By: Levi Opsatnic
It wasn’t long ago that The North Face relaunched their Summit Series line. In doing so, The North Face was able to remove the unnecessary and leave you with a line of outerwear that provides only what is needed to tackle the task at hand, even whenever that task consists of treacherous conditions in a dangerous environment. Not only did The North Face revamp this entire line, but they also streamlined their layering process and made it as easy as 1-2-3.
Usually, we discuss a range of five different products on Friday, however, today, we’ll expand that list a bit and review each of the products found in the new Summit Series line. Being that the men’s and women’s products don’t vary much from one another, I’m just going to review them without any sort differentiation between gender. Though, if any questions arise, feel free to leave them in the comments below and we’ll be sure to help you out.
With their Summit L1 Top and Pant, The North Face was able to provide you an awesome set of base-layers for those frigid excursions. Sporting only eight seams between both of these garments (6 in the top and 2 in the bottoms), this layering system frees you from any sort of annoying irritation, while pulling moisture away from your body to leave you nice and comfy from the day’s beginning to its end.
Acting as a mid-layer that will function perfectly as a light jacket whenever conditions call for it, The North Face’s Summit L2 Jacket is a versatile coat that will accompany you nearly everywhere. Combining The North Face’s FuseForm technology with a hardface Polartec fleece makes this jacket comfortable and warm regardless of where you’re adventuring.
Just about everyone needs at least one down piece in their gear arsenal. Down is super warm, compressible, and can adapt to a range of temperatures with ease, which is exactly why The North Face added the Summit L3 Jacket into their mix of goodies. Working as one heck of a mid-layer whenever things are really ugly but also a toasty jacket on cold days, the Summit L3 Jacket will quickly reveal that it can fit into just about any time and place. Featuring an 800-fill goose down insulation with The North Face’s Fuseform technology gives this jacket a sense of durability in all of the right places while providing you a warm feel that will extend right to your core.
Sure, we all do love down, however, it does have the one drawback of being a very poor insulator when wet. For the times when your missions may butt heads with a torrential downpour or two, The North Face’s Summit L4 Jacket is just perfect. Made with a very well-thought-out baffling system and PrimaLoft’s ThermoBall insulation, this mid-layer works to keep you nice and warm, even after it’s soaked up more water than your Nalgene can hold. Throw it on in the chill of the morning and leave it on until you reach your summit, the L4 Jacket is a piece that you’ll always want with you.
5. Summit L5 Shell and Shell Pant
So we’ve looked at the pieces to wick your sweat and insulate your body’s heat, but now we’ll dive into the serious weather-protection. Designed with supreme durability and breathability and an urge to prevent wind and precipitation from seeping into your body, The North Face’s L5 Shell and Shell Pants are the icing on top of the layering cake. Made with all of the seam-sealed, articulated, and ventilated features that you need, the combination of the L5 Shell and Pants just can’t be stopped. Whether you’re skiing for hours on end or are making your way along a trail with puddles the size of a small pond, you can count on this wind and waterproof system to get the job done.
I’ll preface this one by saying that the Summit L6 Jacket is just downright burly. Designed as an outer-layer to keep you warm on those miserably frigid days, this jacket is really all of the jacket that you’ll ever need. Cranking the heat up to a nice and toasty temp all thanks to an 800-fill (RDS certified) down construction combined with a FuseForm fabric, the L6 Jacket will easily carry you from the toughest mountain expedition to a sip of coffee at your favorite diner on a snowy morning.