New From The North Face 2010

We popped up to see The North Face last week for a quick look at what's new for spring 2010 and there's definitely some interesting stuff in the range. More on the mountain side of things shortly, but here's are a few highlights from the fast and light Performance Collection.

Clever Tee-Shirts

The Okavango Crew might look like a bog standard cotton tee, and sound like a South African dance troupe,  but it's slightly more complicated than that. In fact the inside face of the shirt is cottoon for comfort, while the outer is polyester for wicking and rapid drying performance.


Not only that, the tee - for all its casual looks, uses welded rather than stitched seams - below. Should be ace for travelling and for those semi-technical days when you're trying your best to look laid-back and casual.


Adjustable Skirt

One more travelesque item, this is the women's Kapiti Skirt. It's made from a blend of Nylon and elastane for stretch and technical performance combined with casual look. It also has pockets - both thigh and hip - and both adjustable waist and hem shock cords so it can be tailored to suit your intentions.



Cardiac Short

Okay, so it's a bit of an unfortunate name, but the new Cardiac Short has a couple of interesting features. It uses a light, stretch, woven fabric with a longish length but quite a high side-split for ease of movement and fell-running happiness.


The inner brief is apparently nice and snug for comfort on the move and unusally for a running short, it actually has some pockets, both side mesh ones and - a great idea this - some small rear ones. Just enough for a bar and a gel or two to fuel those long training runs.


A cracking idea, but unfortunately the women's version - spot the pink - doesn't have the pockets, though it does boast a fitted waistband.

Trajectory Jacket - Hybrid Weatherproofing

We've seen this before and we're angling for one for review this spring after some positive preliminary reports last year, but the Trajectory is a cunning mix of waterproof and windproof soft shell fabrics designed to give good weather protection combined with high breathability.


The front, shoulders and hood areas are all waterproof 2.5-layer HyVent DT fabric while the sides and back of the jacket are made from a stretchy windproof but breathable soft shell.


The idea is that your exposed areas are protected from rain - particularly if you're wearing a pack and moving fast - while less exposed areas wick and breathe more effectively keeping you cooler than a full-on waterproof jacket. Rear view above shows soft shell areas clearly.

Cue the odd discussion with event scrutineers we suspect. It looks like a great idea for running, biking and light-packing and at 210g for the men's and 180g for the women's version, it's also bonkers light. Watch this space.

The 96-gramme Windproof Jacket

Just in case you missed it, the Hydrogen Jacket is a superlightweight windproof with a tiny pack size and mesh vents that rolls up into an unobtrusive roll which fits around your waist.


One small chest pocket and some reflective and that's about it. Minimalist.

Radical Running Pack

New for this spring is the Enduro Boa pack designed specifically for running and adventure racing. It has all the stretch pockets and hydration compatibility you'd expect, but what marks it out is the E-VAP shoulder harness which is designed to  move the load away from the shoulders and allow free movement. It's also reckoned to work very, very well for climbing...


The back system uses E-VAP closed cell foam to minimise sogginess. Finally - and what a good idea this is - the hydration system pocket can be compressed using an accessible Boa wheel on the harness. The idea is that as you drink fuid, rather than the remainder slopping around, you simply tighten the pocket to keep everything tight and under control. Very, very clever.


The Boa system comes from TNF's running shoes originally by the way. TNF is now using Source bladders on its race and hydration packs instead of Nalgene. Mind the magnetic attachment if you're using a compass...


All in the shops imminently - March 2010 - more information at www.thenorthface.com.