Apr 10, 2026 6 min read

Kids Reviews The North Face

The North Face Kids' ThermoBALL Hooded Jacket review: Seb's verdict

My daddy has a lot of jackets. Many of them say The North Face on them. Now I have one too, and I think mine might actually be the best one. Sorry, Daddy.

Hello, I am Sebastian. I am two years old and eight months, which is very old and means I know a lot of things now. One of the things I know is jackets, because I have to wear one when it's cold outside, and I have opinions about this.

My new jacket is blue. It is called the Kids' ThermoBALL Hooded Jacket by The North Face and I want to tell you everything about it, because it is very good and also it has a magic pocket, which I will explain later.

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Key specifications

Price: $120 at thenorthface.com (currently on sale for $84)
Insulation: THERMOBALL™ 100% post-consumer recycled polyester cluster fill
Body fabric: 44 g/m² 100% recycled polyester ripstop
Lining: 52 g/m² 100% recycled polyester ripstop
Fit: Regular
Sizes available: 2T to 7 (I have the 3T size)
Pockets: Two zip hand pockets (left pocket doubles as stuff sack)
Other features: Attached three-piece hood, VISLON front zip with chin guard, raglan sleeves, internal elastic cuffs

Three features that I love

It is warm but I can still do ALL the running

Some jackets are too fat. You know the ones. Your arms go out to the sides a bit and you cannot put them down properly and you look like a penguin. I do not want to look like a penguin. Penguins cannot run fast.

This jacket does not do that. It is thin and smooth and it moves when I move, which is very important because I move a lot. I can run in it. I can go on the swings. I can spin round and round in circles until I feel dizzy and have to sit for a minute.

The jacket is just there, doing its job, not getting in the way.

And it is warm. This is the clever bit. It looks thin, but when the cold wind comes, I am fine. I do not know how it does that.

Daddy says something about special insulation that traps warm air, but I was thinking about my favorite Hot Wheels car that daddy gave me earlier, so I may have missed some of that.

The pocket eats the whole jacket and turns it into a ball

Okay. This is the best thing.

You know how this is a jacket? Well, you can put the whole jacket inside the left pocket, and it turns into a little ball. A jacket ball. I did not know jackets could do this. Nobody told me. I found out and I was very surprised.

I have now done it approximately one hundred times. Maybe more. Daddy says I did it six times in one afternoon but I think he lost count because I did it more than that.

When you want the jacket back, you pull it out of the pocket and shake it and it puffs up again. Like magic. I tried to put a Hot Wheels Car in there too, when the jacket was inside, but Daddy said no, and it wouldnt fit anyway, too snug.

The other pocket is a normal pocket. I keep important things in there. Right now there is a car and I think maybe a sock.

The hood stays on my head when the wind comes

This might sound like a small thing. It is not a small thing.

It is a very important thing, because I have had hoods that do not stay on and then the wind gets your ears and that is unpleasant.

This hood has three pieces to it, which means it is a serious hood that takes its job seriously. It fits close around my face without squashing it.

When there is wind, it just stays there, even when it's not up. Very calm. Very dependable. I respect this.

It also does not flop down over my eyes, which is a problem I have had with other hoods. Once I could not see where I was going and nearly walked into a tree. That was not a good day.

Daddy does my zip up for me, and the chin guard means the zip does not scratch my chin. That is a very considerate design decision.

I appreciate it even though I could not have told you what a chin guard was before Daddy explained it to me just now.

What could be improved

The sleeves are quite long. My hands went a bit missing when I first put it on, which I personally enjoyed because it was funny, but I know grown-ups sometimes worry about this.

If your small person is between sizes, you might want to go down rather than up, just so they can find their hands again.

Or just roll them up which is a smarter move as you'll have more time to grow with your jacket then, and save mommy and daddy some money.

Also, this jacket is brilliant for most cold days but if it is really, genuinely, dramatically cold, like a proper big winter with lots of snow and drama, you might need something heavier underneath.

Daddy says it is not a blizzard coat. I asked what a blizzard was. He said a lot of snow. I said that sounds exciting. He said yes but also cold. So there you go.

Did I just make a poem?

My verdict

This is my favourite cold weather jacket. I want to be very clear about that.

It is warm and it is not too fat and this blue is my favorite color. The hood works properly and there is a magic pocket that eats the jacket and turns it into a ball. I cannot think of anything else a jacket needs to do.

It also, according to Daddy, is made from recycled materials, which means it is kind to the planet. The planet is where we all live together, including lizards, so I am glad somebody is thinking about that.

$120 is, Daddy tells me, a lot of money. That is 120 applesauce pouches. I understand why that feels like a lot. But it is currently on sale for $84, which is only 84 applesauce pouches, and that seems much better.

If you have a small person who needs a jacket and you want them to be warm and happy and also have a magic pocket to play with, I think this is the one.