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The North Face Futurelight is Apparel Game Changer

In Fall 2019, The North Face is launching an advanced breathable-waterproof outerwear technology, which their athletes say is a game changer for outdoor apparel.

As The North Face states, “Futurelight will redefine the future of technical outerwear and change how you experience waterproof performance.”

While no product has been available for testing, yet, we had a chance to chat with a few of The North Face athletes and to see some field-tested apparel from the line.

It took innovators two years to develop their own yarn, weaving process, lamination, and finishing technique which has yielded the most breathable, protective garments on the market, designed to perform at the highest level in the harshest of conditions.

Hilaree Nelson and Jim Morrison made the first ski descent of the Lhotse Couloir on Lhotse in the Himalayas in 2018 wearing Futurelight.

Nelson, a mother of two, had previously summitted both Everest and Lhotse in under 24 hours and had skied from the summits of Cho Oyu in Tibet, Papsura in India, as well as numerous notable mountains in South America, Russia, Mongolia, and Pakistan.

Morrison has a ski-mountaineering resume similar to Nelson’s and has successfully completed multiple 8,000m summits, as well as numerous impressive ski descents all around the globe.

The apparel they used for their ski was displayed at the Denver Outdoor Retailer trade show in January. It showed little wear and tear, only a few crampon tears from ascending the 2,000-metre Lhotse Couloir.

The North Face climber David Lama was also in Denver and told us that he was wearing the second generation of Futurlight, saying that it’s even lighter and stronger than what Nelson and Morrison used.

Lama used the new apparel for his first ascent of Lunag Ri in the Himalayas and has been using the gear ever since.

The North Face will roll out jackets, bibs, tents, gloves and mittens with FutureLight tech initially in Fall 2019. We have yet to test FutureLight and have yet to see any hard numbers from third parties comparing the technology to offerings from Gore-Tex. Will Futurelight become the industry standard for your outdoor gear? By this time next year, we should have a good idea.

On another note, The North Face teamed up BMW Designworks to create a new collapsible Futurelight teardrop trailer. The concept brings features a Futurelight design with a tent-style canopy, non-pneumatic tires and staggered beds.

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