Norrona Falketind Gore-Tex Review

Norrøna is a Norwegian outdoor brand that remains largely unfamiliar to North Americans. But it shouldn't be. They've been around since 1929 and continue to make high-quality gear that rivals the best from companies on this side of the pond.

Performance Comparison

The Falketing is a great jacket for ice climbing because the super long sleeves don't creep up your wrist when you extend your arms overhead.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Weather Protection

The Falketind utilizes 3-layer Gore-Tex Pro fabric that proved to be fully waterproof throughout all of our tests. Although the hood only incorporates a single drawcord, it is still easy to adjust and effective at sealing bad weather out. This effectiveness is principally due to some reinforcing material inside the brim that provides some stiffness and directs falling moisture away from your face.

The wrist cuffs are also especially long and form-fitting. Although this isn't exactly fashionable, it is extremely functional. By ensuring the sleeves stay tucked in beneath your gloves, snow is sealed out and your hands stay warmer and drier. Our only complaint is the durable water repellent (DWR) finish. Initially, it was better than average at beading water, but after a couple of months, it began to wear off and, we observed some wetting out of the face fabric. This will happen to any jacket, of course, but it appeared to happen a little sooner to the Falketind than the burliest hardshells we tried.

The extended cuffs give you the option to wear them under or over your gloves. Our testers preferred over for thinner gloves, and under while wearing thicker gloves with wrist gauntlets.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Weight

We measured a size large at 16.2 ounces on our scale. That's near the middle of the field, and a reasonable amount for a jacket that features a pair of full-length pit zips. It's a little heavier than it could be, however, because metal grommets on the hood and waist drawstrings could probably be made from lighter materials without compromising overall durability.

This jacket has just a single cord to adjust the hood. The hood is still effective, however, because the reinforced brim is stiff enough to direct any precip to the sides.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Mobility and Fit

From a functionality standpoint, the Falketind offers decent mobility and fit. The hood fits well while looking up or down, with or without a helmet on. The extra-long sleeves also ensure that the wrist cuffs don't ride even when arms are fully extended overhead. These same sleeves, however, will probably feel less than stylish to many non-technical shoppers. On the other hand, the main hem is a little bit short. This may be more fashionable around town but it's definitely a problem if you want the jacket to stay tucked into a climbing harness.

In our stationary bike test the breathability of the Falketind to be roughly average. It's more breathable than some thicker Gore-Tex models but not quite as breathable as thinner proprietary fabrics from Outdoor Research or Mountain Hardwear.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Venting and Breathability

To shed excess heat and humidity, this jacket has a pair of underarm vents. When fully opened they're pretty effective, but the short pull tabs on the zippers make it hard to operate them with gloves on. The main jacket zipper features just a one-way slide, which slightly limits your venting options. The Gore-Tex fabric itself feels slightly thinner than average, which seems to enhance breathability a little without sacrificing durability.

The Norrona Falketind has a pair of nice chest pockets but they can be tough to open with gloves on because the zipper pull tabs are so short.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Features and Design

The Falketind is clearly a well-made jacket constructed from high-quality materials. The most glaring design flaw is the short zipper pull tabs that make opening and closing the pit zips and accessory pockets unnecessarily difficult, and especially so if you're wearing gloves or mittens. The waist drawcord design also caused it to lose a point because the internal spring clamps used for loosening are unmarked and positioned away from the grommet and pull cord, which makes them tricky to locate.

Norrona's viking logo represents the company's Norwegian roots.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Value

This jacket presents a decent value compared to other hardshell jackets. Although it will still cost you several hundred dollars, it's available for roughly half the price of the most expensive models. The Falketind also comes with a stylish fit and more supple, less noisy, fabric making it more suitable for casual occasions — as long as you're ok with the extended wrist cuffs. This means you might be able to save money by using the same jacket for technical outings and stormy days around town.

We believe hardshells are mostly only required for serious winter activities, but after you add one to your closet, they can prove useful for mellower activities on rainy days when you might otherwise stay inside.

Photo: Jack Cramer

Conclusion