The North Face -Parka jackets; big bucks!! but are they worth it?

I first tried on The North Face Mcmurdo Parka jacket a few years ago whilst in one of the many outdoor shops near where I live. I really wanted something super warm, really well made and it had looked the part too! I was sold, I loved it. It fit nice and snug felt really comfy and no one can deny, they look great. OK I thought I’m going to have this! where’s the price tag? Craaaaaaaap!!! £275. Now I don’t mind paying a bit extra for Quality but I just couldn’t part with £275 for a jacket I will use 3 months of the year, so I walked out the store disappointed.

Every time I went into an outdoor shop I would go and have a look at The North Face parka jacket and ponder weather or not I should buy it, but I never did.

Instead I went through three of our harshest winters to date, with a sub standard hand me down coat, wrapping myself up in fleeces,  scarves, a wooly hat and a fur flying hat just to try and keep warm. Upon returning from work in the dark winter nights, I would dread taking the dog out when it was wet windy and below zero degrees.

This year was going to be different! No way I’m going to do that again, I have had my heart set on The North Face Mcmurdo for years and I decided to get one whatever the cost!

So rather than trudge around the shops, I went into online research mode. After a lot of searching I discovered these guys Simply Hike .

£50 cheaper than most places, plus I got a voucher giving another 10% off! Now I think there was one place that did it a bit cheaper but Simply Hike offered a 28 day no quibble returns and exchange policy free of charge. If you do a lot of internet shopping like I do that is GOLD!

So I entered my card details and 3 days later it arrived. Yay I’m so happy, sods law we are now experiencing the mildest winter for decades!

Anyway One of the things I noticed when researching The North Face jackets, was the distinct lack of honest REAL user reviews and opinions.

So I thought I would do a review myself and here it is.

Oh and please excuse my modeling! I’m not 20 anymore and probably just woke up. Well that’s my story and I’m sticking with it!

First off I am going to say this isn’t going to be a technical review of sizes materials used or anything like that.You can get all that at The North Face official website here . What I am gonna do is tell you in a bit more detail what I think of it.

OK just to give you an idea how big the jacket is I am 5’9″ medium to large build (read a bit overweight). The jacket is a male medium and in olive green. Now I’m a 43-44ich chest and thought I should go for a large but the medium is a perfect fit for me.

Here’s a front view unzipped. As you can see it’s a mid length jacket, my only negative here and the only negative overall  is I find it slightly hard to reach the zipper without having to curl over a bit. Nothing  major but worth telling you.

 

North Face

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

looking at it from behind not much to say looks OK. (notice Bailey getting in on the photo!)

 

 

 

Quick look with jacket held open. ( oh no I haven’t even removed the tag)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once the zip is up its very comfy and you can instantly tell how well padded it is. looks very smart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now with hands in lower pockets. The pockets are huge and very comfy for my arms when inserted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hands now in upper pockets, again good size pockets and still quite a comfortable position for my arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is with the zip all the way up. it covers your mouth and really keeps the wind out. I don’t even bother wearing a scarf now as its super warm like this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now with hood up, it is in full Artic mode now, no wind or cold gets in in fact you feel like you are in your own world like this as you know it’s freezing outside but you just cant feel it!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is how it looks from behind with the hood up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK hood now has the “fur” removed. very easy to do just heavy duty popper clips.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this is how it looks with no fur and the hood up. ( I much prefer keeping fur on I think it looks nicer that way)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hood up, no fur, zipped up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK so now I have removed the hood all together. Again super easy to do a few poppers and a zip. Removing the hood makes it look like a different jacket, nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the back without the hood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OK lets have a look at some of the details.

Here you can see The North Face logo on the left upper chest. can you see how well padded the collar is? lovely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A better look at the internal padding (super warm and comfy) you can also see the internal zip pocket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A nice elasticated net pocket on the bottom left (inside)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And another internal elasticated pocket (upper right chest)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The large external lower pockets have strong Velcro fastenings. These are nice deep pockets!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They also have the side zip pockets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a better view of the bottom pockets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another handy little Velcro pocket on the upper left arm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see here the heavy duty zip and poppers used  all over the jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice heavy duty zip and fastener.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sleeves have this adjustable Velcro tightnener. You can also see the other Hyvent logo on the left sleeve.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last North face logo is on the back right shoulder. You can also see the zip fastener for the hood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fur strip removed, notice the six poppers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the hood without the fur. You can see the short zip and some of the poppers that connect it to the jacket. All are under a flap which keeps the wind out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally, these are the push / squeeze draw strings for adjusting the waist in if you need to. Again these are tucked away under flaps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that’s it, I hope I have given you a little bit better look at The North Face Mcmurdo parka jacket.

I have to say I totally love this jacket and would highly recommend it to anyone, yea it’s a little pricey, but believe me you definitely get what you pay for with this jacket. I only wish I had bitten the bullet all those years ago when I first tried it on.

So I give it 10/10. A suburb super warm winter jacket.

Don’t forget to have a look at Simply Hike where I got mine, it’s a fab website for outdoor clothes and equipment.

So what do you think?  leave your comments below and tell me your experience with this jacket do you love it? hate it? please let me know.

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