It is very rugged and reliable. I have used it in all conditions and I have been pleased. Pit zips are annoying to use though.

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A great shell jacket. I really like TNF's warranty policy. I haven't had to use it, but have heard they are great. The Mtn Light is very comfortable in a summer rain or a winter storm. It is light, packable, and easily adjusted to get the perfect fit. I have never had a problem with waterproofness like with some other brands I have used. The pit zips are perfect, I wish they were still available. I can get a lot better ventilation from them than from the core vents. It packs into its pocket, but I haven't needed to do this.

Once, while biking, I went over the bars and caught a branch with the velcro tab on the cuff. the brach hooked in pretty tight and actually held me up by the cuff- all 165 lbs of weight without a single stitch coming loose. Talk about well made!

Customer Service

They gave me advice on getting black grease off the jacket and were very helpful.

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TNF Mountain light jacket is certainly on point. I have had mine for 3 years now and it has accompanied me everywhere from the 5,344 foot high peak of the Adirondack's Mt. Marcy, to the monsoon laden wasteland of Australia's Northern Territory and Queensland, to the Plant choked tropical rain forests of Thailand's Golden Triangle in Chiang Mai. When you finally ditch the peanut butter and decide to jam-this jacket comes correct. Coupled with TNF Denali fleece vest, the Mountain light kept me alive when my lean-to got hit with an isolated snow storm during a T&M Clan TOP SECRET reconnaissance mission on (ironically enough) the northface of skylight mountain (ambient air temperature -20f). I have read the disparaging claims of others concerning this jacket, and one man in particular who allegedly purchased 6 NF jackets and experienced abject disappointment with all of them. Higher mammals learn through experience-or so I have been told...too bad I've been living a lie. For those of you who are goal oriented,motivated, and intense and love to bring the hardcore..GET THIS JACKET. One last point worth mentioning...my esteemed associate T (of T&M FAME) was also wearing TNF mountain light jacket when we were virtually buried alive on that fateful morning last April.

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An important key in mountaineering: stick to what you know. TNF has been a sponsor of T&M Clan since 1997. Other sponsors include Dana Design (our exclusive packs-Glacier), and Vasque...thanks for the gore-tex sundowners fellas, they really came through for us.

Cheers, T&M

Bought this jacket almost 5 years ago and still use it for backpacking and hiking. After four days of rain on a Vermont trip, I got my money's worth. Definitely kept me dry and ventilated (used the armpit vents extensively when weather warmed - you can slip your arms through the vents and effectively have a vest). It is light and has no real lining, so it packs well and cooperates nicely when layered with a sweater or fleece. The hood tabs that pull the sides beack (near the eyes) give you a good peripheral view that most other hoods don't. Basically, until a jacket goes through a extremes (heavy rains, snow, etc), it's hard to determine if it's worth the money. I think this one passed.

I also recently bought the Mountain Jacket, the one with a shorter waist cut, but I will probably use this more for skiing and casual wear, because it is more bulky and heavier (harder to pack), with a very thin fleece liner (too warm for backpacking).

So for hiking/backpacking, I'd recommend the Mountain Jacket Light, it has a lot of flexibility and functionality.

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I have owned this shell for two years now, and I love it. I have worn it in many North Carolina summer and winter downpours, and it has never leaked. I spent a month in Wyoming's Wind River Mountains last summer, and it survived the daily afternoon showers, and the swarms of skeeters. I like the high pockets, because they let you get to them with a backpack on.

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Moonstone jackets, REI shell pants,

it is the jacket that you wanna get. it has all the things you need, although the zipper gets in the way, but anyhow the jacket is a great one

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I got my Mtn. Light in 1997, before the company took a nose dive. Mine actually has metal snaps and decent stitching which is nice.
If something were to happen to it, however, I wouldn't dare return it to TNF - I'd be running the risk of having them send me one of the new ones - pieces of junk. Plastic hardwear, less velcro, cheap stitching.
North Face was once the king of the outdoor gear industry, but in their quest for profit, countless smaller companies have blown them away in terms of quality and features. I liked the comment comparing Nike and TNF - both sweatshop jobs which pretend to be making gear for serious athletes when they are instead making junk for people who buy it for the brand name. (though granted, many high end outdoor wear companies use sweatshop labor) They've got North Face ads on the sides of MetroBuses in Washington DC!!!

I too have issues with the outer zipper getting caught on the inner zipper (the one designed for zipping in a fleece). I don't understand why they are pointed in the same direction as the outer ones. There is also a flap at the top of the zipper which the slider gets caught on pretty much every time.
More reinforcement for the butt would have been nice, but I suppose it would add weight (it's an unpleasant sensation when you've been resting on your knees while wearing crampons and you try to stand up only to realize that the rear spikes of your crampons have firm purchase in your expensive jacket.)

As to some other comments folks have made:
The zippers are high up so you can wear a climbing harness and not have it run over the pockets
There are so few pockets because it's meant to be light weight. Thus the name 'Mountain light'

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Awsome shell. I love the no worry waterproof shell. I have worn this in a all kind of rainy situations with no problems. I do wish the pockets where a little easyer to access. They seem to be a little high. on the chest.

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Great jacket, light weight, waterproof (went hiking in NH during hurricane Floyd - no worries).

I wish it had more pockets in accessible locations (Napolean pocket, maybe).

Great for layering, or as a windbreaker.

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Columbia Double Whammy (for sale, BTW).

The Mt. Light was my very first North Face Jacket at 16 I'm 19 now and own 8 North Face Jackets and two are Mt. Lights. What a jacket, classic. The two high pockets are for climbers, everyone complains about them, but I think that there very useful, and the stow pocket does work, I've stow mine countless times, the best stuff to get is North Face everyone knows it, All my equipment is North Face, and I won't buy any other brand!!!!!!!!