The North Face Venture 2 Jacket for Men

Almost perfect

Used mainly everyday for cardio in 3 seasons or any day it is raining period. Keep it in on me most of the time. I have purchased this jacket 3 times, 1st time in 2003, in 2010 and 2 days ago. It just gets better, the last jacket delamenated and shredded on me, the first one split up the back but I rarely cleaned them and wore them everyday for everything. NF would've probably replaced them both but I got $100 worth out of all three and its only every 10 years give or take, so I'm good with t...hat, as technology and updates are important. Current version is good, a little larger but needed to be for all the layers worn under it. Only trusted jacket for 100% windproof/rainproof no ones can do this for price. Got the current one for 35% off from a in store dealer, so happy, cheaper than anywhere else I could find. No cons, was told at store to always wipe it down or wash it if I been swaeting it in it. I never put it in dryer though just hang dry. Thats it, doesnt get better and if aint broke dont fix it.

GREAT RAIN SHELL!

I got my first Venture over 10 years ago. I believe it was about $75 so it has not even gone up much in price since then but the tech is better. About two years ago I noticed the inside coating was flaking around the hood/neck area, so I took it to the North Face store in Seattle and they sent it to warrantee/repairs in California and about two weeks later I received another brand new one in the mail. So all of the reviewers that complain about flaking and not liking the jacket because of it,... well, if you'd read about the company you'd see that they have one of the greatest warrantees in the business. DON'T LIKE IT, THEN RETURN IT! Keep your receipts or better yet sign up with NF and they will keep your info/receipt in their computer system (I didn't have a receipt). NOW, enough of that. The shell is great at shedding rain. Remember that with any shell or outdoor technical jacket/pants you have to wash them regularly (like once a month or every two) preferably with a wash created for such things such as Nik Wax technical wash, and then treat it while wet with Grangers KT waterproofer or the Nik Wax version of such. Then dry it on medium in the dryer and your jacket will once again bead water. If you don't do this, no jacket including Gore Tex will bead water forever! BUT, that said, even if it does not bead water you will notice that no matter how wet it gets on the outside it does NOT soak through. If it does, then there's a problem with the inside coating so you send it to warrantee dept and they will most likely send you a new one. About the inside coating....it is rather "sticky" feeling and you DO sweat in there. Yes, the jacket IS breathable, but not perfect, that's why there are pit zips and you can also unzip the pockets for more air. I still sweat and it gets humid inside no matter what but it's not that bad. I like the hood on this jacket, I have a small head and while most any rain shell has an adjustable hood, I have found the NF brand to have the best hoods for fit. My venture has elastic on the cuffs as well as velcro which is a feature they discontinued a couple years ago, sadly. They should bring back that feature so one doesn't have to undo the velcro every time you take it off or put it on. This jacket has two zippered hand pockets and large inside mesh pockets (like for a map, or water bottle, whatever) which are great, and I've heard complaints on here about them tearing but even my old one I used for 7 years never tore! The jacket itself is also ripstop material so if you do get a hole, it won't widen. It's fairly warm too, you can layer as you wish to achieve warmth I wish they had a zippered chest pocket, that would be super helpful. But overall I love the jacket, great colors too, not expensive when compared to other jackets and it will last a LONG TIME.