The North Face Elysium Jacket

My men's Elysium size L weighs 20 oz (567 g), according to a digital postal scale in my office. That's significantly different than the specs listed on this site and the North Face's (as someone here also else noted).

Nevertheless, it's still lighter than TNF's Nuptse down jacket. Some of that comes from the use of Pertex Quantum for the outer fabric, which shaves off about 2 oz total weight compared to the ripstop nylon used in the Nuptse jacket.

Of the two jackets, I'd guess the Nuptse is warmer. If I were stuck on a mountain top or sitting outside for hours at a New England football game, I'd want the Nuptse. Who cares if you look like the Michelin Man? You're warm.

Personally, I've found the Elysium great for DC winters. It gets into the teens here and the jacket's adequate. It is a little less packed with down than Nuptse, but that's a plus: you can wear it a wider range of temps than Nuptse, which can get hot.

Biggest pro of Nuptse: it's better looking. It looks thick without making you look like George in the "Puffy Jacket" episode. And it has a few red styling accents -- the zipper pulls -- which make it a bit sharper than the plain-jane Nuptse. The Quantum fabric has more of a sheen than ripstop, which again makes jacket easy on eyes. My wife gave it the thumbs-up over Nuptse when trying on.

I wear a M in TNF Denali jacket but a large in Elysium so you may indeed want to size up, as someone else here suggested.

I bought this coat as a Christmas gift for my BF. It's a VERY warm coat. We live in Chicago and it has been 20 degrees or less for the last few weeks--it has definitely kept him warm in the frigid temps. It's also is a great coat because it is not very puffy. It's more fitted and doesn't make my BF look like the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man - as most down North Face coats unfortunately make those who wear one look big and puffy. My only complaint is the sizing - it runs a tad small, so get one size up. According to the sizing chart, the chest area is true to size but the length of the arms and torso are cutting it really close. My BF is 6ft 170 pounds...he needed a large due to his arms and torso length, but the medium's chest fit him perfectly. So, if you get one size up, the arm length and torso length will be fine, the chest area will be just a tad big--no big deal. Over all the coat is warm, very soft and has a more modern fit. I bought him the all black coat.

I bought this jacket online, but I hesitated because I couldn't figure out how thick -or puffy- it is, having not seen it in a store. Some of the reviews (also its light weight) made it sound like a down sweater but others compared it to the Nuptse, which is definitely a "puffy". So for the benefit of anyone else wondering the same thing: This jacket is a puffy, albeit a smaller, more fitted one.
This jacket is not one of those sweater-like down-filled jackets, but rather belongs in the class of puffy jackets. That is, it is not an inner layer (although you could obviously wear a shell around it). Within the puffy jackets class, it is on the lighter end. Still, it is useful in snowy conditions (I walk around Montreal with it in -10C). It is bit less thick than the Nupste or Sub Zero hoodless jacket.
It's amazingly light, given its warmth. It also looks great. It has a really nice shape and the small is well fitted if you have a thinner frame.
Really glad I bought it, this is a very high quality jacket.

Great jacket, it is very warm, but it runs small so I would recommend a size larger than what your used to. I am 5' 11" and 148lbs, I wear a medium in most things so I got a medium. The jacket is short on me in both the sleeves and the body, I should have gotten a large. I would have sent it back but I hate the hassle of shipping things back, I was excited to use it, and I tried to rationalize it to myself saying that it wasn't that bad. I also got a hooded Denali from Northface which is a medium as well. That one fit much too large and after going to a store I figured out I should have ordered a small in that. These were the first two products from Northface I've purchased and I'm not sure if this is typical of their sizing. All that aside both coats are very warm and I would recommend them, but I will always research sizing before I ever buy a Northface product again.

I purchased the 2008 model in blue last summer and after wearing this jacket here in Idaho during the cold months it has performed great thus far. This jacket as mentioned in some of the other reviews is less puffier and more fitting than the Nuptse. I found this jacket to be quite warm in temps ranging between 0 and 30 degrees and that is being in the elements for an hour or so. Only complaint is the sleeves seem to be a little short. I'm 5'8 about 160 lbs and the medium fits well with the exception of the sleeves. Also, I typically wear just a long sleeve t-shirt underneath which seems to be adequate when dealing with the outside temps noted above. I've had many compliments on this jacket and it has performed well in my opinion. With the slight shortness of the sleeves, I would still purchase this jacket again if I had to replace it. (Purchased from Backcountry on sale during the summer $149.00).

I like this jacket.

The fit is good, not too puffy, but the major drawback for me is the collar. It is something that makes this jacket stand out, stylistically, but when I received it, the collar was flat and doesn't have much fill in it.

The jacket is also not near as warm as I had anticipated, not as warm as the MH Phantom. Also, the fit is strange. I ordered a small(just on a hunch). I"m 5'10 160 skinny build and the small fits my shoulders well. I was expecting it to be way too small but pleasantly surprised.

All in all, I like this jacket's fit and the streamline sort of look to it, and perhaps its particular to my jacket, but the lack of down fill on the collar leaves it limp and useless unless zipped all the way up your neck.

I have never owned a down jacket befor so I was impressed with the feeling of not having anything on and range of movement. It is also immediately warm. The other day I was walking into a public garage on a steep decline and I stepped in a crack and tripped and fell hard. I landed on my right elbow and left hand and I slid at least 2 feet. I weigh 200 pounds and I was sure that my new $250 jacket had a long gash in it from the impact of the fall and from sliding on it. I removed the jacket and searched for a tear or even a scratch and found nothing. I love this jacket!!

This is a cool jacket, keeps me really warm, has a hot look, some times it seems to have feathers sticking out, but dont let them come out and dont pull them out, just pull them back in from the opposite side other wise that hole would get bigger and you keep loosing feathers from that same spot. I don't know about cleaning it, but I think just dry cleaning will do. Great in the snow, cold weather, skiing or anything outdoors in the winter. These jackets are so warm, I ware just a t-shirt and the jacket and I'm comfortably warm. Enjoy it, I highly recomnd it.

I'm completely amazed with this jacket. It's extremely warm, it does an excellent job of insulating your body from freezing temperatures. I was wearing it today (1/15/09) in 10 degree weather and it kept me very warm. I previously owned the Nuptse (lost it) and this jacket is much warmer, at least that's the way it seems to me. Also it is much lighter, in fact you can't even feel it when you are wearing it. If you are in the market for a down jacket, I without a doubt recommend this one.

I'd give this jacket two thumbs up if it weren't for two nagging issues. First, the sleeves are a little short on me. I have 3 other North Face jackets in size large and the sleeves are always plenty long. But on this one, there is a cool air gap between my jacket and my gloves and I really don't like that. It's great to be toasty warm (and the jacket is WAY warm), but then to have that gap is a bummer. Second complaint is about the cinch cord at the bottom. On mine, the little pieces on each side that are supposed to secure the elastic drawcord at your chosen setting just won't hold. Disappointing and, again, a little irritating. As I use this primarily for just walking the dog, I can deal with it. But if I had bought the coat for more technical uses, it'd be headed back as these two irritants would then be unacceptable.

Its light weight, compresses to noting, fits well, was warm till 32F (that's he lowest I wore at). I have some pet peeves.

Q. The outer material is too thin and flimsy. I wore this jacket and was leaning back on a rock and it crumpled the material! Will try post pictures.
R. The waist or bottom cinch does not hold its grip. So, after cinching tight, it comes back loose almost immediately. Due to this, cold air enters from the bottom and makes u feel cold!
S. No wind resistance at all. I don't think this was build for that, but still wanted to mention my observation. You absolutely need to wear a shell on top for wind/water resistance.

I am contemplating weather to return this jacket or continue to use it. :(

For $149 this jacket is satisfactory to the looks. but once you consider the price/performance of this brand name and its vaunted 700-fill specifications, you would wonder whether you have spent correctly. the down jacket is slightly flat overall, not nearly puffy as the Nuptse which I bought for $131 in the Christmas sale. Wearing this, you have the feeling that this is intended for a autumn walk in a park/woods. Nothing in this build is indicative of the expected down content that would protect you from the chills of a nordic wind. I have to return this since this cannot be a authentic 700-fill or worth this price,i.e. maybe it's imported OEM item dissimulated under the advertized picture that looks so attractive only from afar

I got this jacket for my boyfriend in a XL. He's 6'2 190 lbs. Sizing chart said a XL was the size. The Jacket is very fitted and only comes to his waste. They are sold out of XXL now so too bad for us. I'm wondering if the next size up would be longer or just wider?? The jacket its self is very nice. The shell is soft thin fabric and the inside is same. Not at all bulkey like some north face can be. Very light but he says it's warm. As far as looks go its great just keep in mind that if you are looking for that puffy sleeping bag north face get the next size up or get the other style.