Why I Ditched My North Face for This NASA-Tech Jacket

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Growing up in the Northeast, I thought I knew how to power through the dreadful cold of winter. When I moved to Minneapolis two years ago, I realized I was totally wrong. Here, even a multi-layer get-up – an undershirt, dress shirt, and a suit jacket all under a puffy, clunky North Face – hasn’t kept me warm while I’m outside. And wearing an inner layer under my mandatory work outfit gets me uncomfortably clammy in the office.

My North Face certainly wasn’t warm enough for me to even dream of ditching a layer, and even back in my New York days, I shuffled through REI jackets every three or four winters without finding one that really kept me warm. Both with REI and North Face, I needed to speedwalk for five minutes outside to warm up. I began to wonder, how could I avoid those painful first moments in the cold? Was I destined to the discomfort of wearing four layers inside? Did a better jacket exist?

Although I knew my North Face wasn’t cutting it, I felt anxious about spending time and money finding and buying a new coat. I wanted a jacket that worked for all my upcoming winters, so I was willing to spend more money than usual on a one-time, lifelong purchase instead of buying a new jacket every few years.

I figured other Twin Cities folks would know the best jacket for handling the insane winters here, so I asked my coworker Doug, a lifelong Minneapolis native. He told me that his Oros Apparel Orion Parka keeps him perfectly warm during his commute. Since Doug was surviving these Minneapolis winters with this jacket, I felt confident that the Orion Parka would work for me too.

Oros Apparel

As it turns out, the Orion Parka is made of the same super-insulating aerogel that NASA uses in space suits, shuttles, and the Mars Rover. Aerogel, it turns out, has super-insulating qualities that dwarf 250 other common jacket materials, including the down stuffed into my North Face. Oros’ signature Solarcore aerogels stay warm when compressed, breathe well, break wind, and even support that vital four-way stretch that makes jackets comfortable and easy to move in — no more Michelin Man feeling!


I also learned that Solarcore, like the aerogels NASA uses, can insulate the human body from temperatures as low as -455 degrees F. Astronauts actually encounter temperatures that low, so keeping them warm is literally a life of death situation! If it was insulating and comfortable enough for outer space, it was good enough for Minneapolis. I placed my order right away.

I received my Orion Parka a few nights later and gave it a short test run. I immediately noticed that it kept me way warmer than my North Face, even though it was thinner, lighter, and easier to move around in. I remained warm for the entirety of my stroll to the nearby liquor store and back, so I felt fully confident that I could retire both my North Face and my REI for good. Turns out I was right – the Orion has made my work days so much more comfortable, both during my commute and in my office, and I’m no longer clammy from excessive layering.

Now that the Orion Parka is my go-to winter jacket, I’ve all but forgotten what it’s like to dread facing the blast of chilly Minneapolis air every winter morning. I’ve found that permanent winter warmth solution I so desperately needed, and it’s all thanks to Oros making the best jacket in the galaxy — literally.

The Orion Parka

If you’re seeking the highest-tech, warmest, thinnest winter jacket you can find, click here now. Enjoy the warmth of NASA’s strongest insulating technology right here on Earth.


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19 thoughts on “Why I Ditched My North Face for This NASA-Tech Jacket

  • March 8, 2021 at 5:28 pm
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    I need this jacket.

  • February 28, 2021 at 3:50 pm
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    False. I have purchased and worn this coat (Orion Parka) and it doesn’t work anything like they say. I start getting too cold in it around at 40゚ unless I wear a packable down jacket under it. The cold really seeps in and around the head neck and shoulders where the lining cuts out. My big North face parka works way way better than this 1. This is absolutely not worth the price.

  • December 27, 2020 at 11:43 pm
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    This is a bomb coat! Well done guys!!
    #gamechanger

  • December 27, 2020 at 6:26 pm
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    Good call.
    I’m in North Texas, from Houston. Why? Don’t have a clue.
    My blood would freeze in my veins in Nebraska!!!

    • March 17, 2021 at 1:01 pm
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      My daughter needs a jacket like this.
      She’s a US Postal carrier in Wisconsin.
      Something that’s not bulky.

  • December 27, 2020 at 5:10 pm
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    I see the photo of the girl in the snow wearing the jacket. However, her hair is blowing around in the cold wind plus no hat! The body heat escapes through the head. That makes me cold. I live in Ohio. It doesn’t stay that cold for long. If you are skiing in N. Y. I can see buying the coat
    Since you are outside all day.

    • March 12, 2021 at 12:37 am
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      The model probably isn’t even outside. Shes’ in a room where they do they do the photo shoot. As for the wind, its’ probably a fan.

  • December 18, 2020 at 7:54 am
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    I need womens gloves for reynauds

    • March 7, 2021 at 1:58 pm
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      So,do I. Have you found any yet. I have to feed horses outside in the winter cold . By the time I am finished my hands are frost bitten. It takes over an hour , with my hands in excruciating pain, to thaw out. Please let me know if you know of any thin warm gloves that will help with Reynaud’s Disease.

    • March 20, 2021 at 1:55 pm
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      My hands get so cold. I have reynauds in my fingers, no gloves keep me warm. My fingers turn white a d have no feelings for a. Hour after coming inside.

  • December 15, 2020 at 9:06 am
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    I would like try it on. How much does it cost?

  • November 30, 2020 at 1:38 pm
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    Late 80’s, living the cowboy life for a cattle co. near the Platt river in Nebraska, the thermometers in the yard bottomed out. One had a shattered bulb (-20 deg f), one bottomed out at -30, and the novelty (we thought) -120 deg f one that came with the house we rented, three years prior, hit -80 deg f. I wish we’d known about this brand back then…If it was even around at that time. We moved back to Oklahoma the following spring.

  • November 28, 2020 at 12:32 pm
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    Wow! It protects almost to Absolute Zero!

  • November 26, 2020 at 12:00 am
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    I moved to the North Country 25 years ago and Eddie Bauer winter outerwear along with lightweight silk thermals have worked for me thus far. However I’m giving Oros a try.

  • November 22, 2020 at 2:42 pm
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    I can’t wait to get mine.. I hate winter ny, n I hate wearing so much layers…

  • November 22, 2020 at 12:05 pm
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    Great

    • December 11, 2020 at 2:41 pm
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      I would love for my Daughter In Law And Son To Have One! They Live Where It Gets – 45 Degrees Below Fahrenheit!!

  • February 14, 2020 at 4:19 pm
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    I don’t have a problem in the NY cold in the first 5 minutes… Maybe after an hour it gets too cold but right when you go out you are not immediately frozen… I don’t even have a really cold weather jacket or layers.

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