Just In - The North Face Aero Jacket

Just in for review is The North Face Aero Jacket, a full-on technical Gore Windstopper soft shell designed with the help of top North Face sponsored climbers and not actually due out until spring 2010.


We want to tell you about it now though, because it's prime evidence that  The North Face really can produce excellent, technical outdoor kit when it wants to. The Aero was apparently co-designed with top climbers Conrad Anker and Jimmy Chin and, as a result, it's a very technical, high mountain soft shell bristling with neat touches.

The fabric feels incredibly soft, stretchy and comfortable in a second skin kind of way and that's helped by a cut that's very close and neat - not the boxy norm we often see from TNF, though it is cut fairly short for harness compatibility. Interestingly, the company says that despite the soft feel of the face, the fabric is designed for decent durability and pack and abrasion resistance.


Two touches we really like are the built-in mitts with thumb loops that feel strangely reassuring and warming and a super-close fitting alpine hood that should sit neatly under a helmet providing wind protection for the neck and some insulation for the head. We like hoods on soft shells because, quite simply, they extend their useability envelope by adding head prtection without needing to don a hard shell.

Cuffs, hem and hood are all adjustable and the zips are reverse coil for added weather protection and neatness. There are two chest pockets and two hand-warmer ones.


Every so often, The North Face hits the bullseye full on and the Aero Jacket has that sort of feel to it and we're really looking forward to using it over the next few months, hopefully in the high mountains where Windstopper's weather resistance will pay dividends and relative dryness with help its breathability.

More TNF information at www.thenorthface.com