I bought my Kichatna in early 1996. Paid full price (like a fool) and have had relatively good luck with it. I spent 11 years in the US Army Special Forces and have experienced a diverse array of cold weather gear. I give the jacket an A, overall. I've worn it for 12 years and have literally beat the crap out of it. The zipper has finally failed so I'll either battle with TNF CS folks or buy something new.

Customer Service

to be determined...

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too many to mention

This jacket is a real bummer. I bought it in the late 90's I suppose. As others have mentioned, the waterproofing is HORRIBLE. You know those cool little beads you're supposed to see on your jacket gets wet, well forget about it, this jacket goes into instant soak through mode. Why do I always end up with crap gear thats supposed to be good? Theres also the issue of the velcro which I hope they have fixed by now. I mean theres velcro EVERYWHERE. Its constantly sticking to itself in the most annoying ways.Anyone who paid full price for this monstrosity has every right to be enraged. TNF is over rated garbage, Marmot is becoming garbage, everything these days seems to suck. The more it costs the crappier it is. Just a highly debatable opinion....

I have had thsi jacket for about a month no, it is such a pain the seam tape doesn't really protect me from the rain and it actually miraculously absorbs the rain instead of blocking it, the north face's customer service is a true pain because they actually repair it and send it back to you sometimes the same quality or even worse with a horrible finish that is why I have lost all faith in TNF quality so yea I will never ever consider buying any jacket from this crappy brand

Customer Service

Horrible the work that was finally completed ended up in a mess and the quality was actually worse than before

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Arcteryx Fission AR Jacket (MY MAIN JACKET THE BEST ARCTERYX
Columbia Ice Dragon parka (Good)
TNF: don't bother ever
marmot Oracle jacket - outstanding rain protection fairly good buy

Have had this jacket for well over 5 years and it is absolutely bombproof. Even after extensive, harsh use, it still looks brand new. No frays, no rips, no tears.. still waterproof, zipper works fine. Would not hesitate to spend this kind of money again for this jacket.

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Mountain Light, Patagonia, Arc Teryx

Overall, a great jacket. One of the most durable jackets you can get (Kevlar "implants" on the shoulders and lower forearms). Perfectly designed (D-rings on sleeves to clip your gloves, 2 large mesh inner pockets, big hood - you can wear helmet under it). I've used it for climbing and backpacking with no problems for over four years. Probably the best thing in my wardrobe.

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Mammut, Berghaus, Alpinus

First, The North Face is not all it's cracked up to be. The company no longer makes quality equipment, they are just a trendy label. I own the older version of the kitchatna, and the first time I wore it in steady rain it wetted through, not an admirable quality for a $400 jacket meant for expeditions. The positioning of the small arm pocket is terrible, rendering it useless. With no heavy use, the fabric became frayed and fuzzy anywhere there was a grommet or zipper. The cuffs became worn and frayed after a couple of months. However the hood is quite good. I would definately not suggest this jacket to anyone with the dough. Don't spend close to $500 on The North Face, buy Arc'Teryx instead.

Customer Service

no experience with the goons at TNF.

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Marmot Alpinist climbing jacket(which is better than TNF, but still not perfect), REI (POS)

This jacket is absolutely bomb proof, spent a week on Mt. Baker in pouring rain and was dry as a bone the whole time. The core vents have an internal mesh lining so they can double as a pocket for a water bottle or snack. No hand pockets, but if you get this jacket you're probably going to end up someplace cold, so you will be wearing gloves anyway. Left forearm pocket is virtually impossible to get open and closed without taking off one of you gloves, the only thing I really could put in their was a couple of packets of goo.

Customer Service

I've never had to deal with them.

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TNF mountain light jacket

I got my jacket a year a go and had nothing but problems with it . Three months after I had it the waterproof zipper came a part and the north face repaired it and 7 months later now the seam tape on the zipper that they repaired is comeing off so I get to send it in again .The chest zips have mesh on them so you have to undo the jacket to undo the chest & pit zips on your fleece. For a extreme weather and alpine jacket it is a wast of money it is poorly made for the price. I don't use it as much as I used to because I bon' t trust it and trust in gear is every thing. I use my mountian hard wear exposure parka that is bomb proof constiering it is cheaper than the north face jacket.

Customer Service

not so good it takes them for ever to repair any thing . it took 6 to 8 weeks to repair my zipper and thay did a poor job of it. But the store I but it from was most helpful .

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MHW exposure 2 parka MHW FTX parka MHW ascent parka

None

I have the 2002 model Kichatna jacket after finding a real good deal on it. I sold my old 2000 model Kichatna after recieving the 2002 model assuming nothing much has changed. The 2000 model was much more versatile up to the durability issue since it had shoulder and elbow guards made of stitched cordura. I have never found the use of the cordura pads but its nice to know that it''s there if you ever tumble down a hill (knock on wood). The 2001 model also had this. The 2002 model totally abandoned the padding and changed many features. The vents now had a mesh lining to keep out snow (?) and they actually work! The 2000 model vents always remained closed on mine because I never felt a difference. The DWR finish from the 2000 model was absolutely terrible for a jacket that retails for $435.00. The 2002 improved a bit with Gore tex XCR but it is still not up to par. There are some features I do enjoy, like the drawstring pull cord located in the front two pockets which really does a good job of making a better fit to your body. The weight is amazing even with a powder skirt. I haven''t ripped any part of the jacket yet, but please be aware that the powder skirt connection seems a bit weak. If you look at the lining you''ll notice a portion that is suppose to bend and flex was simply cut to make that versitily. Hopefully nothing ever snags onto the snowskirt. I had a problem making the hood conforming to the side of my face to fully seal out all the elements when taking a ski lift up, but this could be the shape of my face. When snow did enter it dried up fairly quick, but was really uncomfortable to touch with your hand or any part of your skin that was exposed since it does not absorb moisture well (which is good). I do not know what "Summit Series" means except that it''s sexy to look at.

Customer Service

The North Face in San Francisco was fairly helpful in helping me decide on the 2000 Kichatna after comparing them with Patagonia''s Ice Nine. The one thing I didn''t like was the warranty service. I w

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Patagonia Flexi Flyer, North Face Devil''s Thumb, bunch of Nike ACG storm fit jackets

A great jacket with loads of features. Used it for climbing, backpacking and ski-ing and it has always kept me very dry. Pit zips a bit fiddly in cold weather when hands are gloved up, but generally very user friendly.

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