The North Face Alta Vista Jacket Review

The North Face Alta Vista Jacket looks sleek and packs small enough for travel. Still, just because you can use it for travel doesn’t mean it’s your best option. After all, we have an entire guide on the best rain jacket, so we know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t. Will the Alta Vista Jacket keep us dry, or will we be left scrolling through our guide, looking for a replacement with a wet undershirt? Let’s dive in and find out.

The Rundown

Let’s talk technical jargon before diving into the vibes of wearing this jacket. The jacket’s body is 100% recycled nylon with a PFC-free, durable water-repellent coating, the lining is 100% recycled nylon, the hood and hem-tunnel lining is 100% recycled polyester, and the pocket lining is 100% recycled polyester mesh. It’s safe to say there’s a hodgepodge of materials going on here; however, they come together well to make a sleek-looking jacket that’ll keep you dry, even in nasty weather.

The jacket has a hood, which is handy when you’re out in the rain to make it to a meeting or a link-up with friends. It has elastic running around the perimeter of the face hole, which you can tighten to ensure the least amount of water possible is sneaking inside, keeping you drier.

The jacket has pit zips, which make it more versatile. If you haven’t used pit zips before, they work well when you want to stay dry in the rain but it’s too hot outside for a jacket. Your pits hold heat, and letting them breathe helps with temperature regulation. In testing, we used the pit zips while cycling after the rain had subsided. Water was still splashing from the ground, but not enough to sneak into the pit zips. It added a ton of fresh air to our tester’s upper body, making the cycling experience much more comfortable.

The left chest pocket is handy for stowing your phone, wallet, or other quick-use items. We prefer to stow our phone here instead of in the lower pockets because you can feel it vibrate and hear notifications as it’s closer to you. Wearing a hooded rain jacket can be noisy, as you can hear the raindrops while it’s over your head, and bringing your phone closer ensures you can still use it.

There are two hand pockets, which seems like a given, but we’ve seen packable rain jackets without them. They’re sizable, too, so you can fit your hands and wrists inside. You can also use them to stash a point-and-shoot camera, phone, hat, or pair of gloves. If you’re out running, it’s nice to have a place to stow your gloves if it gets a bit too warm to wear them while you’re out.

The cuffs have hook-and-loop fasteners that tighten, helping keep water from sneaking up your arms while cycling, running, or hiking.

The inside of the jacket has seam tape, which works well to keep water from creeping inside. Even in a downpour, we stayed dry.

There’s a small loop inside near the top for hanging, which we dig. It’s very small and might not last as long as the rest of the jacket, but it has worked well so far. Additionally, you can use the hood to hang the jacket, though it isn’t as secure.

Packability

The jacket packs into the chest pocket, and the process is relatively easy to complete. Near the end, the sides of the zipper track can feel tight, but it’s an easier experience than others we’ve tried.

However, this jacket isn’t tiny when packed, which is likely why it isn’t that tough to stuff into the pocket.

You know how sometimes, when you buy a box of noodles, the noodles are actually inside a plastic bag inside the box? Pretty dumb, right? Well, this packable jacket is roughly the size of the plastic bag full of noodles inside the box. It’ll fit nicely into a daypack or travel backpack, but you’ll have a harder time pushing it into even some of the larger slings we’ve tested.

Once packed, the jacket has a small loop on the exterior, which is handy for hanging it in your hotel or securing it to the exterior of your pack while hiking.

After unpacking it, the jacket is quite wrinkled. This isn’t uncommon for packable jackets; however, this one smoothes out much quicker than some of the models we’ve tested. If you don’t pack it into the pocket, it doesn’t get as wrinkled, but you don’t save as much space.

Fit Notes

The Alta Vista Jacket has an athletic fit, similar to other North Face gear that we’ve tested. It isn’t a baggy jacket and has a comfortable cut, even if it’s tighter than others we’ve used. We’d recommend sizing up if you’re typically in between sizes unless you prefer tight-fitting jackets.

If you opt for a tighter fit and wear light clothing underneath, you may be able to feel the pit zips slightly. While this isn’t uncomfortable, it is noticeable.

The Alta Vista Jacket performs well but isn’t the most packable rain jacket we’ve tested. Additionally, we expect it to have one home-run feature for a nearly $150 price tag at the time of writing. Don’t get it twisted—we like the jacket; however, for that price, we expect it to pack up tiny, perform better than other models we’ve tested, or magically make us really good at basketball, similar to the movie “Like Mike.” Jokes aside, this jacket performs well, but you can get comparable performance from models with a lower price point, even if they don’t look as sleek.