The North Face Summit Breithorn Hoodie Review

The Summit Breithorn Hoodie is one of the warmest and most comfortable jackets we tested. This thick puffy jacket has excellent pockets and comfort features, is very weather-resistant, and is a consistent favorite among all of our testers. I find the newest version of the Breithorn, which has shoulder baffles that run front to back, feels exactly like the older versions — that is, astoundingly comfortable and warm. It's made of 15D 100% recycled nylon ripstop fabric with a DWR finish and RDS (Responsible Down Standard) certified 800-fill hydrophobic ProDown insulation.

Warmth

The Summit Breithorn Hoodie is an extremely warm jacket. This is one of the puffiest jackets I tested. It's stuffed with high-quality 800-fill ProDown that retains its loft and seals in your body's heat.

It has wider-than-average baffles, which allow for more down loft and fewer spots for cold air to seep in. It also has more down than most jackets. While this means it isn't the lightest jacket, it does make it one of the warmest.

The torso is also longer than average to provide more coverage over your waist. This keeps me warmer when I raise my arms or move around. It has a small drop hem that provides even more coverage on your backside, too. There is a single toggle to tighten the waist hem and seal in heat. I have no issues adjusting the waist toggle with gloves on, either.

The helmet-compatible hood is large enough to layer a beanie or two underneath — or a helmet and a beanie. It's also very adjustable, with a single toggle that wraps around the front of the hood and around to the back of your head. So even if you're only wearing a thin hat, you can securely lock the hood in place. The stretch-knit cuffs, which I'll discuss more below, are tight enough to trap heat in the sleeves as well.

Comfort

The Summit Breithorn Hoodie has an extremely soft, cloud-like feel. The fit of the men's version of this jacket works well for everyone I've had test it. This was a consistent favorite right off the bat due to its high level of comfort.

The lining feels more comfortable than most jackets I've worn. It's incredibly soft and doesn't have the slippery feel I've come to expect from lightweight outdoor gear. This jacket feels comfortable, like a cozy sweater but much warmer.

The Summit Breithorn Hoodie features a relatively slim, alpine cut, but it's not nearly as tight fitting as some other jackets. I've asked several other male testers to use this jacket for extended test periods, and they all found this jacket fit them really well — not too tight but not too loose, either.

The sleeves don't restrict your range of motion, so you can climb, bike, ski, or sled in this jacket without issue. The wrist cuffs are a soft knit stretch material that easily fits under gloves and feels good against your bare skin.

This jacket has five pockets, and the two zippered hand warmer pockets are in just the right place. These pockets are also big enough that you can get into them when wearing a climbing harness. Along with a zippered chest pocket, it also has two internal pockets drop-in pockets.

Portability

The Summit Breithorn Hoodie, at 15.2 ounces in a men's size small, is on the heavier side. It packs into its own pocket, so it's relatively portable in that regard, but this isn't the ideal candidate for ultralight endeavors.

Even though this jacket is heavier than most, I don't think it feels heavy when wearing it. As long as you're wearing the Breithorn, it won't feel like it's weighing you down. But the fact is, some jackets weigh nearly half as much as this one. I think the extra weight is worth it for an extremely warm and comfortable jacket, but not for every application.

It compresses into its own hand pocket, but all that down is a bit of a challenge to stuff into this integrated stuff sack. When you do get it stuffed away, it's still pretty large. I find it easier to stuff it into the internal drop-in pocket, but then it's even larger when packed.

Weather Resistance

The Breithorn is one of the most weather-resistant of the models we tested. It's stuffed with a lot of 800-fill ProDown with a hydrophobic treatment, and the DWR coating on the ripstop nylon shell works well to repel light rain, wind, snow, and other wintery weather.

Its thicker baffles help stop the wind from cutting through the jacket. And these thicker baffles also mean fewer stitches overall, which helps with water-repellency.

This model performed very well in our spray and rub test, keeping the water on the outside of the fabric longer than most other jackets. If the water does penetrate the DWR coating, the hydrophobic down takes longer to wet out and stop insulating you.

In the wind resistance test, this was one of the most wind-resistant jackets as well. The thick baffles stuffed with a lot of down create a large barrier between you and the biting wind. I couldn't feel strong winds when testing it in the field on a windy ridge, either.

The hood design works well to seal out the weather. It tightens easily around your face and around to the back of your head so the wind won't rip it off. It's large enough to wear over a beanie or helmet and can tighten down to most head sizes.

Breathability

The Breithorn provides a lot of warmth, so it isn't as breathable as some of the thinner models. It has no ventilation features other than the front zipper, either.

As a thicker model, there is more material that your body heat has to fight through in order to escape. The Breithorn is one of the warmest, most weather-resistant jackets, so it isn't as breathable as the thinner, less warm models.

It has a full-length zipper that you can vent the jacket with, but you can only unzip it from the top. The sleeves push up easily, and the stretch knit cuffs stretch better than most models.

Besides these mechanical ventilation features, this jacket doesn't have much for breathability. I found I often need to take it off when hiking uphill once the terrain got even marginally steep, except for on extremely cold days.

Should You Buy the The North Face Summit Breithorn Hoodie?

The Summit Breithorn Hoodie is an extremely warm, comfortable, and weather-resistant model. It is highly versatile and will perform well in the mountains and looks stylish enough for around-town use. This is a great choice for anyone looking for a warm and good-looking down jacket that doesn't need an ultralight, very packable jacket.

What Other Down Jackets Should You Consider?

If you're looking for a more portable jacket for ultralight adventures, I recommend the Mountain Hardwear Ghost Whisperer. If you want a jacket that's about as comfortable and costs less, check out the REI Co-op Magma 850 Hoodie. If you're looking for the most weather-resistant jacket, check out the Rab Electron Pro.