The North Face vs Columbia: Which Brand is Better?

The North Face vs Columbia: Which Brand is Better?

Columbia vs. The North Face is today’s topic for our brand comparison. This is the second article in this new segment, in which we will take a look at two American sportswear brands, while focusing on their jackets mostly, of course.

We have done so in the past, too, by comparing the Columbia Bugaboo Interchange and The North Face Carto Triclimate jackets.

These are two of the most frequently featured brands in our selections, reviews, and comparisons because of their great jackets and outdoor gear. There are many reasons why we are so fond of both and reading further into this comparison, you will see for yourself.

Those of you who are familiar with either, or both of them, might be wondering as to why we are comparing these two particular brands, since they differ so much in price and that it might not be a fair judgment on either brand.

However, they are both American brands with a focus on sportswear and with considerable involvement in nature preservation and technological innovation for performance fabrics. So not too different after all.

Contents:

– – – –

* Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate this site earns from qualifying purchases (meaning: we may earn commissions if you buy products recommended/reviewed here, by following the links shown here). The availability of products on this page might change at any time. Please check the materials, features, colors, and sizes on the various shops (linked on this page) before buying, because sometimes our articles might contain errors. The product images you see here are for illustration purposes.

1. Columbia

A short history of the brand

Columbia started out as a small hat company in 1938 by two German immigrants and even today it has still remained a family-owned business, run by Tim Boyle, the son of Gert Boyle and nephew of the founders of Columbia.

A brand with a very captivating history and commendable devotion to constant improvement, Columbia’s motto “It’s perfect, now make it better” speaks volumes about how the company approaches product design and business practice.

Despite being an internationally renowned brand, a lot of people turn to Columbia because of the small family-owned company image, making it more trustworthy in their eyes.

While most major brands, especially high-end ones, value product quality above all, few test their products like Columbia does. We would like to refer you to their introductory video, to give you a better idea of what we mean.

Tested Tough | Columbia Sportswear

This video will be loaded from YouTube.com, a third party. If you click "Play", you accept their terms of service, and their use of cookies.

Read also: 9 Outdoor Brands like Columbia that We Love and Why

Materials and Manufacture

As we will see with The North Face as well, Columbia has not only developed several clothing technologies, but has also collaborated with other companies that focus solely on fabric technologies, in order to provide great weather resistance for their products.

These include:

  • Omni-Tech, a breathable, waterproof, and windproof fabric (read also: Omni-Tech vs Gore-Tex Technology).
  • Omni-Wick, which is highly breathable and helps wick moisture away.
  • OutDry, an absolutely waterproof barrier, which heat-binds to the fabric and performs flawlessly (read also: OutDry vs Gore-Tex Technology).
  • Omni-Freeze, a technology that helps with cooling down.
  • Omni-Shade, Omni-Wind, Omni-Shield – these fabric technologies work to protect against the sun, wind and stains.

If we are to look solely at materials used, around 80% of the Polyester used is recycled, in order to lower the environmental impact of the company. Apart from polyester, they use Nylon as well, mostly in the waterproof jackets.

For the down insulation that is used, it is all RDS certified, meaning that everything is traceable and that it comes from birds that were humanely treated, neither live-plucked nor force-fed.

Our Responsible Down Commitment | Columbia Sportswear

This video will be loaded from YouTube.com, a third party. If you click "Play", you accept their terms of service, and their use of cookies.

There are some special insulations developed by them, which include: TurboDown, a combination of Omni-Heat technology with down insulation for ultimate warmth, and Omni-Heat Reflective, a technology that reflects body heat with the silver dots dispersed throughout.

The chemicals used for DWR treatments are short-chain Perfluorinated compounds, that are less harmful to the environment.

As you can see, we are talking about a great consideration for the environment, a trait that both brands share.

You might also like: 8 Columbia Jackets for Outdoor Enthusiasts

man and woman camping wearing down jackets

Popular designs

Because Columbia, just like The North Face, has a wide product range, we will pick out a Softshell, an insulated jacket, and a waterproof jacket so that all the main basis are covered.

One of their best-selling softshells is Ascender (check it out at Amazon.com – #ad), which is a high-performance, versatile jacket that withstands water and wind and it is made of 100% Polyester, in a Contour cut that makes it fit a lot better during movement. As with all softshells, they are designed for sportive wear and work great for layering underneath a heavier jacket when the temperatures drop.

Columbia Men's Ascender Softshell Jacket
Image: columbia.com

Picking one insulated jacket is a bit tricky, since they have a best-seller collection, which is the TurboDown jackets, that come in a variety of colors and designs.

Depending on the fill power of the TurboDown, they provide different warmth and loft but all of them are very well-insulated and are suitable to wear in harsh temperatures.

For the third category, that of waterproof jackets, we picked Glennaker Lake (check it out at Amazon.com – #ad), a nylon jacket that is very lightweight and durable, great for unstable weather and rough terrains.

Price

Despite having products that perform so well and are well-made, Columbia is an affordable brand. Their jackets are moderately priced and there are both cheap and expensive options, which range from $50 all the way up to $500 and above for certain designs, mostly the Titanium parkas.

These expensive parkas are made of several technologies and are completely weatherproof.

2. The North Face

A short history of the brand

Founded in 1966, The North Face began its journey as a retailer for backpacking and climbing equipment and later developed other products.

The brand quickly grew in popularity and was the first choice of many avid sportsmen and explorers. They are renowned for the high performance of their products, especially jackets, and for their stylish designs, which come in numerous eye-catching colors.

Compared to Columbia, their jackets are more modern rather than classic and the product range is extensive.

The North Face is held as a reputable sports brand due to the functionality of its designs and the fact that its jackets are quite well-made overall.

FUTURELIGHT: Made to Defy | The North Face

This video will be loaded from YouTube.com, a third party. If you click "Play", you accept their terms of service, and their use of cookies.

Don’t miss: 10 Outdoor Brands like The North Face that You’ll Love

Materials and Manufacture

As we mentioned previously, both brands are quite similar in regards to innovation and environmental awareness.

The North Face focuses mostly on using recycled materials, Polyester especially, and makes certain that the cotton used in their products is responsibly sourced, just as the down, which meets the RDS requirements.

To further extend on this, they offer lifetime warranty and are quick to repair any damaged apparel, which would mean fewer resources used for new items and a product that will last for many years to come.

As for DWR treatments, they are looking to replace them with more environmentally friendly options and to use PFCs as little as possible.

Now, moving on to fabric and insulation technologies that are used in The North Face jackets, the one that most people might be familiar with is definitely ThermoBall. A synthetic insulation, in collaboration with PrimaLoft, it is one of the closest down-mimicking insulations currently on the market, and that says a lot.

woman with parka on snow

DryVent is a fully waterproof, windproof and breathable fabric, which comes in different versions, depending on what the jacket will be used for.

FlashDry is comparable to Omni-wick, designed to keep the body dry by wicking out moisture and by being highly breathable.

WindWall fabrics serve as a protective barrier against cold winds and come in both windproof and wind resistant options.

Lastly, Gore-Tex is one of the key fabric technologies partnerships used in a majority of their high-performance jackets, due to it being waterproof, windproof, breathable, and extremely durable.

You might also like: 8 of the Best The North Face Down Jackets Reviewed

Popular designs

Just like we did for Columbia, we will look at a softshell, an insulated jacket, and a waterproof one.

One of the most popular The North Face softshells is definitely Apex Bionic. This is one of the highest-rated softshells on Amazon and a beloved one among men and women who enjoy the outdoors regardless of the season. For a more detailed review on this jacket, take a look here.

The North Face Apex Bionic Men's Softshell Jacket
Image: thenorthface.com

Two of the most popular insulated jackets are the Arctic parka (check it out at Amazon.com – #ad), which is down insulated and comes with fur trim and has a waterproof and breathable shell.

The second is any of the Thermoball jackets (our review here), which are very lightweight and extremely warm. Both of these jackets are suitable for harsh winters, with the Arctic parka being the warmer of the two.

The North Face THERMOBALL Fill Zip Jacket TESTED + REVIEWED

This video will be loaded from YouTube.com, a third party. If you click "Play", you accept their terms of service, and their use of cookies.

Lastly, the waterproof jacket of choice is Resolve (check it out at Amazon.com – #ad), a high-performance jacket that is made of DryVent 2L and due to being highly breathable, it makes for a great hiking and sports jacket.

Read also: The North Face Original vs Fake Jacket: How To Spot It?

Price

When it comes to price, The North Face is slightly pricier than Columbia overall, but there are more affordable options available.

There are $70 – $100 options, as well as those on the other end of the spectrum that go upwards of $500.

Read also: Are The North Face Jackets Worth the Price? Why are they So Expensive?

Related: 9 Cheaper Alternatives to The North Face Denali, Thermoball and Metropolis Jackets

3. Which One Is Better?

If you are looking for a casual jacket or one for occasional sportive wear and you don’t have too many expectations performance-wise, then Columbia offers the best quality to price value.

But, if you want a jacket that is slightly better put together and is designed for activity, then The North Face would be the better brand.

Overall, considering customer opinions on websites and forums online, the general consensus is that quality-wise, you get what you pay for, so while Columbia makes overall cheaper and good-quality jackets, The North Face makes great performance jackets and provides better styles and design options, especially for parkas.

14 Comments

  1. My GF wants to know if North face paid you for this review. She likes Columbia, basically for the reasons you stated, I prefer the North Face for the reasons stated above, proving my point.

  2. I am a Columbia fan. The items I have purchased have been great quality, are durable and affordably priced. Everytime I look at a North Face item I turn away because of the price. Normal folk on a regular income cannot afford to purchase at those prices no matter the quality. In my opinion because of Columbia’s well made product and it’s affordability makes Columbia the better product.

  3. I can’t speak to how the Northface brand holds up, because I think it’s ridiculously priced so i refuse to purchase, I will however try to catch a coat on sale and truly compare the two for myself. I’m quite pleased with my Columbia purchases and they work quite well considering I work in the elements so I have no complaints with Columbia at all and of course as stated previously they’re considerably lower in price than the Northface brand so for now I’ll stick to Columbia. I also love the fact that I can earn rewards with Columbia and get even better discounts on their items.

    • That subjective. Please explain exactly why is Patagonia better? I’d say objectively Arc’teryx is better in ever category than Patagonia

  4. I have a Columbia raincoat that I got in 1984 before it was a popular brand. The tag reads Columbia Sportswear,Co. Portland, Oregon. No bells, no whistles. Great shell raincoat. I do not have any outer wear that has lasted that long. Enough said….

    • Yup, my shell from around 2001-ish is still going strong despite pretty heavy use. The inner fleece got thin fairly quickly, but I used it heavily.

  5. Columbia has the best warranty of any company I know. My child’s zipper on their ski jacket broke after two years, and they gave us $150 gift card for the full purchase price of the cost, even after it had been worn for two full years. I also appreciate the room to grow in sleeves of the kids’ coats, it means we can get 2-3 years out of them usually. I have no experience with North Face, it’s just too expensive for regular people.

  6. Both brands have always served me well. I do think the slight advantage of the quality of TNF over Columbia is not worth the price. Can’t go wrong with TNF, but Columbia gets my nod. (actually, you won’t go wrong with either).

  7. I feel Columbia’s quality has gone a bit down over the years. Northface is overpriced and I don’t see a variety of styles being offered. I still feel Eddie Bauer beats both of these brands on value and durability.

  8. I have a Columbia Watertight II, Hikebound and a vest. I also got a TNF interchange, a hoodie and backpacks. I’d say one can never go wrong with these brands.

  9. The North Face Outlet stores have sales of 50-60% off, bringing their products in line with Columbia price-wise. Stock turns over quickly so if you see something you like, don’t expect it to be there if you come back another day.

Leave a Reply to Adam J Kalar Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

To learn how we use your data when you comment, read our Privacy Policy.