The North Face Celebrates 25 Years of Summit Series
The North Face proudly celebrates twenty five years of Summit Series, the brand’s pinnacle performance collection.
Tested by athletes and proven in some of the world’s harshest, most remote environments, the collection showcases advanced technologies and an ever-evolving commitment to supporting extreme mountain athletes and outdoor diehards who thrive on high risk, high reward adventure.
Summit Series’ mantra is “Athlete Tested. Expedition Proven” - which is a powerful statement when you stop and think about it. All products go through a vigorous R&D process and are tested by extremely mentally tough and physically fit people. And then proven via expeditions in some of the most beautiful, yet relentless and unforgiving places on earth. To really back this sentiment of “Athlete Tested. Expedition Proven”, Summit Series is supporting a Herculean film project that is currently midway through production in New Zealand, following the journey of two Kiwis as they set out on a personal quest to conquer a series of summits of their own.
“XXIV” is a film project which follows Sam Smoothy and Will Rowntree through their summit attempts to climb and ski all twenty four of New Zealand’s named 3000-m peaks. With only around sixteen people having ever climbed all twenty four, Sam is closing in on the finish line with his current tally of twenty one out of twenty four summited and skied. Twenty-one down, three to go. The film follows each expedition, charting the evolving bond between Sam and Will and revealing how these experiences reshape their perception of, and relationship with, their beautiful homeland of Aotearoa. While the film currently has no set launch date, it is slated to release digitally sometime next year. Keep your eyes peeled for that one.
Demanding circumstances, like the ambition of the “XXIV” project, have pushed new product innovations to include several proprietary technologies found across the collection. Let’s get really techy for a second, here’s a breakdown:
● DOTKNIT™ – a performance fabric that actively pulls moisture from the skin and expels it;
● FUTUREFLEECE™ – a revolutionary lightweight heat-trapping technology;
● PRODOWN™ – water-repellent down that offers high-level warmth and compressibility;
● VENTRIX™ – dynamic insulation that adapts to your level of activity;
● FLASHDRY™ – technology that eliminates moisture so you stay dry and comfortable;
● FUTURELIGHT™ – an advanced breathable-waterproof technology tuned for high-output activities in all seasons;
● CLOUDDOWN™ – advanced thermal performance for extreme conditions and cold temperatures.
In addition to the above, the celebratory milestone also marks the reintegration of GORE-TEX technology into the Summit Series collection. And for the handful of people who don’t know what this means, it is the most highly regarded wind and waterproof membrane designed to protect wearers from the elements, as well as the addition of Spectra® yarn, one of the world’s lightest and strongest fibres, to provide unmatched durability in ultralight fabrics without a weight penalty.
Historically, The North Face have released a tight curation of limited edition collaboration collections too, merging high fashion with high performance, collaborating with powerhouse street fashion brands like Supreme, Palace, Junya Watanabe MAN, MM6 Maison Margiela and Gucci to name a few. But the core ethos of Summit Series has always remained sharply focused on allowing climbers, alpinists, skiers, snowboarders, and trail runners to push the limits of human potential, to achieve new and never-before-seen feats in the outdoors through its advanced system of layering and performance technologies.
As Summit Series now looks forward to the next twenty five years of pinnacle performance and product innovation, the new Summit Series alpine climb and snowsport collections will roll out in the coming months across Australia, utilising several highlighted The North Face technologies, including its most advanced layering system to date.
Never stop exploring. Planning an adventure that pushes the limits of what you thought you were capable of? Learn more about the Summit Series collection or The North Face here.
