User Review: The North Face Nuptse Jacket

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

Rating: rated 2 of 5 stars
Fabric: Ripstop Nylon
Fill: 700 fill power goose down
Price Paid: $190

This used to be a good jacket... not any more. After researching I THOUGHT that this was one of the best jackets out there. They have changed things. Unfortunately, after ordering it, I found out that they have changed the quality of materials they use.

For instance, they now use cheap-ass black painted zippers instead of the smooth running zinc-plated zippers before. The zipper is wavy and gets caught on the surrounding fabric...clearly a low quality zipper. They also now use generic plastic snaps on the cuffs instead of their usual high quality metal logo snaps. The weight is also actually heavier than their specs...Plus they majorly underfill the channels with down. There is not enough down in it to loft up to any reasonable amount. Even though it's 700 fill power, that doesn't mean you can use significantly less down in the jacket thinking it will make up for itself.

Compared to a lesser priced competitors jacket I own, the Nuptse was very poor at lofting up even though its fill power was greater. I believe that The North Face figures it can get away with using cheaper materials because they know that many of their customers only care about a big fancy name brand.

Not all customers use them for style alone. In fact their whole spirit has emphasized exploring and extreme activities, and many people, like myself use their products for extended outdoor use, relying on good materials and workmanship. If those aren't there, why pay more? They may be trying to sell it at the same price, but in order to do that year after year they have to use less expensive materials. Or they could be just getting cheap on us and have decided to use crummier materials and still sell it at an exorbitant price so they can cash in.

Even so, this jacket does not meet even the most basic standards I have come to expect from TNF. I am very disappointed at their change for the worse. However, if you would still like to get this product, make sure you get an older model or one still containing high quality materials. It's not worth paying twice as much for something with less than great materials. Be a smart consumer, don't be fooled by a fancy label and a fancy price tag, those don't always mean a good product.

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Where to Buy

Buy Online We found the Nuptse Jacket at 11 online stores:

StoreProduct DescriptionPrice

Campmor
5 purchase options:
Children's Nuptse Jacket$79.00Buy Now
Women's Nuptse Down Jacket$139.97Buy Now
Men's Nuptse Jacket$159.99Buy Now
more Nuptse Jacket choices from Campmor

Backcountry.com
5 purchase options:
Nuptse Down Jacket - Boys'$124.95Buy Now
CLR Nuptse Down Jacket - Girls'$124.95Buy Now
Nuptse Down Jacket - Girls'$124.95Buy Now
more Nuptse Jacket choices from Backcountry.com

Oregon Mountain Community
2 purchase options:
Nuptse Jacket - Men's$148.95Buy Now
Nuptse Jacket - Women's$158.95Buy Now

Moosejaw
5 purchase options:
Boys Nuptse Jacket$125.00Buy Now
Girls Nuptse Jacket$125.00Buy Now
Men's Nuptse Jacket$149.99Buy Now
more Nuptse Jacket choices from Moosejaw

Altrec Outdoors
6 purchase options:
Boy's Nuptse Jacket$124.95Buy Now
Girl's CLR Nuptse Jacket$124.95Buy Now
Girl's Nuptse Jacket$124.95Buy Now
more Nuptse Jacket choices from Altrec Outdoors

REI
2 purchase options:
Nuptse Down Jacket - Women's$199.00Buy Now
Nuptse Down Jacket - Men's Extended Sizes$219.00Buy Now

Backcountry Outlet
CLR Nuptse Down Jacket - Girls'$74.97Buy Now

RockCreek
2 purchase options:
Nuptse Down Jacket (Men's)$198.95Buy Now
Nuptse Down Jacket (Women's)$198.95Buy Now

US Outdoor Store
4 purchase options:
Nuptse Jacket - Boy's$125.00Buy Now
Nuptse Jacket - Girl's$125.00Buy Now
Nuptse Jacket$199.00Buy Now
Nuptse Jacket$199.00Buy Now

Buy direct from The North Face
5 purchase options:
BOYS' NUPTSE® JACKET$125.00Buy Now
GIRLS' COLOR NUPTSE® JACKET$125.00Buy Now
GIRLS' NUPTSE® JACKET$125.00Buy Now
more Nuptse Jacket choices from The North Face

Vargo Outdoors
North Face Nuptse Jacket$199.00Buy Now

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