New From The North Face For Winter

We popped up to the Lakes the other day for a quick look at The North Face's new kit both for this winter 2009 - in the shops right now - and 2010. Three new waterproof shell jackets, a radical climbing pack and a winter-friendly version of the popular trail-running Rucky Chucky shoe.

Point Five Jacket - UK Friendly?

We told you about the new Point Five, Gore-Tex Pro jacket yesterday, but here's a recap. It's a clean-cut, waterproof shell jacket made from tough-feeling three-ply Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric and using TNF's closer 'Performance Fit' cut.


There are no obvious gimmicks, just a pair of big, OS map-friendly Napoleon-style chest pockets and a big, helmet-compatible hood. What we didn't tell you yesterday is that after years of being castigated for their floppy peaks, the Point Five one has both seriously stiff lamination and - cue fanfare of virtual trumpets - a wired reinforcement.

Of course there's more to hood performance than a stiff peak, but we'll be using the jacket and letting you know how we get on. Price is £250 and claimed weight just 460 grammes.

Mammatus Jacket - Very Expensive...

Also new for this winter is the Mammatus Jacket, which comes complete with a whopping £440 price tag.  Why so expensive? It uses a Gore-Tex Stretch Pro Shell fabric which is exclusive to The North Face for this winter season and, apparently, costs a lot.


To put the price tag in perspective, Haglöfs is using the same fabrc for their new Ratio Jacket out in spring 2010 and that has a price tag of £475, so it does seem to be par for course.

The Mammatus is a full-on alpine shell with all mod cons including four harness-friendly pockets, big pit-zips complete with watertight zips and a helmet-compatible hood, though this one is laminated and stiffened rather than wired. We rather like the ingenious reflective trim around the pocket zippers and neat, hidden hem cord adjusters in the pockets.

To add versatility for skiing use, there's a built-in powder skirt, which you could always chop out and the performance fit is actually pretty neat and significantly longer than previous TNF technical jackets, long enough for some crotch protection in fact.

It's undeniably a very handsome jacket and looks great, but £440 is a pretty serious price tag given that we're not sure how much real benefit there is from having stretch in the fabric. We'll let you know. Weight is claimed at 500 grammes, which is pretty impressive given the myriad features.

Mountain Guide Jacket - Old Classic Reborn

While the Point Five and the Mammatus both use three-ply Pro Shell, the longstanding Mountain Guide is made from two-ply Gore-Tex Performance Shell, which means it has a drop-liner.


It's a TNF classic though and aimed, they say, at a more mature customer for all-round mountain use. Loads of pockets, pit-zips, powder-skirt, helmet hood with laminated and wired brim. The advantage of two-ply fabric is it feels more like a classic, conventional coat, but for most mountain use, we'd opt for a three-ply fabric.

Price is the same as the Point Five at £250 and the weight is 780 grammes - one of the downsides of two-ply material.

Crimptastic Hybrid Jacket - Let's Go Clubbing...

One of the strengths of TNF as a big company with lots of resources is that they can develop the sort of innovative products that a smaller brand wouldn't risk. And give them ridiculous names too.


The new Crimptastic Hybrid Jacket is a mix of down insulation and Polartec Powerstretch panels for a mix of lightness and warmth. The jacket uses a Pertex Quantum outer fabric with 800 fill power goose down filling. The sides and inner arms, the dark bits in the picture,  are Powerstretch giving a close fit and good breathability.

It's designed to be 'the ultimate summit mid-layer' and weighs just 350 grammes - just slightly more than something like a Rab Microlight. Price is £160 and we suspect the unusual look means a good few will end up in the clubs this winter...

Fulcrum 35 Pack - unusual climbing sac

Another example of The North Face embracing the unusual is the new Fulcrum 35 pack. It's aimed squarely at technical climbers and splattered with slightly unusual features. For a start, the lid is reversed so it hinges away from the wearer and means that if you carry a rope under the lid, it tends to slump towards rather than away from your shoulders.


The main pack body is made from tough-feeling Ballistics Nylon,  but the wand pockets use a lighter fabric that's also, apparently, tougher. It's actually the same material used by Honda for car air-bags and has really high tear resistance.


There's a massive front opening pocket with through access to the main compartment of the pack via a second zip, should be ideal for stowing your rack or bandolier for walk-ins, or in snowy conditions, you could stow a rope there.


Finally the back system is smooth to minimise snow adhesion but includes a TPU plate for support. This is pliable enough to make the pack easily stowable for travel and yak-hauling. Interesting stuff and priced at £90. Capacity, as you've probably guessed, is 35 litres and wright 1100 grammes.

Waterproof Trail-Running Shoe

Finally, just in time for winter wetness, the Rucky Chucky trail-running shoe has a new winterised brother, the Rucky Chucky GTC XCR, which is basically TNF's very capable, high tec, trail runner, but with the addition of a Gore-Tex XCR waterproof liner.


Other features include synthetic nubuck panels, TPU welded reinforcements for support, dual-density EVA mid-sole, TPU forefoot Snakeplate and lots more. We've used the Rucky Chucky standard version and it works really well, the new version should keep your feet drier into the bargain.

Preview of the TNF 2010 range to follow. More information at www.thenorthface.com.