User Review: The North Face Universal Infusion Jacket

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

Reviewed November 5, 2004 by Dan Chase

Rating:
Fabric: [body] 30Dx40D 3.6oz/yd2 Gore-Tex� XCR� 3-layer, [abrasion] 70Dx48D 5.2oz/yd2 nylon Gore-Tex� XCR� 3-layer
Price Paid: free - warranty replacement

I recieved a North Face Universal Infusion Jacket as a warranty replacement for a defective North Face Mountain Jacket (now discontinued). I must say I was pleasantly surprised to open my parcel shipped from TNF, only two weeks after I had shipped my old jacket for inspection. TNF offers amazing warranty coverage. It's just too bad for me that they shipped out a jacket without giving me a choice (since my old jacket was discontinued). I would have chosen another replacement jacket had I been given the choice. It's not that I wanted a better or more expensive jacket, I just needed a snowsport-type jacket with a snowskirt, since my Mountain Jacket did have this feature.

The Universal Infusion jacket is a well made three-ply Gore-Tex jacket and is extremely light. My older two-ply Mountain Jacket in its day in the late '90s was THE top of the line TNF Gore-Tex shell, with a price tag of over $650. I'll compare both of these jackets to give you a perspective on my experiences with TNF products.

The two-ply design on the Mountain Jacket was its weakness compared to today's lighter, less condensation prone three-ply designs; however, the other high-end features on the jacket were better than those on the Universal Infusion Jacket. The Mountain Jacket was however heavier, but it had very abrasion resistant fabric and loads of nice touches.

Another feature I miss is the snow skirt; there's none in the Universal Infusion Jacket. It just has a "partial" drawcord above the waist; the drawcord can only be cinched tight around the back while the abdomen area is left open for the cold to get in.

Another complaint I have with the Universal Infusion is the hood. TNF decided to redesign its mountain-proven hood design with a "drop down" hood, with a separate collar. The problem is the collar has no cinch cord, and there's no way to seal out any drafts at the collar, even with the hood on. It's hard to explain, but it sort of looks like a standard style non-technical inexpensive winter jacket with a big collar, and zip-on hood (except of course the Infusion's hood is fixed).

The older design was a combination hood/collar with a round cut out in the front for your face, complete with useful cinch straps. Another flaw with the hood is once "dropped down", there's no way to secure it down! It just flaps around on your shoulders (allowing it to collect snow and rain when not worn.) The older design would allow you to roll it down and fasten it with a small velcro patch. The highlight of the jacket is the Infusion technology, which is a sort of rubberized coating at specific abrasion points, making the jacket more durable.

Overall, the Universal Infusion Jacket is a well made (construction-wise) waterproof technical jacket, designed to be extremely light, not necessarily full-featured. It's more geared for backpacking/hiking type of activities where a waterproof/breathable shell needs to be very packable and light. The lack of a snowskirt makes it unfortunately for me, less than suitable for snowsports. It's just too bad TNF redesigned time-tested features such as the hood.

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