The North Face’s Futurefleece is one of the most advanced midlayers we’ve tested. Light, breathable and deceptively warm, it’s a premium piece of kit that excels across a wide range of British adventures.

The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece

Ideal for: Mountaineering, hiking, trail running and fastpacking

Not suitable for: Nothing — this fleece can do it all!

The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece Hooded Jacket is a standout performer in the world of technical midlayers. Weighing just over 200g and built with high-output movement in mind, it delivers superb warmth, excellent breathability and rapid drying capabilities. With smart touches like glove-friendly zips, a tight-fitting hood and seamless shoulders, it slots perfectly into any fast-and-light layering system. Yes, it’s expensive — but if you’re out every weekend across seasons and sports, it’s likely to become your go-to.

The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece midlayer review

The North Face has been a fixture in the outdoor gear world since 1966, when it first set up shop in San Francisco. Over the decades, it’s become one of the most instantly recognisable names in adventure apparel — the kind of brand you’ll spot as easily on the high street as you will halfway up a Scottish munro. And that’s part of the challenge. While TNF has earned its stripes with genuinely innovative expedition gear, it also has a habit of drifting a little too far into the fashion world for our liking — which, at times, has us raising an eyebrow about the performance credibility of its kit.

That said, when The North Face does performance properly, it often knocks it out of the park. Nowhere is that more evident than in its Summit Series — a no-nonsense, technically focused range that’s consistently delivered some of the best cold weather gear we’ve tested. We’ve featured several pieces from the line here at GBAC, and the latest to earn its place in our packs is the Summit Series Futurefleece Hooded Jacket.

The Summit Series Futurefleece Hooded Jacket is pitched as an ultralight, high-performance fleece for mountaineering and alpine use. But in testing, we’ve found it far more versatile. It’s a fastpacking dream, a brilliant companion for shoulder-season wild camps, and one of the most effective cold-weather running layers we’ve come across. Weighing just 208g in medium, packing down to about the size of a large orange, and priced at £135, it’s clearly designed with high-output, high-mileage days in mind.

Positioned at the top end of the market, the Futurefleece finds itself in an interesting spot. On the one hand, it vastly outperforms entry-level layers like the Mountain Warehouse Camber II or Snowdon II. Both are made from 100% polyester just like the Futurefleece, and both offer decent warmth for casual UK adventuring — but they lack the breathability, technical design, and featherweight feel that sets the Futurefleece apart. Of course, they’re also available for under a tenner when on sale, making them a no-brainer for first-timers or anyone heading outdoors only occasionally.

At the other end of the spectrum sits something like the Icebreaker Realfleece Descender Hoodie — a merino-rich midlayer that commands an even higher price than the Futurefleece. It brings all the usual benefits of wool: natural thermoregulation, top-tier breathability, and better resistance to odour. But it’s heavier, bulkier to pack, and comes with the usual merino maintenance quirks. You’ll also need to be more delicate with it, especially when it comes to drying and durability.

That leaves the Futurefleece in something of an intriguing middle ground. It’s packed with advanced features and modern design choices that put it comfortably ahead of basic polyester options, and while it doesn’t come cheap, it does feel purpose-built for more committed adventurers. Whether or not it justifies its price will come down to how often you’re getting out and how hard you push your gear — but on paper, it’s certainly got the credentials to compete with the best. We’ve taken it across a variety of terrains and conditions to see how well it holds up. Keep reading to see what we found.

How we tested it

We gave this fleece a proper British outing, running it through the kind of conditions it was made for. It started off with some long training runs through the Thames Valley — the kind where you rack up the kilometres through sideways rain, a bit of low winter sun, and some classic English mud. Despite the damp and wind, the Futurefleece managed to hit that sweet spot of keeping us warm without overheating, proving itself an unexpectedly good shout for shoulder-season running.

Next up was a weekend in the Brecon Beacons in January, where the temperature barely nudged above freezing. We wore it under a Helly Hansen Odin Everdown jacket while standing still and appreciated how warm it felt with minimal bulk. Then, on a steep climb up Jacob’s Ladder with a heavy pack, we ditched the insulation and kept the fleece as our outer. It regulated temperature really well, breathed brilliantly, and most importantly, the hood stayed put even as the wind howled across the ridge.

To round things off, we took it for a two-night stint on Dartmoor — a properly wet one. It rained more or less constantly, and while it wasn’t especially cold, we layered the fleece under a hardshell to stay comfortable. The cuffs and neck did get a bit damp, but the fleece never turned clammy or cold. Even better, it dried out overnight inside our sleeping bag, ready to go again the next day. That sort of performance in damp UK conditions really stood out.

Standout features in real-world use

Let’s start with the weight — because while it feels odd to call that a feature, it really is. At just over 200g in a medium, this is the lightest fleece we’ve ever worn. It’s so featherlight you genuinely forget you’re wearing it, and that brings a huge advantage when you’re counting grams on a fastpacking trip or trying to keep your layering system nimble for unpredictable weather. It packs down to almost nothing, so even if it ends up staying in the bag, it’s never a burden to bring along.

But for something this light, it’s impressively warm. The internal Futurefleece fabric — a clever cut of synthetic fleece — traps heat better than it has any right to. We hiked comfortably in 6°C wearing just this over a T-shirt, and when paired with a baselayer and wind shell, it held its own in freezing conditions. That warmth-to-weight ratio is where the jacket really shines.

That said, it doesn’t sacrifice breathability to get there. We found this fleece to be one of the best-breathing synthetic layers we’ve tested. On big ascents, damp trail runs, or when moving with a heavy pack, it never felt swampy or stifling. It wicked moisture away quickly and — crucially — dried out fast. On Dartmoor, when the sleeves got soaked and the collar damp, it never turned clammy. Stuffed into our sleeping bag overnight, it was ready to go again by morning.

The rest of the design holds up just as well. The zips are top-notch — chunky, glove-friendly and smooth to operate even in freezing wind. The lack of hip pockets is ideal if you’re climbing or wearing a harness, though it does mean you miss out on a bit of day-to-day practicality. Thankfully, the chest napoleon pocket steps up with plenty of space for a phone or a snack bar, and includes a hidden internal mesh pocket for keys or a compass.

At the sleeves, the thumb loops are tight and tidy, keeping everything locked in place when scrambling or layering. That does mean the cuffs are quite snug, so if you like rolling up your sleeves for venting, that’s not an option here.

The shoulder construction is seamless — a small detail, but a meaningful one if you’re hauling a heavy pack. No pressure points, no discomfort. And then there’s the hood. It fits snugly under a helmet or rain shell, and crucially, it stays put when the wind picks up. We found it doubled well as a beanie too — a great bonus when you’re moving fast and don’t want to stop to faff about with extra layers.

How it performs in the UK

Across every trip, we found the Summit Series Futurefleece to be a bit of a revelation — not because it did one thing exceptionally well, but because it quietly excelled at everything. In the sort of cold, wet, and blustery weather that defines much of the British outdoor calendar, it proved time and again that you don’t need bulk to stay warm and you don’t need merino to stay dry. Whether layered under a down jacket in biting winds, or worn solo with a hardshell on a soggy ridgeline, it always found a way to keep us comfortable.

Its ability to breathe while moving, insulate while static, and dry out quickly overnight makes it especially well-suited to the unpredictability of UK adventures. One minute you’re slogging up a hill, overheating in drizzle — the next you’re standing still, getting chilled by the breeze. The Futurefleece handled these swings better than most midlayers we’ve worn.

We kept reaching for it even when we weren’t sure we’d need it. That’s the ultimate compliment to a midlayer — when it earns a place in your kit not just for its standout performance, but because it never weighs you down or lets you down. In a country where weather changes by the hour and warmth-to-weight really matters, the Futurefleece nails the brief.

The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece fleece FAQs

It’s impressively warm for the weight. We wore it over a T-shirt in 6°C and stayed comfortable as long as we were moving. As a midlayer under a down jacket, it can handle sub-zero days. It’s not a replacement for thick insulation, but it punches well above its weight.
Very breathable. On steep climbs, fast runs and long walks, we never felt clammy. It breathes better than any polyester fleece we’ve tested and comes close to matching merino in that department. Ideal for active use in changeable UK weather.
If you’re only out a few weekends a year, probably not. But for regular, multi-discipline adventurers, it’s worth every penny. It’s light, functional and versatile enough to earn a spot on almost every trip. It’s not cheap — but it’s properly good.

The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece fleece: Our thoughts in a nutshell

The price is steep. There’s no getting around that. But if you’re out regularly and want a fleece that can do it all — run, hike, scramble, camp — the Futurefleece makes a compelling case.

It’s not a layer for casual walkers or fair-weather day-trippers. But for anyone logging serious UK trail miles in all seasons, it’s one of the best midlayers we’ve ever tested. Lightweight, warm, breathable and cleverly designed, it ticks almost every box — just don’t expect it to be cheap.

The North Face Summit Series Futurefleece midlayer review: impossibly light, surprisingly warm