Customer Reviews The North Face McMurdo Parka

Had to return this item. A bit small. But, I really disliked the zipper.....small, hard to get started.....Can see it breaking in the future.....I really wanted this to be a good jacket...Would buy one next year if they improve the zipper,

Actually a great parka but the cut was slightly pear shaped. The biggest problem was the hood. Very poorly designed and basically unusable. No way to tunnel it down for extreme winds. The string adjustment , located on the back of the hood required 2 hands and then I found you actually had to remove the coat to adjust. The gaitor is a nice idea but also not usable when wearing a mad bomber hat. Either you have to remove the hat or select other headgear. In rural Nebraska winters with temps in high teens to low 20s and a normally 20+ N wind, the hood is a must have. Hood needs to be redesigned and draw strings placed on each from side along with a storm flap to help hold it in place. Additionally, quality control needs to assure correct cut/fit. Pear shape just isn't the way to go. Parka was returned.

Loved the look, it is bulkier than shown in the picture... But warm for that reason as well. I would go to a store and try one on as I bought an xl and ended up trading for a large. The hood is warm and the built in face mask is actually really great, I use it all the time in WI.

I purchased this coat for my husband as a Christmas gift but ended up returning it due to the stiff collar. He said when he wears the hood and has it all the way zipped it is still cold because the fur does not hug his face/head and lets in the cold air. The other "con" on this coat is that the collar is very stiff when it is fully zipped and makes it difficult to see or turn one's head

Great quality parka for the price. I like that the parka is waterproof and comes with lifetime warranty. It is very warm and comfortable. When I bought the parka, I thought it should have elastic cuffs like many other parkas do. However, I wear suits to work and it is better to just have Velcro cuffs so I can wear the parka on top of my suit jacket when my topcoat is useless in the NYC winter. I bought size small in black color. I am 5'6 tall, 143lb, 38 chest, and 31 waist. I feel that the parka is too wide around my torso especially right below my chest. I tried to adjust the width by using the waist draw cord but it made the parka's shape unnatural and didn't not like it. I am trying to like this parka because I do not want to pay extra $500+ to get the fit I like such Canada Goose Langford. I may return the jacket but other than the fit, Mcmurdo is a great parka and I highly recommend.

Ordered the M size after entering my detials in the find your size option. The size was way too big for me and not a snug fit as like it. I even entered details a little smaller as i like to wear fitted clothes.

This is very nice jacket. Warm, good size and amount of pockets. Main zipper open both ways and with external flap. Flap has buttons and not always full of lint velcro tearing seat belts. Scarf built into hood is very nice idea adding a lot of warm comfort. Jacket has just right length. However, I had to return mine, as collar was cutting to the front of my neck making it very uncomfortable. Main zipper was sewn too deep making it difficult to operate as it was catching on the fabric. Sleeve cuffs has very short velcro and no internal flexible rubber band. Velcro when engaged is sticking only on last quarter inch. I was looking for replacement of my 1999 Mountain Light Parka with Nuptse Down zip-in. After also trying its current version, Triclimate, Varius Guide and Vortex Jackets, my conclusion is, that closest to 1999 North Face Mountain Light Parka is Arc'teryx Fission SV Jacket. Probably slightly less warm and without main zipper flap, but apart that it looks like it has all its important features. It also sound logical. Mountain Light and Nuptse Jackets costs today exactly the same as in year 1999. By factoring around 43% inflation rate, we get cost of Arc'teryx Fission SV. I wish North Face would keep making 1999 version of Mountain Light with all its features like extra thick fabric under backpack straps, bullet proof water resistance (15 years without treatment no single drop coming through in 10 hours of rain), buttons on zipper flaps, mesh fabric on internal shoulder panel, huge pockets, rubber band and full size velcro in sleeve cuffs, right size of sleeves, under arm opening with mesh fabric and not just opening potentially tearing seam. Just thoughts . . .

Pros: - Warm - Well made - Looks good Cons: - hood just doesn't seem to fit or sit right - only one inside pocket (wallet pocket) - drawstrings on hood are hidden and almost impossible to find with your fingers. - angled outside pockets (where your hands go) have zippers. These zippers scrape my hands each and every time I put my hands inside. Also, these pockets are not lined. Inside they are just the nylon. For $350.00 you would think NF would at least put some kind of wool or cloth lining. Feels like putting my hands into two plastic baggies. - the two other outside pockets have velcro flaps, which are annoying if you plan to use the pockets on any regular basis. *ripppp*** every time. It seems that NF should have put more thought into these areas for a jacket with this price point.

Inner fabric literally deteriorated after one winter. Had to use duck tape at one spot to keep the down inside. Contacted warranty department and sent jacket back. They did not honor the warranty.

It was too big. I had to return it and get one size down. But the color and quality were great!

This particular product was very warm, I loved the built in ski mask in the hood. The only issue was that the coat was about to inches shorter then normal.

I live in Maine. This coat was great through 2 season.2 years of wear and washing, the insulation in the coat binds together and leaves large open spaces. Brrr.

My wife got this for me and at first I really liked it but I have used it for the last two months, not daily, and the stuffing is already poking through and stabbing me in the arms. Not warm enough to wear without layers. Huge disappointment for the cost and how reputable this company is.

This coat is one of the warmest I've ever worn. However, it's so big and bulky. I felt like a football lineman on the sidelines during the ice bowl trying to stay warm. Not flattering and a bit tough to move

I ordered this in a size small and it looked like it was 3x too large. I'm used to having to size up/down but this fit was way off. While it will probably keep you warm and dry in extreme conditions, unfortunately the fit and weight is too big and bulky. Additionally, for some reason, this year's model shifts from buttons to velcro straps. Anyone who's had a jacket with velcro knows that hair, lint and just about anything can get stuck in them over time-- buttons are far better.

I love this jacket on every level, it is warm, comfortable, very functional and fits perfectly. However, the zipper broke after months of use, unacceptable for a North Face, especially such a heavy duty jacket.

There must have been some real design changes and cutting corners from previous versions of the McMurdo to this one, I have never been so disappointed with a North Face purchase. Pros: - The British Khaki color looks even better in real life - The built-in balaclava was one of the main reasons I bought it Cons: - NO WAIST DRAWSTRING. This is the main reason I will be returning it. I am 5'10", 150 and even the Small size made me look like I had a slight pooch, which I could do nothing about. Aesthetics aside, the biggest drawback is that my torso was constantly cold due to the draft that the parka let in bc it can't be cinched. - Awkward zipper placement, from the bottom when you're trying to zip it up to the top where it would sometimes catch my facial hair (ouch!) - Poorly placed, way-too-thin pockets everywhere. The side pockets are too small to fit most guys' hands and the chest pockets are too high unless you have short arms. There is virtually no insulation meaning you'll always need to wear winter gloves. I am really disappointed that North Face jackets have reached this point. I had my last one for 10 years and to see this drop-off in quality is pretty shocking.

Very disappointed in this coat. Too few pockets. No drawstring at waist or bottom. Upper pockets too high and lining too cold to touch,

I love this jacket but have REAL problem with zipping the zipper to get it started.

The zipper is really small and hard to zip up and at least once a day it unzips from the bottom up. It is hard to get the zipper to open back up again.

The seams outside the pocket started ripping after a month. The zipper is bad and hard to close. The customer service was not helpful. They just gave us the number for the warranty department to send it in, but that means that we're left without a coat for a while. This shouldn't happen within 1 month of wear. Poor quality and poor customer service.

Have no idea why The North Face got rid of their adjustable wait feature. That was such a no brainer especially in the current fashion climate that values slimness. If this jacket had the adjustable waist id give it a 5/5

I was deciding between the McMurdo III and the Gotham III, initially I went with the McMurdo because I liked the parka style a little better and thought it would fit my needs better. It was very warm, I was outside on a windy day around 13 degrees and the jacket was fantastically warm. My gloved hands felt the cold and my legs felt the cold but my torso was perfectly warm. The McMurdo performs great. It's the low quality zipper that was a dealbreaker! And I read the other reviews about the zipper and figured those people just couldn't do zippers. Wrong, this is a double zipper so you have to thread through both before it will zip properly. No problem if it was even a normal quality zipper but you have to mess with it and get it aligned just right for it to work. I will note that I think a double zipper is the right idea for this jacket, nice to unzip the bottom when sitting in the car, but I can't stress enough the poor quality. Go to TNF website and search the reviews for "zipper." At the store I tried it on before I bought and it took me a couple tries to zip up and I commented to my friend that the only negatives had to do with the zipper. I ignored the warning light in my head! Through the day I ended up just snapping the front of the jacket... then I asked myself why I was putting up with snapping a jacket as expensive as this one. Then the zipper actually got stuck on me because it wasn't threaded all the way through the second zipper. That was it. I returned it, for $200-$300 you shouldn't have to put up with that. I got the Gotham III instead and am very happy. As far as specs go it is the same jacket as the McMurdo except not parka style. Plus the hand pockets on the Gotham are in a much more natural position, not so low like the McMurdo. Best part is I can zip the Gotham without even looking. I really hope TNF fixes this on their next model and returns the McMurdo to greatness.

It's a lovely jacket but it is unusable because it is so hard to get the zipper aligned just right. What use is it if it takes 5 minutes of fiddling with the zipper each time you want to wear it? I am returning it.

I really can't be sure but someone some where mandy the decision to make them light. Like one of the comments posted my old parka from 10 years ago would stand up to Canadian winters and Albany. One trip TNF found was tosses in trunk for a different maker .Go back to the old design.