User Review: The North Face Flash Jacket

The North Face Flash Jacket
Above: The current Flash Jacket, which may differ slightly from the version reviewed.

Reviewed February 13, 2007 by Mel

Rating:
Fabric: nylon
Fill: down
Price Paid: $150

I was expecting a lot from the brand and from the fill rating that they gave the jacket. The label is correct, the jacket itself is very light and packable. What they didn't mention was that the reduction in weight made the outer nylon layer of the jacket extremely prone to tearing. Even when the jacket was not torn, the quills of the down feathers were constantly leaking out, and I left a trail of wonderfully warm down feathers wherever I went.

It was good and light, but not dense enough to repel wind chill and not hardy enough for taking on long excursions. It's a nice addition to going under a shell layer if you're actually going for any kind of outdoor excursion, but alone it wasn't worth the money. I ended up returning it after about two weeks of use.