Mallory F.

The best thing about Northbound Gear is the Customer Service. No matter what time I sent an email, I had a response within 3 minutes. I don't know of any other company that responds that quickly (from an actual human being, not a bot). Impressive.

After purchasing a women's weatherproof tactical jacket that needed to be exchanged for the next size up, I learned the hard way about returning anything to this company located in Canada. Although they ship from companies in the US, a product has to be returned to their home base in British Columbia, Canada. Thus begins an involved process at a USPS that essentially cost me half the price of the jacket. Had I known that ahead of time, I would have tried to sell it to someone in my area that hikes regularly and just purchased myself a new one. It took a very long time to be processed upon return to the company as it has to be "inspected", approved/accepted for return before a replacement will even be shipped. It was easily several weeks before my new jacket arrived yesterday. This is not that company that has spoiled us here in the US.
As for the jacket quality, I wore it for a quick walk late yesterday afternoon. I wore a cotton turtleneck and light sweatshirt figuring the fleece-lined interior would keep me warm in the 32°F crisp air. Although I walked briskly, I still felt a chill on my arms. I will definitely have to layer with a merino wool and heavier sweatshirt. It could be that this jacket is constructed more for when it's raining rather than when it's cold. Given the need for layering, I probably should have purchased an even bigger size to accommodate the extra clothes. The jacket is outfitted with several pockets to keep cell phones and key fobs dry in wet weather. I'm hopeful that it will earn the high-praise reviews I read that persuaded me to buy not only one for myself but one for my partner. I also purchased 2 pairs of the weatherproof pants. I hope these will prove worthy of the positive reviews too.