The North Face Summit Series Breithorn Hoodie Review
The North Face Summit Series Breithorn ($480) is a technical down jacket that offers a step-up in warmth over most lightweight options. It's performance over everything else: Premium 800-fill down and a thin shell fabric deliver an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio, a helmet-compatible hood and generous pocket layout add alpine utility, and a mobility-oriented cut layers cleanly under a shell and preserves shoulder mobility. This performance-driven fit, though, has its shadow side—the tapered silhouette is overly snug at the hips and limiting for anyone whose proportions don't match what it was designed for. For alpine climbers and ski mountaineers who need a technical down layer and find the fit works for them, the Breithorn is a strong option, but we'd strongly recommend trying it on before buying.
Warmth
Weight & Packability
Comfort
Durability
Weather Resistance
Sustainability
Weight
13.5 oz.
Insulation
800-fill down
Fabric
15D Pertex Y Fuse
Packable
Yes (pocket)
Pros
Cons
The North Face Summit Series Breithorn Hoodie
For this season's top puffies, see our guide to the Best Down Jackets.
The North Face Summit Series Breithorn Hoodie is genuinely warm—warm enough that I'd consider it a midweight down jacket rather than a lightweight one. I tested it in England's Lake District in May, with temperatures in the 40s, and on a hut-to-hut hiking trip in the Picos de Europa in June, where we slept at 7,000 feet and woke one morning to snow. In both settings, I wore it primarily for hanging around camp and town rather than hiking—it's too warm to be an active piece in mild temperatures, but at rest in just-above-freezing conditions, it kept me consistently comfortable. The North Face doesn't list a fill weight, but based on the warmth output I'd estimate somewhere around 5 ounces of 800-fill down.
In terms of raw warmth, the The North Face Summit Series Breithorn runs a step above my Arc'teryx Cerium Hoody. The chunkier, puffier baffles give it a mini-Michelin-man quality that traps significant heat, and the long hem covers my butt and adds an extra dose of assurance. For spring and shoulder-season adventures in the mountains, cold evenings at altitude, and winter outings, the warmth level is well-calibrated, which makes sense given that The North Face designed the Breithorn for athletes spending time in the high alpine. In warm summer conditions or at lower elevation, it can tip into overkill.
The Breithorn weighs in at 13.1 ounces in my size XS—close to the listed 13.5 ounces for the women’s jacket—which puts it on the heavier side of the lightweight down jacket spectrum and firmly into midweight territory. My Arc'teryx Cerium Hoody is significantly lighter at 9.7 ounces, and the Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody, which also toes the line between weight classes, comes in at 12.1 ounces. I wouldn't choose the Breithorn for an ultralight backpacking trip, but for shorter or slower-paced missions where staying warm in cold temperatures matters more than shaving ounces, it's a well-rounded choice. Anticipating near-freezing temperatures, I had no qualms stuffing it into a 40-liter backpack for the hut trip in Spain.
The Breithorn packs into one of its own hand pockets—a convenient trick, though getting the last bit of the zipper closed requires a solid squeeze. Packed, it's a bit oblong and irregular in shape, roughly the same volume as a rolled inflatable sleeping pad in its stuff sack. It's not the most elegant packing experience, but compact enough for most adventure contexts and sleek enough to slip into a suitcase for travel. Weight and packability aren't the Breithorn's strongest suits, but when you factor in the warmth it delivers, the numbers feel more justified. For winter hut trips, ski touring, or snowshoeing, it hits a sweet spot that most heavier insulated jackets can't claim.
The Breithorn is a comfortable jacket in most respects, with a few caveats worth flagging. The main Pertex Y Fuse ripstop nylon shell is soft and pleasant against the skin, the knit cuffs feel good at the wrists, and the hood is cozy and well-fitted when fully zipped and cinched. The puffy baffles give the jacket a plush, slightly Michelin Man-esque quality that adds to the cozy feel—there's something satisfying about being wrapped in full, lofty chambers of down that you don’t get with lighter-weight down jackets.
Where the comfort story gets more complicated is the fit, which I'll go into more detail on in the Fit & Sizing section below.
After four months of mostly casual use—two mountain trips, regular town wear, and plenty of time stuffed into bags and brushing up against rough stone surfaces—the Breithorn hasn't suffered any catastrophic damage. The zippers operate smoothly, the hardware on the cinches feels sturdy, and the 15-denier Pertex Y Fuse ripstop nylon hasn't torn or snagged despite being so thin you can see the down insulation through it. I’ve gained confidence in this fabric from my sleeping bag, which also uses a Y Fuse shell fabric and has proved remarkably resistant to abrasion. Y Fuse is a high-tech fabric with interlocking filaments that are said to enhance downproofing, water resistance, and overall durability, and it seems to deliver on most of its claims.
However, my Breithorn has already started losing many feathers from the body, sleeves, and hood. This certainly doesn’t inspire confidence about long-term down retention. The printed logos also feel like they're on borrowed time; I can already tell they'll start peeling with a few more months of regular use. And there's something about the overall finish that feels a step below what you'd expect at this price point: The cinch cord texture, the plastic on the zippers, and the hem construction all have a slightly cheap, plasticky feel. It’s hard to articulate precisely, but consistently noticeable in my testing. All told, it unfortunately doesn’t inspire the kind of confidence that a $400+ jacket should.
The North Face Summit Series Breithorn has a number of defenses against moisture, from Pertex Y Fuse shell and PFC-free DWR finish to the water-repellent finish on the down. The shell does its job in light moisture—in the damp Lake District weather and light snowfall in the Picos, moisture beaded up on the surface of the Breithorn and didn’t make its way past the shell. It even held up without issue during a 20-minute stint of light snow and hail while packing up my tent one morning. This makes sense, given that the Breithorn was built to handle inclement mountain weather both as a mid- and outer layer. I wouldn’t want to push it into full-on rain, although it gives me some peace of mind to know that the down is also built to resist moisture if it does make its way past the shell.
The Breithorn’s wind protection is solid for an insulated jacket—again, a nod to its alpine intentions. In strong wind, I could feel a slight breeze at the seams, but the tight-fitting knit cuffs do an excellent job sealing out cold air at the wrists, and the hood cinches down snugly around the face. The slim fit actually works in the jacket's favor here: The cinchable hem is almost superfluous, since the cut is already so snug against the body that there's little room for drafts to sneak in.
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Responsible Down
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PFAS-Free DWR
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Recycled Materials
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Bluesign Approved
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Repair Services
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Resale and/or Recycling Services
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Annual Impact Report
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The Breithorn has a generous amount of pockets for an down jacket. Two zippered hand pockets, a zippered chest pocket with an internal mesh pouch, and two large internal drop-in pockets give you plenty of storage options—at least in theory.
I have no gripes with the external pockets, and the mesh pouch inside the chest pocket is a nice detail, large enough to fit a phone and keep it from sliding around. The internal pockets are where things get complicated. They're large and well-placed in principle—perfect for stashing a beanie, gloves, or a lightweight shell—but the jacket's slim fit makes them feel almost inaccessible in practice. With the jacket zipped up snugly, there simply isn't much room to stuff anything in without the jacket feeling even more constricting. Sizing up would likely solve this, but in my size XS, they were mostly unused.
The Breithorn’s helmet-compatible hood is functional and easy to cinch down with one hand. This provided an effective and cozy buffer from the cold, although the face opening is more circular than oval, which is a minor design quirk that I'd personally change. Like any helmet-compatible hood, it has an oversized look when worn without a helmet, but the tradeoff in versatility is worth it for me.
Tester: 5'3" 105 lb.; 32" chest, 27" waist
Size tested: Women’s XS
Let me be direct: Fit is my main complaint about this jacket, and the primary reason I struggle to fully recommend it. I'm very petite, and in an XS, the Breithorn’s relatively long cut (27 in. down the center back in the women’s version) barely fits over my hips. The silhouette is distinctly tapered from the shoulders to the hem and rides up constantly with any movement. I've taken to folding the hem under and resting it on top of my hips just to keep it in place, which isn't a great look nor a comfortable solution. The slim cut also makes the hand pockets splay open awkwardly when unzipped, pulling against the fabric across the hips in a way that looks strange both in person and in photos online.
My best guess is that the The North Face Summit Series Breithorn’s cut was designed to emphasize shoulder and arm mobility while maintaining a sleek fit that layers under shells and slides cleanly under a harness. The North Face describes the jacket as "engineered for mobility, cut for precision," which feels accurate, provided you don’t have hips. The sleeve length, chest, and shoulder fit are spot on, and the raglan sleeves and underarm gussets make the upper body feel mobile and well-designed. If North Face offered the Breithorn in a regular fit, I think it would be an excellent jacket. As it stands, the slim cut is a dealbreaker for anyone who doesn't have the specific body type it was designed for.
Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody ($345): More Approachable Down
The Down Sweater Hoody and the Breithorn occupy similar territory in terms of warmth—both are more insulated than your average lightweight down jacket. But they're built for different contexts. The Down Sweater is the more versatile and accessible of the two, with a regular fit that works for a wider range of body types, a more durable shell, and a more approachable price point. The Breithorn, by contrast, is a purpose-built alpine jacket with better warmth-to-weight and a slim, precision-cut design designed to layer under a shell or harness. This might make it more capable in technical mountain environments, but for us it resulted in substantial fit issues for both active and casual use. If you want a down hoody for general cold-weather use and travel, the Down Sweater is the more practical pick. If you're packing for a serious mountain objective, the Breithorn is worth a look—but we recommend trying it on before you buy. For a deeper dive, read our review of the Patagonia Down Sweater Hoody.
Arc'teryx Cerium Hoody ($400): Go Lightweight
The Cerium Hoody is perhaps the Breithorn's closest rival—both are technical alpine down jackets with excellent warmth-to-weight ratios and hooded designs built for layering under a shell. The Cerium, though, is a bit less jacket, more ideal for milder shoulder season temperatures or summer in the alpine. It’s significantly lighter (11.9 oz. versus the Breithorn's 14.7), packs down more compactly into its own stuff sack, and has a more refined fit that our tester found noticeably more comfortable and mobile. If your warmth demands aren’t too high and you want a high-performance down piece, the Cerium gets our vote. But for colder temperatures, consider the Breithorn. For more, read our review of the Arc'teryx Cerium Hoody.
The Breithorn is a technical down jacket built for alpine climbing and ski mountaineering, with a midweight dose of down, an excellent warmth-to-weight ratio, and a precision cut that layers cleanly under a shell or harness. It's pricey though, and the tapered silhouette and long hem are dealbreakers for some body types.
Warmth
Weight & Packability
Comfort
Durability
Weather Resistance
Sustainability
The Down Sweater is an iconic and versatile down jacket that fits the bill for everyday use and casual backcountry adventures. However, it’s a bit heavier and features a less trim fit than performance jackets of similar warmth.
Warmth
Weight & Packability
Comfort
Durability
Weather Resistance
Sustainability
The Cerium offers extremely lightweight and packable warmth for technical pursuits like alpine climbing and backcountry skiing. Its streamlined fit is ideal for layering, too. However, given the price point, thin fabrics, and trim fit, we don’t recommend this jacket for everyday use.
Warmth
Weight & Packability
Comfort
Durability
Weather Resistance
Sustainability
Is the Breithorn for You?
The North Face Summit Series Breithorn is for the alpine climber or ski mountaineer who needs a technical down layer with a longer hem and more warmth than most lightweight options. Tuned far more for backcountry applications than casual use, it emphasizes performance throughout, with a great warmth-to-weight ratio, thin shell fabric, useful assortment of pockets, and trim fit that layers cleanly under a shell and slides under a harness without bunching. But try it on before you buy. The tapered shape is designed to prioritize arm and shoulder mobility, but those with curves might find it narrows too aggressively at the hips.
Go for it if you need a precision-fit technical down layer and want a step-up in warmth over most lightweight down jackets.
Pass on it if you want a versatile everyday down hoody, are looking for a lightweight down jacket for summer backpacking, or have a curvier build.
stay warm out there
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