What's It For?
The Serac's part of The North Face's top-end technical Summit Series range aimed primarily at climbers and mountaineers. It's a lightweight alpine jacket, which is probably destined to spend at least as much time in the pack as on the climber, so weight really does matter. The North Face claims 283 grammes, but our medium sample tipped the scales at a whisker under 330 grammes, which is still light.
The Techy Bits
The Serac uses Gore-Tex Stretch Paclite fabric - below - a lightweight breathable waterproof fabric aimed more at performance than durability. The grey inner lining is partially hydrophylic and sucks water away from underlayers towards the membrane beneath. And of course it has some built-in stretch, though only in one dimension.
The cut has been refined with help from TNF sponsored athletes, which means longer sleeves to avoid pulling up when reaching high and out and a bigger than before helmet-compatible hood with a laminated peak that's stiffer than previous North Face offerings.
How It Performed
The Serac may weigh around 50 grammes more than claimed, but it's still plenty light for a full-on alpine shell, some of which is down to the medium length cut, longer than some of the boxy North Face shells we've used in the past.
Fit isn't close, but it doesn't billow around either, so makes for a decent compromise. We wouldn't say the sleeves were that long, particularly compared to, say, Rab's technical jackets, but on our medium-ish arms, they didn't pull up, so that's fine. We didn't really notice the minimal stretch in the fabric.
We like the two large venting pockets that sit above harness belt line, though in really wet weather, we'd be wary of water leaking through the water-resistant zip and through the mesh behind it. Then again this is intended as more of an alpine jacket and intended to cope more with wind and snow, probably layered over a soft shell, but carried much of the time.
Paclite is definitely light, but not our first choice fabric for sustained rain or durability, particularly now that Gore-Tex Pro Shell is so lightweight, so if you want durability or a jacket for regular hardcare pack use, we'd look elsewhere. Bear in mind too that the fabric seems to be the same on the shoulders as elsewhere despite the colour change, so there's no reinforcement.
The hood, we have to admit is okay. The stiffening isn't as good as some, but it works okay in most conditions and swallows a hood happily. It also works fine cinched down over a bare head, so all good there,
Initial Verdict
If you're a gramme-counting alpinist and aren't bothered about long-term durability or ultimate water proofing then the Serac makes a lot of sense as something to layer over the technical soft shell you'll be wearing most of the time. It's light, reasonably well cut and deals well with snow and wind. We wouldn't recommend it as an all-round mountain jacket, simply as there's other stuff out there that will do a better job.
Buy if you want a lightweight technical alpine shell and aren't fussed about durability or the price.
