hands growing numb, you might just give up.

The Ugly:

Those Tabs.The inner waist,on the current model,has 4 large velcro tabs that contact your waist as others have already mentioned. These reportedly are for suspenders which are included on some other MHW pants but do not come with this pair and are not readily available as an option. The back of these tabs feels like 220 grit sandpaper on your waist and is a complete deal breaker. They are very securely sewn in the pants and not easily removable. As you move around there is a good chance these tabs will come in contact with your skin if your shirt rides up or your base layer pants ride down and the tabs will immediately start attacking your skin as you bend, move, sit, crawl, climb or basically do anything involving movement. I can not emphasize enough how uncomfortable these tabs are against skin. You would need a base layer like the old timey long underwear with the top and bottom connected, a button back door and button front to escape these abrasive devils.

Bottom line:

Without the tabs these pants are an easy 4-4.5 stars and I suspect some of the stellar reviews are of earlier model pants without the suspender attachments. The tabs make them just about useless for anything but standing or lying down. Item returned.

I wear these liners as a source of extra warmth, to further reduce friction and help wicking. They dry very fast overnight, just wring them out, spin them a few times and hang. As others have stated, they even make a great "dress sock" worn alone with shoes. In high heat, i've worn them alone with low hikers for fast short hikes. Highly recommended.

An outer shell is an essential part of a layering system and this is my go to piece. I wanted a piece that accepted zip ins and TNF has designed this piece well. It works well by itself as a rain jacket and wind shell. It works with numerous other pieces as a shell including everything from a 700 weight down (Nuptse) to a lighter fleece from TNF as zip ins. It even accepts my Mountain Hardware Windstopper Technical Jacket (zips are backward but it does zip in). Good zips, pockets, waterproofing, breathability, venting (pit zips) and a lifetime warranty. Don't skimp on your outer shell because you will use it the most and it should last for years. You will appreciate that you spent the extra $15-$20/ year over 5 years every time you use a breathable membrane coat over a cheaper coated or less breathable piece.

This is a great sock for backpacking, hiking for all but the summer season. Their comfort, odor resistance, quality, fit, ease of drying and moisture wicking and cushioning are very good.

This boot is a great "Jack Of All Trades" choice in a light hiking boot. They fit true to size for a 12 D (medium) boot in that size on a measured foot. Because of the Nubuck material (a high end synthetic leather) and the Cordura upper, they are comfortable out of the box with very little break in. They are not made for backpacking but their lightness and comfort and low break in time make these a better choice for day hiking or longer trekking with light loads. They are all day comfortable, breath well and are 100% waterproof in up to 3-4 inches. They are quite warm in up to single digit temperatures if walking and are not hot in room wear. In Winter, I wear these as an everyday boot and they do not look too technical in an office setting. The material cleans very well after getting muddy with a mild brushing. When these are updated and available, I would not hesitate to replace them with another pair when my current pair wears out.

This is a very nice down parka at it's current price at Backcountry ($235) and with discounts that bring it close to $200. At this price point it blows the competition away. Depending on your planned use, you may wish to consider the Absolute Zero Parka in the MHW line (but at seriously more change) for a more hardcore piece of mountaineering equipment and a more technical jacket in critical applications. The Sub Zero SL Down Parka compares with products like TNF McMurdo, Baxter State Parka, Cabella's Etc. and is a better piece of equipment. You get more down fill (650 vs 550), a warmer jacket, equal or better construction quality and features.

To address some of the shortcomings in this parka previously mentioned:
The zipper is a good quality YKK that allows bidirectional unzipping. This is a feature with similar zippers in all the jackets I looked at in this price range. A single zipper like the Absolute Zero is much easier to start and use with gloved hands but does not allow you to unzip the bottom to squat, sit or get into pants pockets. A fixed hood like the Absolute Zero offers no drafts or removability. Almost all jackets in this price range offer a removable hood. Although I would prefer a zipped hood with a velcro or snap storm flap covering the transition, this current hood has worked well for me and not detached or allowed drafts in 30 MPH winds. The pocket zippers are taped and work fairly well without material getting caught so far. My TNF Nuptske is really bad in this department.

This jacket's strengths:

Good Packability
Light Weight
Good Wind Protection
Good Down Fill Weight (650)
Toasty Warm even with no exertion in subzero temps with winds (tested so far to -5F with windchill -17
Ample Pockets, Tech Spec's are incorrect this jacket has 4 Front (2 Napoleon and 2 Hand warmer) and 2 Interior pockets ( one a mesh water bottle)
pocket)
Good Hood adjustment
2 draw strings-one at bottom and a higher 3/4 cord in waist

Cons:
Hood Snaps instead of zipper/ secured flap

Very well made and constructed boot with lots of good features including Goretex waterproofing, breathes well, Vibram sole has a good tread pattern and good looks. Unfortunately the top of the tongue is a killer. It is very stiff and resulted in a pressure sore on my wife's anterior lower tibial region despite good thick hiking socks. This was during the break in period after only short use (about 1-2 mile walk). Item returned.