You’ve all heard the saying: when the going gets tough, the tough get going.
No, it was not Billy Ocean who came up with the phrase for his eighties hit—it’s been around longer than that—but it may have been his tune that was stuck in the heads of The North Face’s apparel designers when they were coming up with the Summit Series Mountain Gore-Tex Pro Jacket and Bib. This is a shell combo designed for serious alpine adventures in harsh conditions (like in Issue #200’s cover story on skiing in Tassie; check it out to see the Mountain Gore-Tex Pro combo in action). Just look at some of the materials: 3L Gore-Tex Pro with a PFC-free DWR finish; Spectra ripstop on abrasion points like the hood, lower sleeves, butt, knee and thigh areas; YKK AquaGuard zips. And full side zips on the bib mean they can be easily put on or removed when you’re wearing boots or even crampons. The thing is, though, it does it all at a modest weight, just 492g and 573g for the small jacket and medium bib respectively.
This combination of ruggedness, abrasion-resistance, weatherproofness and low weight—along with its articulated fit and generous underarm pit zips—make the Mountain Gore-Tex Pro Jacket and Bib a do-it-all alpine outerwear setup. Mountaineering, alpine climbing, backcountry skiing, ice climbing, but even plain-old hiking; I’ve thrown it in my pack on multiple bushwalking trips. There’s almost nothing the Mountain Gore-Tex Pro can’t handle.
They have a slight retro feel that echoes some TNF aesthetics from back in the day. But they still, to my mind, feel modern and clean. That said, don’t look for progressive bagginess here; the garments have an uncompromisingly alpine cut. I found the combo gave me excellent freedom of movement, assisted by the stretch mesh of the upper 15cm or so of the bib front. The hood is generous, too, allowing coverage over not only a lower-profile climbing helmet, but also over a ski helmet, too.
For active pursuits like alpine climbing and backcountry skiing, I like plenty of pockets, and the Mountain Gore-Tex Pro delivers in terms of the number of them, their size, and their positioning. On the jacket, there are two smaller central chest pockets and two longer, larger ones towards the sides. And on the bib, there are two front thigh pockets, along with a small, stretch one up near the chest. Speaking of stretch, the jacket has two interior stretch pouches. I do wish these were bigger, however; even my 108mm-width skins, let alone my super-fat powder skins, couldn’t fit in them. Still, this would only be an issue for backcountry skiers who actually store skins in their jacket pockets; I’m not one of them, and I bet plenty of you aren’t either.
They are a little on the stiff and crinkly side; these are definitely not ‘quiet’ garments. I guess I could see some people bothered by this. But not me; once I started moving, I instantly didn’t notice the noise. It was a complete non-factor. Another thing to note; the combo is not cheap. You are, however, getting the best of the best quality and the perfect balance of lightweightness, toughness and weatherproofness.
In short, I loved this Mountain Gore-Tex Pro Jacket and Bib combo; it just struck the right balance for any alpine adventure, big or small, casual or serious, in conditions good or conditions dirty. Yup, when it comes to the mountains, when the tough get going, maybe they should be doing so in The North Face’s Mountain Gore-Tex Pro.
The Details:
INTENDED USE: Alpine climbing, mountaineering and backcountry snowsports
FIT: Wide (as tested)
MATERIALS: 3-layer Gore-Tex Pro with zonal Spectra ripstop reinforcement and a PFC-free DWR finish
WEIGHT: Jacket (Size S): 492g Bib (Size M): 573g
RRP: Jacket: $1,350 Bib: $1,100
For more information The North Face Australia
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