The North Face Stormy Trail Jacket Review

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For many runners; cold, wind, rain, and snow can often sabotage our daily running routines.  Most people don’t wake up and say I want to run in the freezing rain!  However, there are times when you either need or really want to get your workout in and you will bare the elements to do it.  If you find yourself in that class, having the right gear is extremely important.  The North Face Stormy Trail Jacket is a waterproof and windproof jacket that was made for harsh winter running conditions, but does just fine on the typical cold or rainy days.

I’ve been testing out the North Face Story Trail Jacket over the past few months in both cold, rainy, snowy, and windy conditions.  Luck for me, I was able to take this jacket out for test runs while the seasons were changing in the Colorado Rockies and was able to experience some of the not so nice weather to see how this jacket REALLY performs.

For starters, the TNF Story Trail Jacket is made with TNF Flashdry which is a waterproof semi breathable material.  This material is used throughout the jacket as the inner fabric that sits next to your skin.  On the outside of the jacket, there are two fabrics used.  First, the material on the front, back, and shoulders is similar to that of your standard rain jacket.  On the sides of the jacket and the arms is a super stretchy material that is still waterproof, but moves extremely well with your body.  Typically when you have a stretch fabric, it doesn’t have a waterproof membrane attached to it.  This is often good for added breathability, but not good for keeping the rain out. In this case, you get the flex while still being able to keep out the rain.

While testing the TNF Stormy Trail Jacket, I found the jacket to keep out the rain and snow very well.  I didn’t get one drop inside the jacket over many runs in the cold rain and snow.  When I wear the Stormy Trail Jacket, I like to wear a light long sleeve shirt with this jacket because if you are sweating, it can get a little clammy.  Not as bad as the standard rain jacket, but it still happens.  The Stormy Trail has an athletic cut, but it allows a little bit of room in case you want to add a layer or you don’t want the jacket to be skin tight.  I am 6’0 tall and 175lbs and I found a size medium to fit me perfect.

If you find yourself running at night with the days getting shorter, the Stormy Trail has 360 degrees of reflective piping on different areas of the jacket to keep you visible to cars or other objects with lights that could be of danger.  For pockets, the Stormy has one chest pocket to keep small items like keys or a phone.  One thing they didn’t put in this pocket is a hole to slide your headphones through which you often see on most technical jackets these days.  There are no other pockets on this jacket which could be considered a downfall for some.  I personally like to have side pockets in case my hands get to hot with gloves, this way I can stash them away.

Overall, I have found from a technical standpoint that this jacket does a great job at protecting you from the elements.  From a features standpoint, I would like to see more focus on the pockets in future models.

For more info on the Stormy Trail Jacket and other North Face gear, visit www.thenorthface.com or www.amazon.com/thenorthface.