Another quick glimpse into the future - we've told you about the
new The North Face kit for spring
2007 but we also got a sneak peek at a few of the things that
are coming out for next winter.
This stuff won't be available until August/ September, so we won't
go into much detail, but we thought you might like to see what's in
the pipeline, so here goes...
A Proper Peak At Last...
TNF has a long history of floppy peaks, apparently our American
cousins don't share our enthusiasm for wired and stiffened brims, but
that's going to change with £290 Pantheon Jacket
which, it says here, has a 'roll-away hood with wire brim'.
The rest of the jacket's interesting too. TNF can't use their
seamless Magic construction with Gore-Tex, so no welded seams, but
the jacket uses a mix of the new three-ply Gore-Tex Pro Shell
in abrasion areas combined with three-ply Gore-Tex Performance
Shell for the main body.
We're still getting up to speed with the new Gore fabrics, but the
abrasion-resistant bits have a real bombproof feel to them and should
stand up to plenty of abuse. Also present and correct, a snow skirt,
stretch shoulder panels, pit-zips, pockets. Heavy by modern standards
at a quoted 851 grammes, but feels tough.
The 400-quid Mountaineering Jacket
The new top of the range jacket from TNF is going to be the
Modulus Jacket which will cost a cool £400. TNF says it's
their 'most technical mountaineering jacket' and it's made entirely
from three-layer Gore-Tex Pro Shell with water-resistant zips,
pit-zips, stretch panels at back and elbows and a helmet-compatible
hood.
The hood gets an interesting stiffened double peak that's got to
be the stiffest TNF peak we've ever seen. Still, 400 quid is a lot of
money for a proper hood peak ;-)
Weight is quoted as 600 grammes, so again not ultra-lightweight,
but respectable for a three-ply technical mountaineering shell
complete with reinforced areas. It also looks nice in the flesh...
Like The Redpoint but made with down
Also new is what is effectively a down version of the popular
Redpoint synthetically-insulated jacket. It's called the Flash
Jacket and is reckoned to be more functional on a day to day
basis than the classic Nuptse.
Available for both boys and girls - the women's version is the one
on the right - the Flash uses 800 fill power down in a lightweight
downproof shell for a weight of under 400 grammes. There's also a
hooded version called the Catalyst.
Merino Wool Too
The polypropylene baselayer range is supplemented by new North
Face merino wool baselayers. The one in the pic is enigmatically
called the Merino Wool Sporty Quarter Zip - £70 -and it's
a classic long-sleeved merino baselayer top. Only real stand-out
feature are what the Americans call 'hobo mitts' and we call thumb
loops. Looks nice with raglan sleeves and flatlocked seams. Also
available as a crew-neck version for £65.
>
Last but not least...
We couldn't not tell you about the mahoosive Limited Edition tweed
McMurdo Parka that'll be out next year. It's an enormous
tweed-shelled version of TNF's furry-hooded, down-filled cult
classic...
There will 'only' be 5000 available and they cost £350 each.
And hey, look at that liner detailing :-) To be honest, it scared
us, but then we're easily frightened.
More details of the current TNF range at
www.thenorthface.com
