Wild CampingThe North FaceDown Jacket
The North Face Pumori Down Parka review: super packable warmth with a high-end price tag
The North Face Pumori Down Parka is a wonderfully warm technical down parka from one of the biggest brands in the business. Lightweight, packable and incredibly lofty — if you can afford the high price tag.
✓ Specialist ChoiceThe North Face Pumori Down Parka
Weight~617 gFill power800 FPRRP£630
The good✓ Amazing warmth
✓ Excellent packability
✓ Incredible loft
✓ Very warm, lofty hood
✓ Simple design
✓ Smooth, easy-to-operate zippers
The not-so-good✗ Very expensive
✗ Looks very technical — not for everyday wear
✗ Easily snagged — wear under a hardshell
Check price →
At a glance
| Brand | The North Face |
| Model | Pumori Down Parka |
| RRP | £630 |
| Weight | ~617 g |
| Fill | 800-fill power goose down |
| Shell | Lightweight DWR-treated nylon |
| Hood | Helmet-compatible |
| Ideal for | High-Alpine mountaineering, deep winter backpacking, around camp |
| Not suitable for | High-output activities, wet conditions without a hardshell |
North Face Pumori Down Parka review
Down jackets are a staple of winter hillwalking. And, increasingly, The North Face has stepped into the insulating jacket market over the last few years. When it comes to deep winter warmth, the Pumori Down Parka is The North Face’s warmest and most technical down layer, designed for high-Alpine mountaineering and backpacking trips through some seriously frosty terrain. Packed with 800-fill power high-quality goose down, the Pumori is lofty, super warm and unbelievably cosy — all while weighing an incredibly impressive 617 g on average. The warmth this jacket delivers for the weight is vastly superior to any down parka jacket we’ve tested before.
When bought directly from The North Face, the Pumori Down Parka will set you back £630 at the time of writing. The jacket is designed with technical performance in mind, not fashion — coming with a helmet-compatible hood, deep hand pockets, internal pockets for stashing gloves or for keeping water from freezing, and a lightweight stuff sack with a drawcord.
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Our experience using the North Face Pumori Down Parka
To test The North Face Pumori Down Parka, we took this jacket out on numerous winter adventures in temperatures ranging from 6°C down to −12°C. We took it wildcamping in the western fringes of the Brecon Beacons where we tested its ability to keep us warm in wet, windy and freezing conditions, we took it on numerous winter backpacking and wildcamping trips across Dartmoor, and one of our editors even wore it during a very chilly wintery backpacking trip through Sipoonkoori National Park in Finland.
Features and performance
Packed size and weight
The first thing we particularly appreciated about the Pumori is the impressive warmth-to-weight ratio. Weighing just over 600 g, this jacket doesn’t add much extra bulk to otherwise fully loaded winter setups and the warmth it delivers for those 600 g is astounding. Due to the high-quality 800-fill power down, the Pumori packs down to the size of a mini football, especially if you vacuum seal it in a dry bag or cinch it down tightly in the provided lightweight stuff sack.
Loft
When it comes to loftiness, the North Face Pumori Down Parka is one of the plumpest puffies we’ve ever tested. When we tested this coat over 3 days in the western Brecon Beacons, we put it up against the budget Decathlon MT900 −18 Down Jacket and the Mountain Equipment Lightline. When it comes to loftiness, the Pumori won every time. It springs back into action the second you take it out of your bag, and the lightweight materials and 800-fill power are just so comfy to wear. The hood is filled with the same quality and quantity of goose down as the rest of the coat, so you can quickly cocoon your head in a cloud of warmth.
Fit
The fit of the Pumori is decidedly boxy — built for high-altitude mountaineering, the cut fits over a climbing harness. For that reason, it can feel a little loose when you wear it over a t-shirt, so you may want to consider sizing down. The Pumori doesn’t come with clasps or fasteners around the hip or the cuffs, so you can’t tighten it down — an odd draft can ride up from below the jacket when not wearing it under a shell.
Warmth
Overall, we found The North Face Pumori Down Parka to be very warm and cosy — ideal for milling around camp or for tossing on when taking a break when backpacking. Interestingly, when worn as an outer layer, we didn’t find the Pumori to be much warmer than the Mountain Equipment Lightline or the budget Forclaz MT900 −18 Down Jacket, two lines that are significantly cheaper. Both of those jackets come with lower-grade down and thicker shells which may explain why they were a little more adept at keeping out drafts. But if you were to pair the Pumori with a large hardshell, the Pumori would easily outperform both.
“Warm, packable, and with a very well-considered design — the Pumori’s technical chops are palpable the second you toss it on.”
Durability and waterproofness
The jacket is manufactured from a lightweight nylon treated with a DWR coating — able to stave off very small amounts of rain for a short period, but it quickly wets out. And once your down gets wet, it loses much of its ability to keep you warm. This jacket hasn’t been built to keep you dry in a winter storm: it’s here to keep you warm in cold, dry conditions. The nylon shell is very thin and lightweight and will easily tear if you snag it on sharp terrain. The North Face recommend you wear the Pumori under a hardshell.
Our verdictOne of the best down parkas out there — but consider your use case carefully.Overall, we really enjoyed testing The North Face Pumori Down Parka. Warm, packable, and with a very well-considered design, the Pumori’s technical chops are palpable the second you toss it on. For UK conditions, however, we kept coming back to the question of how often we’d be able to make use of it in this country. And for £630, this is a reasonable consideration. If you can afford it, the Pumori is undoubtedly one of the best down parkas out there, delivering unbeatable warmth to weight and excellent packability. But for 99% of UK conditions, cheaper alternatives will do just as good a job.Check price →
FAQs
How warm is The North Face Pumori Down Parka?Extremely warm. 800-fill power goose down delivers exceptional loft. We used it in temperatures down to −12°C and never felt cold when stationary.
How waterproof is The North Face Pumori Down Parka?Not waterproof. The DWR-treated nylon shell shrugs off very light drizzle briefly but wets out quickly. Designed to be worn under a hardshell in wet conditions.
How waterproof is the Mountain Equipment Lightline?Also a non-waterproof down layer, designed for dry, cold conditions. Should be paired with a waterproof shell in wet weather.
Is The North Face Pumori Down Parka worth the money?For the right user, yes. The warmth-to-weight ratio and packability are exceptional. For most UK use cases, cheaper alternatives will do a similar job for considerably less.
How durable is The North Face Pumori Down Parka?The shell is a lightweight technical nylon — thin and prone to snagging. Handle with care and wear under a hardshell as recommended.