REASONS TO BUY
Durable
Excellent features for extreme weather
Comfortable
Great movement
REASONS TO AVOID
Expensive
Too burly for warmer weather adventures
Mammut Nordwand Pro - Women's Review
Up for extreme weather, if you’re willing to pay for it
Credit: Mammut
Our Verdict
The Nordwand from Mammut is an exceptionally well-made hardshell jacket for alpine climbing and high mountain use. It's well-suited to routes that involve all sorts of ice, snow, and rock and is even great for skiing with the removable internal powder skirt. It is made of thick, burly, weather-proof Gore-Tex Pro, which is not great for warmer temperatures, but ideal for truly tough conditions. The stiffer fabric is highly durable, and Mammut carefully crafted the jacket to allow total freedom of movement; we're still not sure how they pulled that off. The feature set makes this jacket extremely easy to use, even when the weather turns for the worst—the Nordwand is ready if you are.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Mammut Nordwand Pro - Women's | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  Best Overall Women's Hardshell Jacket |  Best for Backcountry Skiing |  Best Bang for the Buck | Best for Active Wear | |
| Price | $850 List $850.00 at Backcountry | $600.00 at REI Compare at 2 sellers | $440.00 at Amazon Compare at 2 sellers | $170.50 at Amazon Compare at 2 sellers | $449.00 at Dick's Sporting Goods Compare at 2 sellers |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Bottom Line | An impressively designed alpine hardshell up for the biggest lines | Burly and still lightweight, with thoughtful features that make it very versatile | With integrated four-way stretch, proprietary breathable fabric and generous underarm zips, this jacket is a dream for uphill movement | The soft feel for a hardshell jacket, delivering comfort and breathability in a comfortable, athletic layer | Though not the most affordable hardshell we've tested, its value is high due to its durability and versatility |
| Rating Categories | Mammut Nordwand Pro... | Arc'teryx Beta AR J... | Ortovox Ortler 3L -... | Rab Kinetic Alpine... | Patagonia Triolet -... |
| Weather Protection (30%) | |||||
| Mobility and Fit (20%) | |||||
| Venting and Breathability (20%) | |||||
| Weight (20%) | |||||
| Features and Design (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Mammut Nordwand Pro... | Arc'teryx Beta AR J... | Ortovox Ortler 3L -... | Rab Kinetic Alpine... | Patagonia Triolet -... |
| Measured Weight | 19.5 oz (17.5 w/o snow skirt) | 13.4 oz | 12.8 oz | 12.5 oz | 16.4 oz |
| Material | 100% nylon Gore-Tex | N40d 3L Gore-Tex (body) N80d 3L Gore-Tex Pro (arms) |
100% polyamide outer with PU (Toray Dermizax NX) membrane with 100% polyester backer and 85% virgin wool + 15% polyamide details | 3L recycled polyester knit face with PU membrane and recycled polyester backer/Proflex | 3L 75D recycled polyester Gore-Tex shell with a waterproof/breathable barrier and DWR finish |
| Pockets | 1 zippered chest, 2 zippered hand, 1 sleeve, 2 internal mesh, 1 internal zippered | 2 handwarmer, 1 internal chest | 1 external pocket, 1 upper-arm pocket | 1 internal chest, 2 hand | 2 external chest, 2 hand, 1 interior mesh bucket |
| Pit Zips | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Helmet Compatible Hood | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Category | Midweight regular fit |
Midweight regular fit |
Midweight slim fit |
Lightweight regular fit |
Midweight regular fit |
| Drawcords | 3 hood, 2 waist | 4 hood, 2 waist | 3 hood, 2 waist | 3 hood, 2 waist | 3 hood, 2 waist |
| Adjustable Cuffs | Yes, Velcro | Yes, Velcro | Yes, Velcro | Yes, Velcro | Yes, Velcro |
| Harness and Hip Belt Compatible | Yes | Yes, high pockets | Yes | Yes, high pockets | Yes, high pockets |
| Two-Way Front Zipper | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| Length of back, from base of neck to bottom | 27 in | 26 in | 27 in | 26 in | 26 in |
| Warranty Policy | Practical lifetime warranty - Material or workmanship defects will be replaced or repaired at Mammut's discretion | Practical lifetime warranty - Material or workmanship defects will be replaced or repaired at Arc'teryx's discretion | None noted on the website | Guarantee covers the original owner with proof of purchase, for the usable lifetime of the product | Ironclad Guarantee |
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Our Analysis and Test Results
Performance Comparison
The Nordwand Pro HS was a big hit for cold, icy adventures.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
Weather Protection
The Gore-Tex Pro fabric is the burliest waterproof breathable material offered by Gore-Tex. This is designed for high mountain use, tested on the roughest terrain and toughest weather. The Nordwand Pro is designed for alpine climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering, and it's ready for sideways snowstorms and biting wind. This is one of the burliest and most weatherproof hardshell jackets in this review.
The Nordwand keeps the cold weather out, and still allows easy access to your harness.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
Mobility and Fit
The Nordwand Pro is designed for technical climbing, and it excelled in our ice climbing tests, moving with us no matter what direction we took. It features excellent articulation that translates well to freedom of movement in the complex and rugged high mountain environment. The Nordwand's slender fit isn't as easy to layer under as jackets with a more relaxed cut.
Swing with ease in the Nordwand, it is designed for climbing movements of all kinds.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
Venting and Breathability
The Nordwand uses Gore-Tex Pro, a breathable three-layer waterproof shell fabric. This is the thickest and burliest of the Gore products, and certainly not as breathable as the lighter-weight Gore-Tex Active or even their Paclite technology. However, the Nordwand is the type of jacket you would be wearing in frigid, harsh environments, so the Pro fabric is an excellent choice. For those moments when the wind dies down and you're baking in the sun, the Nordwand has pit vents to shed heat in a hurry. There are two zipper pulls, too, which makes it easy to adjust how open you want the vents and where to open them so the fabric doesn't flap, let in snow or rain, or otherwise get in your way.
The pit vents can be calibrated to your level of venting needs with two zippers.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
Weight
The Nordwand is the among heaviest jackets in this review. To be fair, we removed the snow skirt inside the jacket, since most other jackets did not have one, and re-measured. It was still one of the heaviest in the review.
If you are traveling to the types of places that require a shell as burly as this one, we think you'll really appreciate it; it's well worth the weight. This type of shell jacket will be more of a commitment in terms of adding weight to your pack.
Features and Design
The Nordwand is stacked with snow, ice, and alpine-ready features; this is likely where it picks up a few more ounces than our other favorite expedition-ready hardshell jackets. The Nordwand has a snow skirt, great for skiing powder, and it is removable for when you don't want it on ice or alpine climbs. There are pit vents with two zipper pulls to calibrate the size of the vent and where you want it—this helps to optimize heat expulsion while keeping precip out.
The hood is helmet compatible and has a strip of elastic and mesh to help it seal around your face. It is adjustable with one hand in the back, but it takes two hands to adjust the toggles in the front (mildly annoying and difficult to figure out which way to pull to tighten, but easy to loosen).
The mesh elastic flap helps seal and secure the hood around your head or helmet.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
The Nordwand has pockets galore; two high-hand pockets allow easy access above a hip belt or harness. There is an external chest pocket big enough for a large smartphone, and a left arm pocket (great for RFID ski passes). All zippers are waterproof except that side arm pocket. The main zipper can also be unzipped from the bottom, which makes it easier to access the belay loop on your harness.
Climbing high with the Nordwand Pro HS.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
Should You Buy the Mammut Nordwand Pro?
The Nordwand Pro features Gore-Tex Pro, which is the material we trust in the most extreme environments. With this jacket, Mammut layers excellent design and manufacturing on top of the best fabrics. This jacket can handle the roughest conditions and will hold up to sloppy use as you yard on the zippers in a hurry to adjust pit vents or access snacks, maps, or your phone. However, it's quite pricey, and if you're not regularly out in harsh environments, avidly pursuing long ice lines, technical alpine routes, or steep and deep ski descents, we think you can get by with one of the less expensive options in our review.
What Other Hardshell Jackets Should You Consider?
Another one of our burly favorites is the Arc'teryx Alpha SV, which offers up great protection in harsh environments. If you're looking for awesome mobility, we love the affordable Rab Kinetic Alpine 2.0 for its supple material that feels more like a softshell, yet still manages to protect like a hardshell. Another affordable option that's our go-to for snow sports is the Patagonia Triolet.
It was easy to enjoy a day out in the Nordwand without worrying about our layering.
Credit: Lyra Pierotti
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Lyra Pierotti
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