The North Face Varius Guide Jacket - Men's - 2009 BCS

The jacket arrived with a noticeable and large blemish on its black inner lining. It looked like they spilled some sort of liquid seam sealant during manufacturing and just left the excess stuff all over the inner lining. It did not affect its functionality, but does indicates a willingness on the part of North Face to allow this sort of flaw to pass through unflagged to consumers. Not a good sign. Now for the bad part: this jacket is cut way to tight for practical layering. I purchased it for my wife who normally takes a size small woman's. I got a size small man's, just to ensure extra layering room. However, even this extra precaution was insufficient The shell was way too tight. No room for layering at all. So, what do we have here? How about a nice fashion statement from North Face, but a rather less than useful shell in the real world of winter sports.

Good Jacket. I owned this jacket for a couple years after getting a super deal on it at REI. The hyVent fabric is decent. A little heavy and thick, but this jacket won't let wind through at all. Being at the top of a mountain in blowing snow, it held up great and was warm. The hood is decent although the quality is nothing like a more technical shell. The cinches were good but felt weak because of the heavy feel of the jacket. The HyVent won't keep out rain for very long, so this isn't a good summer/ shoulder season jacket. I'd recommend this for winter and for around town. It works great but once things get slushy or rainy, watch out. You'll eventually get wetted out. I've snowmobiled in this also and going 80 mph the wind couldn't make it through. Very warm, but only with some insulation underneath. I recommend a 200 weight fleece at least.

It's a decent jacket at the lower end of the spectrum. Will be reliable but doesn't stand up to OR, MH, Patagonia, or Marmot quality. HyVent is like the baby to Gore fabrics. I wouldn't recommend HyVent over any Gore, Cloudburst, eVent, etc. fabrics.

There wasn't anything necessarily wrong with the jacket, it just was not what I expected, especially for the price. The jacket did not fit well, pretty uncomfortable, the material did not seem to me to be of the highest quality (as I have come to expect from TNF), and it was over priced for what I got.

Love It! I have other jackets like this but the Varius is my steady. I have the zip in liner, too. I use it in three seasons. It has just the right amount of room to vent when it's not cold and layer up when it gets bitter. The grippy powder belt is a nice touch.

I just got the men's Various Guide jacket from backcountry.com and thus far I am very pleased. The Denali fleece zips into it very nicely and the material feels very rugged. I have not noticed any way to clip back the powder skirt (yes there is one) if it is not in use, and it is not functional if using a zip in fleece. The zippers are very well made, the hood is solid, although it may be a little tight when using a helmet. I give four stars for now because I have not tested the jacket over time but so far so good.