TNF commits fatal flaw, skimps on hardware

By frankw Ranked #346 - Women's Down Jackets November 30, 2007

My wife is happy with the Greenland Jacket. Note that I did not say "extremely" happy. The jacket meets her expectations except in one regard. The fatal flaw committed by TNF is that they use a stylish but very cheap buckle on the waist strap. The buckle has a shiny metal female portion and a horribly brittle, flimsy plastic male portion. TNF is, I am sure, using the metal buckle to impart style to the jacket, and I have to agree, the buckle looks attractive. However, they have purchased what has to be about the lowest quality buckle on the market. The plastic male portion broke after a few weeks. Now my wife wears the jacket without the waist strap and she is less happy with the jacket as a result. Like I say, the jacket otherwise meets her expectations. I have seen these metal/plastic buckles in use elsewhere as well. I had some REI brand luggage last year that used several of these very fashionable, crappy metal/plastic combo units and two of them snapped after the first airline flight. I returned the luggage and will steer clear of anything that uses these buckles in the future. Without a better buckle, and unless you intend to wear the Greenland Jacket without the waist strap, I would insist that TNF either supply a better buckle, supply an ample supply of spare plastic male parts for they will inevitably break, or steer clear of the Greenland parka. Without this flaw, I would seriously consider giving the jacket a 4 or 5 star rating.

View Details: The North Face Greenland Down Jacket - Women's

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