Ok, I have had this Nuptse for about 8 years now. Recently my wife made a purchase for a Mountain Hardwear Sub-Zero Jacket. A direct comparison is in order. The Nuptse has a 700 weight fill, which is a little bit more than the 650 fill MHW jacket. Double reinforced shoulders allow the use of a pack without causing too much damage and reduces the possiblity of rips and losing down through the high abrasion regions in the shoulders. The nuptse is a very comfortable jacket that works wonders be it trekking or huddled up in a sleeping bag. Very warm! Overall, the Nuptse is my first choice for layering. My MHW is my first choice for wearing only by itself. I much like the North face nuptse for packing because it packs down into it's pocket whereas the mountain hardware has a separate stuff sack. Both are lightweight and I would have no problems taking either on any trek. Durability? I think i'll lean toward the MHW. Overall though, I have been happy with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone. Check the features of both and see which comes out on top. Too many people rely on brand names.

Customer Service

TNF, while their quality of their products has suffered in recent years, their customer service has not. I've been very happy with their service on the rare occasion when needed.

Similar Products Used:

MHW Sub-Zero

Yo this is an excellent jacket! Here in Finland the temperature gets sometimes below the human tolerance. I use my jacket in the "mountains", use it when walkin' to school, I'm using it everywhere (I wouldn't be suprised if some morning I woke up wearing my Nuptse, it's so cozy, warm and well-fitting). The only disadvantage in it is that it generates jealousy everywhere I go to. Everybody else is shivering of hypothermia and I keep on smiling and telling everybody what a nice weather it is today and I ought to open my zipper a bit to get rid of the extra heat...

Customer Service

No problems (at least so far)

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Mountain Hardwear SL hooded jacket Fjällraven

I purchased this jacket back in 1999 and soon afterwards the down started to come out. The hood is useless, and the shell material is not very sturdy. It failed to keep me warm when temps dived to -20F, but did nicely at 10F. My brother has an older Nuptse jacket with 550-600 fill down, dating back from the early 90's. I must say that the quality of that jacket far surpasses mine. The shell seems sturdier, no down has poked through, I take good care of my gear yet despite that this jacket fell to pieces. This is something I've noticed in that older North Face clothing that I own seems of better and sturdier quality than the stuff they put out now. I've relagated this jacket to casual wear around town, as I no longer trust this jacket to do its job. I paid 99 bucks for this, but in no way is this jacket worth 299.00 or anything more than $100.00.

Customer Service

I used to love North Face but this past year I've sort of decided to stay away from North Face gear--reasons being quality, and their sizing is messed up. Despite what I believe is a decline in manufacturing quality the one constant and saving grace for North Face is their customer service.

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standard down vest from Bradlees Mountain Hardwear Sub Zero SL (current)

Great jacket, a little small for me since I got it for free, but good for emergencies (I slept on my porch for 2 and a half hours with it when it was 5 degrees to test it out and the only problem was that my toes were a little cold. This is a very warm jacket.)

Customer Service

North Face is already really popular, but I thought they deserved another good review here because of their awesome service. I sent the jacket back because of a broken zipper and it was sent back clean, with a hole (not mentioned when I sent it back) sewn up, and a brand new zipper all for free. Another time I had a seizure while I was wearing a North Face backpack, and the straps were cut to get it off. I sent it to North Face and they replaced the pack even though I had explained the reason for the straps being cut. Its expensive, but they will make sure that your stuff lasts forever!

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Big wool sweater. A lot heavier but a lot cheaper and works when wet.

Great jacket, a little small for me since I got it for free, but good for emergencies (I slept on my porch for 2 and a half hours with it when it was 5 degrees to test it out and the only problem was that my toes were a little cold. This is a very warm jacket.)

Customer Service

North Face is already really popular, but I thought they deserved another good review here because of their awesome service. I sent the jacket back because of a broken zipper and it was sent back clean, with a hole (not mentioned when I sent it back) sewn up, and a brand new zipper all for free. Another time I had a seizure while I was wearing a North Face backpack, and the straps were cut to get it off. I sent it to North Face and they replaced the pack even though I had explained the reason for the straps being cut. Its expensive, but they will make sure that your stuff lasts forever!

Similar Products Used:

Big wool sweater. A lot heavier but a lot cheaper and works when wet.

Awesome insulative piece(for down). Superior as a pillow, packs pretty small, is windproof and you look like the michelin man! Downside is somewhat useless hood. Handy only so far for belaying someone while in a sand storm to keep it outta yer ears!

Customer Service

None personally, but I've seen them 'restuff' old nuptses and summit jackets since they actually warranty the 'loft' of the jacket. How awesome is that?!

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REI ?? and Feather Friends Helios

I'll tell you...for warmth and lightness you can not beat this jacket with a stick. I went from the low teens to mid-thirties (12 to 35 degrees) with complete comfort. For what I put the jacket through, I would say its a very durable piece of outerwear. Down jackets have sure come a long way since my last purchase.

Customer Service

The customer service at www.4beartooth.com was great!

Similar Products Used:

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I got a huge sale on this jacket...official MSRP is $199. To be honest, I don''t know if this is worth $200 to me, but it was certainly worth the $60 I paid for it. I have used this climbing in the Colorado Rockies this year including a winter ascent of a 13,000 ft. peak in windy near 0 F weather and ice climbing 2 weeks ago when the temperature was well below 0 F and this jacket kept me comfortable during long belays...so much so that i almost didn''t even mind the cold ;-) At any rate, I only use this jacket as a belay jacket or when I stop to eat and hydrate...it is a very warm jacket would casue me to sweat too much if I wore it while climbing or on the approach. My only wish is that it had an insulated hood. The thin nylon hood that comes with is useless and makes me question why it exists in the first place. Also, I wear this OVER all my layers when belaying or standing around in the cold adn although it fits well over my shell and other layers, count on mobility being slightly restricted as this jacket is very "puffy". This is another reason why I wouldn''t wear this jacket while doing any technical climbing unless i had to. Overall, I am very happy with this jacket and would recommend it to anyone, but not at the full retail price of $200.

Similar Products Used:

Marmot Parbat Parka, Patagonia Das Parka

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Guys, I just have one question? I have heard a lot of comments about the 97 model nuptse and I am disappointed. Not a one has been bad and your still giving it poor results????? I have the 97 and recently just got the 800 LTD and I am so impressed with it. Its still light but the material is super stronger than original it also has the Dupont radiant inner liner which keeps body heat retained and the zippers are a lot better. Please give these jackets the value the deserve!!!!!! I give both a aabsolute 5 without question. Especially there new one I would give a 6 too!

Customer Service

Have not found a need to talk with them.

Similar Products Used:

Talkeetna jacket, Mountain Light and Standard Mountain, 200 fleec TNF pant, Mid weight thermal underwear, 2-3 t shirts by them.

I own two tnf nuptse jackets and have found them to be worthy of the price. I have been a loyal tnf customer since 1969 and have used their products all over the world.I have too much of their equipment to begin to mention so I'll concentrate on this coat. I feel it has a proclivity for fabric catching zippers ,as do most tnf products. IT does seem to shed down via the seems ,but what does not? I have found it to be very good from the campfire to the exposed mountain slopein fall. Basically I can't really mention a serious fault with it. As to all those who continually complain about the popularity of tnf equipment as a fashion product I say "get over it"!!!If you lose yours on a trek into the bush it will be a campfire story. Others can only say"Some SOB stole my Mountain LITE off the bar stool while I was playing pool.

Customer Service

I have found their service tobe adequate in every respect.

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