Dan Slater reviews The North Face's Terra Peak puffer jacket.
The Terra Peak is a very puffy puffer jacket, a fact I’m reminded of as I sit writing these words and sweating. (In addition to the regular testing phase, I always wear the garment in question while composing its review, be it insulated jacket, waterproof trousers, or sleeping bag.)
Quite frankly, if it wasn’t for the four-way stretch underarm gussets leaking out heat, I’d probably be hyperthermic by now (N.B. not hypothermic!). The culprit is ThermoBall insulation, packed into narrow channels behind a windproof Pertex Quantum shell. TNF’s proprietary ThermoBall might be the closest synthetic approximation to down I’ve come across yet, its thin tendrils forming in proper clumps rather than loose fibres or a sheet, and through the Pertex it feels just like the real thing.
Design-wise, The North Face have kept things simple – two hand-warmer pockets and an inside left which doubles as a Stow Pouch. An elasticised hem and cuffs keep the heated air from escaping, and although the Terra Peak is, like the Deviator, lacking in any hood adjustment, the increased stiffness means it doesn’t move with your head quite as well.
TNF’s official product description boasts that the Terra Peak is ‘your perfect companion for any weather’. I would add: ‘as long as the temperature is low enough to freeze vodka’. Such extreme warmth comes with a weight penalty, which at 586g add a bit of weight to your pack when you’re not wearing it, but if you’re a cold fish, this might be the jacket for you.
RRP: $400 | thenorthface.com.au