The Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket
The Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket stands out in a crowded field of expensive jackets. Well not literally, as the colors we tested were quite drab, but functionally! What makes it so great? Well there’s not really 1 thing that makes the Tamok stand out,. Rather it’s all the little things, the sturdy but elegant design, the great fit, the well thought out features, etc. All combine they make the Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket ideal for sidecountry and freeride laps.
Overview
- Material:
- 70D X 160D recycled Gore-Tex Pro fabric
- 200D Gore-Tex Pro fabric on shoulders and elbows
- Waterproof: min. 28,000 mm*
- Breathability: High, down to 9 RET**
- Windproofness: 100% * ISO 811-test ** ISO11092-test
- Country of Origin: China
- Weight: 788 grams (manufacturer claimed size L)
- Days Worn: 30+
- Size Tested: Large
- Features:
- Asymmetric sleeves and Tail
- Helmet Compatible Hood
- Giant Front Cargo Pockets
- Removable Powder Gaiter
Who is Norrona?
Not that they really need an introduction, but just in case, Norrona has been making outdoor gear since 1929. That’s right, nearly 100 years. It all began with Jørgen Jørgensen who wanted gear that would withstand the harsh elements of Norway. He founded Norrona and the company has stayed in the Jørgensen family since. The firm is still family run by the fourth generation Jørgensen, who also happens to be named Jørgen
Not only is Norrona’s history long but they have a few firsts to their name. They are the makers of Europe’s first prototype Gore-Tex Jacket and introduced the first mountaineering tunnel tent.
Company Ethics
Norrona is very committed to the environment and this shows in the various certifications they have attained.
Every year, 1% of their total sales are used to assist organizations working to promote sustainability and environmentally friendly initiatives. For more info, hit this link.
Norrona commits to using as much recycled fibers as possible. Their goal for recycled nylon in 2020 was 75% and this jacket, the Tamok Gore-Tex Pro rings in at roughly 50% recycled. For more about their recycled Nylon program head on over to here.
Committing further, Norrona uses Blue Sign Certified Fabrics. Blue Sign is an independent auditor that cuts out harmful chemicals before the manufacturing processes even start. For more info, head on over to a great summary by MEC.
They also use Oeko-Tex Certified Fabrics. Oeko-Tex is an international standard to “confirm the human-ecological safety of textile products and leather articles from all stages of production (raw materials and fibers, yarns, fabrics, ready-to-use end products) along the textile value chain.” Thanks Wikipedia.
For more about Norrona’s commitment to the environment and it’s workforce, head here.
What is Tamok?
Just north of the 69th parallel, inside the Norwegian county of Troms og Finnmark is where you will find the Tamok Valley. Roughly an hour and a half from the capital of the region, Tromsø, the Tamok Valley is colloquially known as the Alaska of Norway. Picture all the mountains and shred scenes you have seen of Alaska and that alone should give you an idea of where Norrona’s intent with this jacket lies.
As an aside, when you’re in Tromso make sure to stop by the Mack brewery, the world’s northernmost brewery: https://www.mack.no/en/
What is the Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket?
The Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket is a lean, mean and green freeriding machine! Sure you can get it in my favorite color, orange (Norrona calls it Rooibos Tea) as well as Indigo Night Blue and Emperador (brown) but this model is green, hence the rhyme.
The jacket is designed with freeriding and backcountry tours in mind. It’s made with some of the burliest Gore-Tex around while maintaining looks that set it apart in the lift line, or, at the ranch. Norrona’s description in this jackets design philosophy is “It combines our minimalistic take on the original riders, the western cattlemen, with uncompromising functionality and sustainability.” Well then, giddy up backcountry cowboy.
How does it fit?
The Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket is trim fitting and long. If I gained much more weight, it may be a little too snug around the waist. I am6’1″ and a sleek 200lbs. The sleeves are quite long, especially with the longer portion of the backhand. The hood easily accommodates a helmet and the arms are plenty long for those who have a large wingspan. One of my favorite features of the jacket is it’s long drop tail which Norrona calls asymmetrical . I love wearing bibs / salopettes but they aren’t always the best choice. The drop tail of this jacket negates that. For a tall person, the length of the jacket is great.
What is it made of?
The Norrona Gore-Tex Pro Jacket is made of very resilient materials as can be expected when bosting the Gore-Tex brand. A highly durable 3-layer 70D X 160D recycled Gore-Tex Pro fabric is the main choice with reinforced 200D Gore-Tex Pro fabric on shoulders and elbows. What is 70D X 160D you may ask? This means the Norrona Tamok Jacket has 70D (D=denier) yarn in warp direction and 160D yarn in weft direction. In a nutshell this means that Norrona has used 70D yarn as a base fabric and 160D woven into it. For more on Warp and Weft head over to Wikipedia. What does this mean for us as wearers of this jacket? It’s darn near bomb proof. For more on the various types of Gore-Tex, head on over to our info page about the three types of Gore-Tex Pro
Keeping the jacket as waterproof as possible is the 13mm Gore-Tex tape.
Subtle Styling for the Backcountry
The Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro is like a freeriding mullet, all business up front, party out back. The party of course being the asymmetric tail keeping snow out the back of your pants. Let’s break down the jacket into its elements.
The Hood
The hood is a large affair. It easily fits a regular ski rated helmet fully zipped up. The chin comes up quite high. This doesn’t bother me but it may for others. Protecting your face from the zipper is a soft brushed fleece like material on both sides.
The back of the hood has an adjustment that was held on by a small piece of cordura like fabric. I say it was, because it is no longer there. I’ve no idea what happened to it, but one day, it was gone. Shredded. The hood still tightens at the back but it is now a two handed affair rather than one handed. The peak has a flexible insert that helps create a a nice brim.
The Arms
The Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket has extra long arms, and I love that. I am a knuckle dragger with very long arms. There are few garments I put on and when extending my arms the sleeves don’t ride way past my wrists and up my forearms. That’s not so with this jacket. This is due to the Y-Sleeve design which keeps the arm length at an optimum if you stood with your arms upright in a Y shape.
Starting with the hands, there are laminated stretch woven hand gaiters. They can be worn with your thumb through the thumb loop, or you can pass your hand all the way through. The gaiter itself is just the right tightness. There’s room to breath but they stay put. The gaiter attaches relatively close to the cuff, so at most, you can fit a mid-length gauntlet glove inside. With a full length gauntlet, you won’t be able to use the hand gaiter.
The outer of the sleeves feature what Norrona calls Asymmetric cuffs with velcro adjustment. What this means is the back of the hands are longer than the wrist. This provides more coverage over your glove to keep the elements out. It’s possibly more of a stylistic thing.
The elbows are articulated, meaning they are pre-shaped to be bent. The elbows are a contrasting color and super durable 200d Gore-Tex. If you fancy yourself a hand dragger on our deep turns, maybe it’s time to switch to dragging your elbows. This jacket can take the abuse.
On the left arm there is a 6” long pocket. Inside is a small elasticated pocket that is JUST big enough for a credit card sized ski pass.
Venting
Working our way up the sleeves we come to the X-open underarm zip ventilation. Huge vents adorn the underside of the sleeves. 21.5 inches long. The idea between X-Open sleeves is the vents are closed when the pull tabs are at opposite ends of the vents. When both are in the middle the vents are open, forming an X shape, allowing for full ventilation but without a gaping hole in the sleeves.
The Body
Beginning at the shoulders there is another burly patch of 200d Gore-Tex Pro. It’s a guarantee your pack straps are not going to wear out this jacket. The dark color should also withstand early staining by dirty backpack straps.
As we move to the chest there are two zippers. The left zipper is 12 inches long but does not access a pocket but in fact, a mesh lined vent. This is a novel idea. I’ve never really used two chest pockets at the same time so it’s a unique solution to add more venting. On the right there is a 10” long storm flap covered pocket that contains a strap with a goggle wipe on a detachable leash. I forgot how much I missed having one of these, and this was a nice touch on a technical jacket.
On the front of the jacket is a YKK 2-way Vislon® water-resistant front zip. Vislon makes marine zippers whose teeth are made of Delrin plastic that are molded onto the zipper tape. This makes them strong and practically weatherproof.
Where there are normally two hand pockets, you will find two gigantic cargo pockets. Poth pockets are covered with storm flaps and close via waterproof zippers. Despite their large size, both pockets sat below my pack waist belt and were still functional thanks to their lower positioning.
Inner Body
Inside the jacket is a mesh phone pocket. It’s just big enough for my iPhone 8plus so it should fit most smartphones.
There are also one-hand hem adjustments on both sides.
Rounding the inside of the jacket out is a removable powder skirt with silicone grip. It’s a great length, much like the rest of the jacket. The skirt does not ride up with aggressive movement. It contains snaps to match up with Norrona pants. I’ve had removable powder gaiters before and never felt the need to take them off.
The Droptail
The signature of the jacket is the asymmetric longer back cut. I like to refer to it as a drop tail. This gives the jacket something of a trench coat look, which I really liked. It may not be for everyone but, it did however, negate the fact that I did not wear bibs this season. No matter how deep the pow was, this jacket kept it out.
Overview
I`m not going to lie, it was the looks of this jacket that initially won me over. I love the contrasting shoulder and elbow patches, the drop tail and as Norrona calls it, “western styling.” Then the materials won me over, the 200d reinforcements, and recycled Gore-Tex Pro meant this jacket is built to last. Unfortunately, the tab on the back of the hood was not. This is not a deal breaker but is a little disappointing.
This has been a great sidecountry, backcountry and slackcountry jacket. The only time it was out of its element was when wearing a harness. The extra length is then a bane not a boon and the cut and fit wasn’t designed to accommodate being worn under a harness. It’s certainly not that big of a deal most of the time but if you’re wearing a harness for a lot of your season, you may want to look at more of an alpine cut instead of the freeride cut. Lastly, I’ve not gotten wet in this jacket at all. It’s kept the elements at bay like it should.
Pros: Weatherproof, built to last, great length for us tall dudes
Cons: The hood tab durability. Not the best fit with a harness.
Interested in checking out the Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro Jacket? Hit this link and pick one up.
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Black Sheep Adventure sports was provided with a free Norrona Tamok Gore-Tex Pro jacket to test. This in no way affected our opinion and review of the jacket.
