I love this jacket. It is made of 300 wt. bipolar fleece and is the warmest fleece i've ever seen. it is almost as warm as my down jacket. It is light, has good venting and looks great. When you want a warm, comftorable jacket, you can't beat the polar sun.
It has kept me warm ice climbing in N.H. from Nov. to Feb. and insulates when wet (i even wore it sailing off the cape in late feb last year) Awesome jacket.

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This jacket is really warm, especially for a fleece one. Polartec 300 BiPolar ia awesome and the workmanship is decent too.

It wicks very well during high-exertion activities, allowing you to stay drier.

Do note that you must wear some sort of shell with this jacket, it lets in winds like a straw basket, since it was designed to breathe and retain warmth and not as a wind or water barrier.

A great jacket, make sure you get it on sale, because it is a rip-off like all TNF products.

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No problems yet!

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Louis Garneau (not so impressive) and other junk.

I have the 99 version of this jacket with the logo on the bottom left handwarmer pocket.Iv'e had it for about a year now if you don't count the 3 weeks it was left outside in the woods(dont ask)where, i might add, it remained fairly intact with the exception of one of the wrist snaps that rusted shut. Other than that it has served me fairly well, especially at my job as a valet where im outside most of the time. Coupled with my Mountain Light jacket its pretty warm down to +20 degree weather. If its any colder than that i ussually zip in my Nuptse.Make sure you buy this jacket with the intention of using it as intended. It is by no means windproof, but when used in tandem with a shell its very effective. Unless its raining or extremely windy i ussually wear this jacket as an outer layer when im backpacking because the core vents do a great job of airing you out when you're constantly moving and generating heat.
This is a great insulating fleece but be sure not to mistake it for something that will take the bite out of the wind. It won't,and it shouldn't because thats not what it was designed for.

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None so far, but iv'e heard good things.

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Marmot Yellowstone,MTN Hardwear Chill Factor

I spend alot of time hiking outdoors doing landscape & scenic photography and expect alot from my gear. The new version Polar Sun has earned its keep in less than hospitable environments. Good fit, durable, extremely warm yet front zips vent out excess moisture, DWR finish fends off light rain or snow and easily layers under TNF shells. Purchased at TNF Outlet store for most bang for the buck.

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No problems to date.

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TNF St.Elias, Patagonia

Older style like the denali(which I also own). Conforms well to the body, but wothout constraint. Fits well under shells. ( I have little understanding of those reviewers who complain about wind resistance-this type of jacket is designed for insulation and breathability-not wind protection-that what a shell is for-or buy a coat with a membrane such a gore windstopper-personnaly I cant stand the stiffness and lack of 'cozy' factor of the gore stuff-which is not to say it doesnt have its place-but compare apples with apples please!) This is a great jacket-bipolar fleece, good fit, not constraining, this is the coat is use for backpacking, climbing, and took it to Nepal as well-most bang for the wieght and compresability. Nice high collar, nice wrist cuffs and waist drawstring, good abrasion resistance for pack straps - would rplace it with the older version in a minute- far superior to my denali (which is relegated to my car trunk now should i need a coat in an unforeseen circumstance)

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North Face-they have gone for the bigger outdoor rec market-kinda like a pseudo tech GAP-not a mountaineers store any more-staff are what youd find at most clothing retailers-not a rock shop-my opinion has cahnaged almost as quickly as thier styles and redesings-but there was a time when they were IMHO pretty darn good design, and better than most (but not as good as they can be-just look at Marmot and Mountain Hardware). At TNF you pay retail for the equivalent of two items at the time of purchase-but they honor the warranty-no nonsense- I have some old Holubar things which have deteriorated or failed and they honr the replacement (TNF bought Holubar-a Colorado mountaineering manufacturer long long ago). NOrht Face has replaced back packs which have failed, and generally has made me a hppy confident little consumer-you pay the price for the service. I use my gear with confidence and abandone knowing they stand behind the gear. I buy almost exclusively on sale at the Denver store (usually 50% off or more) and the prices are great making the stuff and extraordinary value.

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Bags-sun spot (gore dry loft 15deg wow)
foxfire (micro taffeta-5deg-)
Mountain guide and pants (gore shell)
shirts, pants and shorts
day packs
fleeces denali, and a denali convertable mode they sold one year for skiing-changes to a vest, very warm and has knit cuffs and lots o pockets)
Tents Mountain 24 and lunar light

I also have the older version of the Polar Sun jacket. This is absolutely the best fleece jacket I've ever tried. I'm on Ski Patrol and have used this for 2 seasons without any part of it showing wear, elastic included. It's quite warm and roomy, and the pit zips are large enough to make a difference. I've found that with proper layering it will keep me warm, even in fairly windy conditions. On occasions I've worn a shell over it; but have been caught in heavy snow, and still stayed warm and dry on the inside. The large chest pockets are great, and one of my favorite things: when the pocket are zipped up, the zippers are 'up'.

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This coat, they very warm for wearing around town, is greatly overdone for any serious outdoors. The features like the reinforcements and the large zippered chest pockets make me think that it is designed as outwear, but is has no wear near enough wind resistance for that.

On the other hand, it is very, very warm, and I like the pitzips, even though they are hard to close once opened, and the brushed polyester lining in the handwarmers pockets are nice.

Great BiPolar fleece although VERY expensive if bought at full retail (about $175). I have the "classic" older style which is more similar in style to the Denali. The pit zips and multiple pockets are nice (i believe that the older style which has been brought back has more pockets than the new Polar Sun). I especially like the 2 pockets on the chest which can be opened by individual zippers from the outside. Anyways, this Polar fleece is VERY comfortable and is perfect for weather which doesnt get too windy and which isnt too much below freezing.

I have the "discontinued" style of the Polar Sun Jacket. It allows you to lift your arms above your head without pulling the whole jacket with them. Great freedom of movement. The pit zips are nice, but I can only imagine the core venting does wonders for venting the whole upper torso. The only negative I can think about it is if it gets soaked, say from rafting, it takes a while for the cord around the cuffs and waist to dry. The bi-polar fleece helps reduce the amount of wind that gets through compared to my REI polartec 300 shearling jacket. Highly recommended if you are an occasional to moderately serious hiker/climber/whatever.

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REI Polartec 300 Sheraling Jacket

I found this fleece at DP Sports on the web, for a verry cheap price 90$ If I compare with the 4 years old denaly that I have, it is at least 2 times warmer if not more, but the medium size now is not the same as it was then.

The sleeves are a good 2 inches longer so it as the tendensy to clogh at the sholders and the vest size is bigger so be carefull when ordering without a tri-out in a store before.

I havent tried the ventilation system, that have mooved from the underharms to the front panels but it more confortable under another jacket like the summit.