CUTE BUT AVERAGE IN WARMTH

By Warm in SF Ranked #63 - Women's Down Jackets February 1, 2008

Stylish and lightweight jacket for city use. I bought it in the Gold color, it looks great for evening and daytime. But this is NOT a technical jacket.

I love this jacket for SF, it's perfect for temp down to 47F and I wear it everyday to work. But when I wear it in colder climates (Wyoming or Washington or NYC), I have to wear another layer or two underneath (ideally windproof fleece or down vest).

The main reason is that this jacket's material is NOT windproof, so the cold air does pass through the down even though it's 600 fill power. Also, there is no inside cuff around the sleeves, so cold air does come up the arms.

Also, the outside fabric while water resistant, is NOT waterproof, so the down inside can get wet through the seems if you wear it in heavy rain.

As for sizing/fit, I'm 5'8" and a size 4-6 and bought both Small and Medium to try, and ended up keeping the Medium. While the small fits well around the body, the sleeves were a tad short and it doesn't leave a lot of room for extra layers underneath. The Medium is a little puffier around the body but much more practical when I wear a layer of fleece underneath.

I was surprised that this jacket was not warmer due to the 600 fill power as I have a Mountain Hardware hip length parka with 600 fill power that is much warmer, but the MH one is waterproof and made with technical fabric while this Northface parka is really more a fashion item. But that said, I love the color of this jacket, it's light and it looks great around town, I get lots of compliments when I wear it.

View Details: The North Face Metropolis Parka - Women's

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