REASONS TO BUY
Thick and warm
Longer torso
Comfortable stretch-knit cuffs
Large versatile hood
REASONS TO AVOID
Very narrow through the hips
Hood cinch system doesn't get that small
The North Face Summit Breithorn Hoodie - Women's Review
A warm, thick jacket with an oversized hood and stretch-knit cuffs we love to wear, but narrow hips that restrict who it fits
Credit: The North Face
Price: $430 List
By Maggie Nichols ⋅ Senior Review Editor ⋅ Feb 21, 2024
RELATED: Best Down Jacket for Women of 2024
Our Verdict
The fit of the The North Face Summit Breithorn made it a polarizing jacket among our testing team. Despite its longer torso, this slim jacket doesn't leave much room for hips. But our narrow-hipped testers who can wear it adore the Breithorn. This thick puffy is warm with good coverage and a spacious hood. Stretch-knit cuffs are soft and highly effective at sealing our wrists against the cold. We wish the hood volume adjustment could get smaller, but in our experience, it's great over a beanie. Though this slim-fitting jacket isn't for every body type, but if a narrow fit works, it may be just the right down layer for you.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
The North Face Summit Breithorn Hoodie - Women's | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Overall Down Jacket for Women |  Overall Best Buy Down Jacket | A Great Lifestyle, Budget Option | Good Value on a Very Limited Budget | |
| Price | $379.99 at Amazon Compare at 4 sellers | $375.00 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $249.95 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $129 List $129.00 at REI | $64 List $63.97 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | A thick and warm coat with comfortable cuffs and a spacious hood, but an extraordinarily narrow fit through the hips | A very warm coat with an exceptionally mobile fit, top-notch adjustability, and an absolute pillow of coziness to wear | A high-end jacket without the high-end price tag, this down jacket can take you from the trails to downtown in a pinch | A solid and reasonably warm puffy that's more affordable but does come with some flaws | Simple and straightforward, this low-loft down jacket packs away small and costs less than most |
| Rating Categories | The North Face Summ... | Rab Neutrino Pro -... | Marmot Highlander H... | REI Co-op 650 - Wom... | Wantdo Packable Hoody |
| Warmth (30%) | |||||
| Comfort (30%) | |||||
| Portability (15%) | |||||
| Weather Resistance (15%) | |||||
| Breathability (10%) | |||||
| Specs | The North Face Summ... | Rab Neutrino Pro -... | Marmot Highlander H... | REI Co-op 650 - Wom... | Wantdo Packable Hoody |
| Down Fill | 800-fill ProDown | 800-fill European goose down, hydrophobic Nikwax | 700-fill down treated with 'Down Defender' | 650-fill down | 90% duck down |
| Responsible Down Standard (RDS) Certified? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Outer Fabric | 20D recycled nylon ripstop with DWR finish | 20D recycled Pertex Quantum Pro, ripstop | 100% Recycled nylon and ripstop | Recycled nylon, DWR finish | 20D Nylon Taffetta |
| Weight (Size Small) | 13.4 oz | 18.5 oz | 13.0 oz | 9.9 oz | 8.8 oz |
| Hem Type | Drop hem (small) | Drop hem (large) | Straight hem; hip length | Drop hem (small); hip length | Straight hem; hip length |
| Fit | Slim | Standard | Standard | Standard | Standard |
| Pockets | 7; 2 zippered hand, 1 external zippered chest, 4 internal slip (2 mesh) | 3; 2 zippered hand, 1 internal zippered chest | 3; 2 zippered hand pockets, 1 exterior zippered chest pocket | 4; 2 zippered hand, 2 internal slip | 4; 2 zippered hand, 2 interior stash pockets with media pass-through |
| Hood | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Cuff Construction | Stretch-knit | Elastic and velcro | Elastic | Elastic | Elastic |
| Adjustment Points | Single hem bungee; single back-of-hood bungee | Dual hem bungees, dual hood bungees, velcro back-of-hood, velcro cuffs | Single hem bungee | Dual hem bungees | None |
| Stow Option | Packs into a pocket with an integrated carabiner loop | No stow option | Packs into a pocket with an integrated carabiner loop | No stow option | Packs into an included drawstring stuff sack |
| Features | Helmet compatible hood, stretch-knit cuffs, reverse-coil zippers (water resistant), raglan sleeves for mobility | Helmet-compatible hood, 2-way zipper, wire-stiffened projected hood brim, twisted sleeve baffles for greater mobility, felt chin guard, large velcro loop at nape of neck | N/A | N/A | N/A |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
The North Face Summit Breithorn is a thick puffy jacket filled with RDS (Responsible Down Standard) certified 800-fill ProDown. Its exterior is 20D 100% recycled nylon ripstop fabric with a DWR finish. The Breithorn has a narrow fit through the hips with a small drop hem, weighs 13.4 ounces, and packs into its hand pocket.
Performance Comparison
The Breithorn is a warm, comfortable jacket that we love - as long as it fits your hips!
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Warmth
The Summit Breithorn is packed with quality 800-fill ProDown. Its medium-sized baffles are slightly wider than average, cutting down on the number of seams leaking cold air onto your core. The helmet-compatible hood has plenty of space to be worn over a thick beanie on a cold day. Stretch-knit cuffs hold tight to the wrists, effectively stopping cold air from rushing up the sleeves. A longer torso with a small drop hem adds some coverage, as does the high chin guard. A single adjustment point along the hem lets you pull it tight — though the Breithorn is so narrow through the hips that we rarely needed to use it.
The helmet-compatible hood is a great touch, adding extra warmth on frigid crisp mountain mornings.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Comfort
A lot of the comfort of the Breithorn comes down to whether it fits your body or not. This jacket was not designed with curvy women in mind. Our lead tester is 5'4" with 36" hips. She generally comfortably wears a women's size small across the board and could barely keep the Breithorn zipped and down around her bum while walking. Some of our testers who typically wear the same size but have wider hips couldn't even fit into this very slim jacket. But for those narrow-framed individuals who it does fit, the close-to-body design of this jacket feels great. It has raglan-style sleeves offering a wide range of movement for your arms and a whopping seven pockets (four are internal).
The stretch knit cuffs are extremely comfortable and we appreciate that the Breithorn has more pockets than just about any other jacket we tested.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Portability
Weighing 13.4 ounces, the Breithorn is on the heavier side of the array of jackets we tested for its loft. Yet while wearing, it feels like a soft cloud and offers excellent warmth, mobility and coverage. We think the extra few extra ounces are worth it. It compresses into its own hand pocket, with a little coaxing and squeezing. Once packed away, it becomes a long, slender package with a fabric carabiner loop located at the end of the zipper, letting it hang at an angle off of your pack.
The Breithorn is midweight but compresses into a pretty small package.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Weather Resistance
The Breithorn's thickness and wider baffles help stop wind from coming straight through to your core. Its slender fit and tighter hem with a strong cinch cord also come in handy when you're out in blizzard conditions. The hood design is great for warmth, though when worn over a bare head, we were unable to fully cinch it around our faces to seal out the wind. The ProDown insulation is designed to retain loft (and therefore warmth) even when wet, and a DWR finish helps to seal out moisture. The reverse-coil zippers also help keep water out.
The cinching system for the hood can't quite tighten all the way around our bare heads.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Breathability
As a thicker, warmer model, the Breithorn suffers a bit regarding breathability. It lacks venting features to make it more breathable, and its slender fit doesn't allow for easy air exchange without unzipping the whole thing. We found ourselves occasionally needing to remove it while snowshoeing the uphill sections of a trail on a mild winter morning at 8,000 feet.
The size Small is snug around our lead tester's 36" hips.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
Should You Buy The North Face Summit Breithorn?
The biggest consideration when purchasing the Breithorn is whether or not it fits your hips. If you have slender hips, this jacket's trim and close-fitting design may be exactly the down jacket you're after. It's warm, cozy, and comfortable for those seeking a slim-fitting layer. If your hips are average width or wider, it may not be the right choice for you.
For those on our testing team who could comfortably wear the Breithorn around their hips, they love how it fits, feels, and protects.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
What Other Down Jackets Should You Consider?
If you're not a narrow-hipped human but you're after a warm, technical jacket for active pursuits in cold environments, the Mammut Broad Peak IN Hooded is an excellent and mobile fit that we love. Or if you want a medium-warm jacket that's easy to layer and wear every day or on adventures, the Arc'teryx Cerium is a versatile jacket that we solidly recommend.
There's a lot we like about this impressive jacket from The North Face's adventure-ready Summit Series.
Credit: Maggie Nichols
—Maggie Nichols
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