Very Good but not exactly perfect

By Rocky Mountain Goat Ranked #1672 - Men's Ski Jackets March 25, 2008

Ok...I purchased the large Free Thinker Jacket. It is the 07-08 model that comes with the Gore-Tex Pro material. I typically wear 42-44. I started the season with the Arc'Teryx Seeker Comp but when the weather started to turn colder and meaner, I started using the Free Thinker exclusively. The activities ranged between snowboarding, ice fishing, winter hiking and general all purpose alpine winter activities in and around the Rockies and Continental Divide.

Construction: Unlike some of the cheaper, "consumer" rate TNF jackets, this jacket is very well constructed. I would say on par with Arc'Teryx, Cloudveil, Mountain Hardwear and ect. The seams are superbly sealed and the zipper material is top notch. The Gore-Tex Pro material is tough...I mean tough. You will have absolutely no issues with piling...this material in fact feels slick, almost like its plastic. You truly feel like you could weather a real bomb of a storm and laugh at water and wind. The jacket feels that solid. HOWEVER, it feels pretty stiff, especially in the armpit and hood areas. This NOT your supple, softer softshell material...this is your true hard shell material that gives the middle finger to the elements. If you are looking for a more supple jacket, consider the Gore-Tex Pro softshell rather than the Enduro material. I got my wife the Cloudveil RPK Gore-Tex Softshell jacket (its still a three layer material) and she loves it. The Gore-Tex Pro Enduro is definitely lighter in weight though, even if it feels more stiff. NOTE...there is no insulation. If you want to use this jacket in colder weather, you have layer but once you do, it feels like you could sit in the artic and enoy what seems to be balmy weather. The jacket is light enough, breaths well and has pit zips so that you can use this in warmer weather under storm/heavy rain conditions and not feel like you will over heat.

Pockets, bells and whistles: The pockets on the outside are well constructed. The two large side pockets are deep and can hold a ton of stuff or larger items if you want to get bulky (I prefer a slim profile pack back). There is a medium sized chest pocket on the left hand side. I found it perfect to fit in a trail map, cell phone or wallet when you want easy access. There is also a smaller pocket on the upper arm which can also fit a cell phone, money clip, trail map or smaller items like lip balm. Then finally there is an almost useless pocket on the lower arm with a clipp on cloth. I actually found the cloth handy to wipe my goggles and thus avoid scratching the lenses. But this pocket is very small. Furthermore, the cloth is attached to a clip which is leashed inside the pocket so it is a pain in the ass to detach and attach the clip since you have to do it one hand as the pocket is on the lower arm. Furthermore, the clip is small and difficult to manipulate. Frankly, I would like to see then use a clip that is more easier to manage and that uses a leash that is expandable so that you don't necessary have to unclip the cloth. Also, I wish they had made the clip in a way you could easily replace the cloth or just attach another item. The Cloudveil RPK has a better clip and retractable leash. I love retractable leashes on my gear...being a fly fisherman, I grew to love attaching various smaller items that get lost but you use often to retractable leashes. There are only two pockets in the inside. There is soft mesh pocket for goggles and a smaller MP3 player pocket. Both are mistakes I think...and quite useless. I don't know anyone who actually stores their goggles inside their jacket. Also, the soft mesh material is fragile...I've already torn mine when I stored my sunglasses and the hinge caught on the material and ripped it. I hate MP3 pockets...just give me a real pocket and I'll decide to store what I want in there. Frankly, I was suprised that a jacket which I see as fairly technical have a stupid comsumer gimmick like an MP3 pocket. It is so damn small you really can't put anything else in there but a lousy ipod. Last gripe, I love and hate the zipper. The zippers themselves are superb and waterproof. However, the zipper tabs are really small making it very hard to manipulate them with gloves or mittins on. My prior TNF Guide Jacket had some very strong, grippy rubber materials attached to the zipper tabs and made it easy to manipulate. The poweder skirt is nice and tight and I did not have problems with it riding up. There are also tons of straps to tighten and adjust the fit to make sure you are sealed to the wind and water. The pit zips are well constructed and use the same waterproof zipper. SOme of the cheaper jackets I have seen don't use waterproof zippers on the pit zips and pockets but this jacket has the same premium zippers in all areas. ver all no real deal breakers...just some annoyimg quirks which I think TNF can address in the next generation.

Fit and Feel: This doesn't have the tight, athelitic fit/cut that an Arc'Teryx jacket usually does. It feel roomy in the chest and the sleeves feel nice... I think it fits true to size. The length is perfect. It comes just below the top of my ass...some of the Arc'Teryx and Mountain Hardware jackets feel a litte short (maybe due to their climbing heritage). The helmet works well and is quite useful but it probably won't fit over a ski or climbing helmet. One issue that bothers me is the arm-pits. The arm fits feel tight...don't get me wrong, are movement is superb without feeling restricted or bunched. I think its the waterproof zippers that are used in the pit zips. The zippers feel stiff because of the waterproof construction (i.e. the front and back backing along the teeth of the zippers) so I think it irritates my underarms a bit. I only notice this when I am not layering with a mid layer so I assume its not really a matter of not having enough room but just that the zippers are kind of stiff.

Performance: Fantastic. I boarded in some seriously crappy weather and ice fished and hiked in some serious wind. This thing will keep you bone dry and the wind will NOT get through. The Free Thinker very solid construction prevents the wind and water from getting in through the seams, the waiste and the neck/hood area. Its like you are wearing high grade ballastic armor and the weather is shooting you with a BB gun...you will laugh at the weather. Water beads immediately and just rips off. Its like you're wearing some sort of titanium shell...just one that breaths. Yes...this thing breaths well. I wore it while hiking with just a light base layer and t-shirt and it got kind of warm but I didn't feel clammy. Also, this is a very light jacket. I used to have an old TNF guide jacket that thing feels like it has bricks in the pockets compared to this.

Conclusion: Great over jacket that is tough, freaking-a-weatherproof, looks great and has some nice bells and whistles. The material is fantastic and the construction is top notch. There are some quirks that annoy me those do not detract significantly, making this one hell of jacket that I will be my main hardshell for years to come.

View Details: The North Face Free Thinker Jacket - Men's

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