The North Face Glacier Full-Zip Fleece Hoodie (Infant, Toddler, and Youth) has become a staple in our household. Not the greatest jacket of all time, but a solid piece of outerwear that will keep your little ones warm enough if used correctly. All three of my children have rocked these, and we just hand them down to the next one once outgrown.

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Three North Face Glacier Full-Zip Fleece Hoodies in infant, toddler, and youth sizes, colors pink, blue, and reg
Three of the six (yes, six) of these we’ve owned over the years

The Glacier is not the warmest fleece by a long shot. In fact, the fleece material is pretty thin. At first I was unimpressed by the thickness of the fleece. However, I would argue that this fleece is not meant to be worn alone as a single layer until you approach the low 50s. Below that, it might not keep your kid warm enough. So if you’re looking for a single jacket to keep your kid warm in cold temperatures – this isn’t that.

But where this jacket shines is as a layer. When the temperatures drop into the 40s and below, our kids rock down puffer jackets. As temperatures are approaching freezing, we will throw one of these fleeces on our kids as a layer under their down puffer. If you’re familiar with kids at all, if they get too hot they’ll whine to high heaven. So, you don’t want to make them too warm. This fleece is perfect at providing additional warmth in conjunction with a puffer jacket, but without overheating your little one. The last thing you want in the cold outdoors is your child ripping off all their jackets because they’re hot. Use The North Face Glacier Full-Zip Fleece Hoodie as a layer that will keep your kid warm, but not too warm.

Red and gray North Face Glacier Full-Zip Fleece Hoodie youth size
Closer view of the 6T my son currently wears

This jacket is also hella durable. Our kids don’t baby their gear. They put gear through the wringer, that’s for sure. But these Glacier fleece jackets have stood up to everything and are intact as if they’re brand new. We’ve handed them down from one kid to the next and they’re still going strong years later.

Besides not having a hem cinch, the only real complaints I have is that the infant size hoods are a bit too large and that the sleeves are too long on all sizes. My kids all have big heads, so the hood issue is not a matter of head size. I don’t know about you, but if my baby can’t see, she’s not happy. So I’m constantly finding myself pulling the hood up to keep it out of their eyes. This applies to the infant sizes only though. No issues with hood size on the toddler and youth sizes. The sleeves are always long on these, for all sizes we’ve owned. You may find yourself rolling the sleeves up to adjust. I can get over a lack of hem cinch – I suppose my kids don’t really need a hem cinch… but the hood and sleeve size issues are worth noting.

Pros

  • Great layering piece for colder days
  • Great single layer for upper low 50s
  • Durable!

Cons

  • Thin material
  • Hood too big on babies
  • Sleeves too long

Rating: 4 / 5

The North Face Glacier Full-Zip Fleece Hoodie is a great jacket to use as a layer with a heaver jacket in colder temperatures. It is super durable, and should handle anything your kid(s) will throw at it. If we think the temperature will drop or we’ll be outside for a prolonged period of time, we’ll throw these fleeces in the diaper bag to layer up the kiddos if necessary.

Again, the fleece material is pretty thin so it’s not getting any points for solo warmth. It can function as a single layer in warmer temperatures (50 degrees and over) much like a sweatshirt – but don’t expect any miracles. If you aren’t using it as a solo jacket, then it’s a great addition to a layering system for your little ones. All of our kids have worn these, and I would buy these again without question. They’re great jackets, and I highly recommend them to anyone with kids.

While pretty affordable via retail, you can often find sales or find them used (e.g. Facebook Marketplace or Kidizen). We’ve bought some of ours used – they came in great condition and have continued to hold up since purchase.

If your kids have ever worn The North Face Glacier Full-Zip Fleece Hoodie, I’d be extremely curious to hear your take. All my kids have, and still do, wear different sizes of these jackets so don’t hesitate to drop any questions you might have if you’re on the fence of buying it. I definitely recommend buying it.