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The North Face Women's Circadian Jacket
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Price:
£129.99
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Weight: 468 grammes
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Features:
Lightweight shell jacket made from 50D 3.1 oz/yd2 polyester dobby Gore-Tex® PacLite® fabric; waterproof, breathable and seam-sealed; adjustable hood with a wire brim visor that stows away in collar; under-arm zipped vents; two hand pockets and a left Napoleon pocket; velcro adjustable cuffs; hem cinchcord.
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A lightweight waterproof for summer hillwalking.
A short, wide cut - far from ideal for women.
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The Concept The Circadian is part of The North Face's growing range of women's specific clothing. It's a mid-range jacket - waterproof and breathable, but not designed for those looking for anything super-technical. A 'country walking' jacket is the way TNF described it to us, which is a fair summary.
Features Features vary from the pretty sophisticated to the fairly simple, in sometimes strange combinations. The fold-away hood is fully adjustable, with a wired peak, and, on the technical side, there are under-arm vents as well. If that makes you think this is a jacket for pretty serious use then think again, as other features suggest otherwise. In place of a map pocket, the two hand pockets are accompanied by a 'car keys plus odds and ends' pocket on the left chest. As for the fabric, it's Gore-Tex Paclite, which does a good job, especially for the price, although again, it's not layered up for anything too demanding. If you aren't on too serious a trek though, the jacket's well designed for comfort, with adjustable waist and wrists and, most importantly, very little weight.
In Action As we've said, the first thing we noticed was the light weight, which was a plus point. Unfortunately, the jacket didn't feel quite so promising once we'd put it on as it did in a backpack. Although The North Face are expanding their women's range, they don't seem to have got the hang of female body proportions yet. This jacket might suit you fine if you're on the short side, but if you're of average height, it may well be too short for you. (And if you're above average, just don't bother). Not only does this mean your waterproofing barely stretches as far as your shell trousers, it also throws out the other features. The hand pockets, for example, aren't accessible if you're wearing a rucksack waist strap because the jacket's simply too short to allow room for them.
The other problem with the fit is its width. Taking a men's fit jacket and making it shorter doesn't make for a women's cut, and this shell is a case in point. It's pretty boxey and doesn't take much account of average female body dimensions. If you're above average size, you might be OK. Otherwise, you might find that all the extra fabric you want added to the bottom of the jacket is hanging loosely just above the waist.
The finer points of the design are better thought-out. The tagged zips are all easy to open, with gloves on or without them, and the wrists adjust with a velcro strip which you can tighten, so they don't let any water in. There are also under-arm zips for extra ventilation, and the neck, where the hood folds away, is padded for extra comfort. The actual fit of the hood, when you don't want it packed out of sight, is a little more problematic. Although it's fully adjustable, the cut is too small this time, and the most the wired hood will protect is your hairline, not your face. Visibility with the hood up isn't a problem, but that's because it doesn't come far enough forward, rather than because it moves well with your head - the real problem is keeping the rain out of your eyes.
We didn't have any problem with the waterproofing, so that's another thumbs up. For its price, the material stood up well on the whole. Just remember that this is designed as a summer walking jacket and not as a winter's-day-at-high-altitude kind of shell.
If you're not too tall, or too slender, then this is a lightweight, comfortable jacket for summer hillwalking. The fabric's well water-proofed and it won't leave too big a whole in your wallet. The design isn't one for harsh conditions, but then it's not intended to be. The real fault lies in the shape, which is too short and too boxey. It's more of a men's shape jacket but cut super-short, so that it's not particularly well suited to either sex.
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Performance
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Value
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Pushed for time
Lightweight and waterproof for summer hillwalking, but anyone tall and slim - or even just average - will find the cut rather short and boxey. This spoils an otherwise good design.
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