The North Face runs true to size across the chest and short in the sleeve, and that detail answers most fit questions. At 178 cm with ordinary arm length, take your usual size in a 1996 Nuptse. Past 185 cm, or if you layer a 400 gsm hoodie underneath, go up one. The rest of this page is flat measurements taken off our own stock, not a copy of the tag chart.
What the printed chart measures, and what it hides
The chart on the inside label gives body measurements: chest circumference, waist, height bands. It says nothing about the garment. On a down jacket that gap is where fit goes wrong, because a filled baffle sits 6 to 10 cm off the body on each side once the down lofts up. A jacket measuring 58 cm across the chest over a 96 cm chest leaves 20 cm of air and fabric, which is why the same label feels snug on one wearer and roomy on another with an identical chest.
Two construction details matter more than the chart. The 1996 reissue uses a drop shoulder, so the seam sits 3 to 4 cm down the arm and the effective shoulder width runs wider than the number suggests. The cropped versions and the Aconcagua line sit closer, roughly 4 cm narrower at the chest in the same labelled size. If you have been burned by a boxy Nuptse, the closer cut is the fix, not a smaller size.
Flat measurements from our own stock, S to XXL
Everything below was measured on a table, jacket zipped, down settled, tolerance 1.5 cm. Sleeve is measured from the shoulder seam to the cuff, which is the only way to compare a drop-shoulder jacket with a raglan one fairly.
| Size | Pit to pit | Back length | Sleeve | Fits chest | Height band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | 55 cm | 66 cm | 62 cm | 86 to 92 cm | 163 to 170 cm |
| M | 58 cm | 68 cm | 63 cm | 92 to 98 cm | 168 to 175 cm |
| L | 61 cm | 70 cm | 64 cm | 98 to 104 cm | 173 to 180 cm |
| XL | 64 cm | 72 cm | 65 cm | 104 to 112 cm | 178 to 185 cm |
| XXL | 67 cm | 74 cm | 66 cm | 112 to 120 cm | 183 to 190 cm |
Back length is the number people misread: at 68 cm a size M sits on the hip bone of a 175 cm frame, not below it. The Men’s 1996 Retro Nuptse in silver we measured came in at 780 g on a kitchen scale, with the loft adding roughly 5 cm of visual depth front and back. If you want a hem that covers a belt, this is not that jacket; the parka-shaped pieces are.
Three fits under one label: Nuptse, cropped, and vest
The Nuptse family is the boxy one. Same size, same chest, but the shoulder sits wide and the hem stops at the hip. The 1992 Retro Nuptse in white reads slightly longer in the body and a touch narrower through the waist than the 1996, which suits a 100 cm chest better than the reissue does. The 23SS large plaid Nuptse uses the same block; the print makes any pull across the chest read louder.
The cropped pieces are a different story. The cropped puffer in black and the same cut in white measure about 8 cm shorter in the back than a Nuptse in the matching size, and the armhole is 2 cm higher. On a 175 cm frame the hem lands at the top of the hip; sizing up here adds body length, not shoulder width, which is what you want if the cropped cut rides up when you sit.
Vests are the third block. The Aconcagua puffer vest in beige runs one size generous at the armhole, so a 42 cm shoulder fits an M without pinching, and the Aconcagua puffer jacket in ivory in the same size cuts about 4 cm closer at the chest than a Nuptse. The KAWS x The North Face Retro 1996 Nuptse follows the 1996 block exactly, which is worth knowing before you pay a premium for the print and then discover the sleeve length is identical. The Doudoune puffer, style 18 is the outlier: slimmer through the body, longer in the sleeve by about 1.5 cm.
Size up in three cases, and only these
First, layering. A 400 gsm hoodie adds close to 2 cm at the chest and 1 cm at the shoulder, so take one size up if that is your winter default; otherwise the jacket compresses the hoodie and you feel colder than in a thin base layer. Second, arm span. If fingertip to fingertip beats your height by 4 cm or more, the 63 cm sleeve on an M finishes above your wrist bone, so go up one and accept the extra chest. Third, commuting over a shirt and blazer, where the shoulder line has to clear a jacket seam.
Do not size up for warmth. Down works by trapping air close to the body, and a jacket with 10 cm of slack at the chest lets warm air circulate out through the collar and hem. Do not size up on the cropped pieces either; the extra length comes with extra width and the proportion collapses. And do not size down because the jacket looks puffy on the hanger: baffles flatten under a coat hook and recover within a minute of wearing.
Height and weight as a starting point
At 170 cm and 65 kg with a 94 cm chest, most people land on S for a close fit and M for layering room. At 178 cm and 80 kg, a 100 cm chest puts you in L, and the sleeve will be right. At 185 cm and 95 kg, XL is the floor; XXL only if your chest passes 112 cm. Under 165 cm, look at the cropped block first: the 68 cm back on an M hangs past the hip and reads as borrowed.
Laundry changes the fit more than a size swap
A jacket dried flat loses loft along the stitch lines, and 3 cm of lost loft reads a size smaller in the mirror while the measurements are unchanged. Wash at 30 °C with down detergent, tumble low with three tennis balls, and pull the baffles apart while damp. I have seen a washed 1996 come back 1.5 cm tighter across the chest purely because the down had clumped near the seams. The 1996 Retro Nuptse review walks through that process, and the older North Face puffer sizing notes cover the pre-2020 blocks.
How to choose
Take your usual size unless one of three things is true: your arm span beats your height by 4 cm, you wear a heavy hoodie under the jacket, or you are past 185 cm. In those cases go up one and stop there. Between sizes with a chest under 100 cm, take the smaller one; the drop shoulder already gives you room you did not ask for. Browse the full North Face collection if you want to compare the blocks side by side before committing to a size.