The North Face Antigravity - Quick Take

The North Face Antigravity Jacket - Quick Take

Price: £200

Weight: 506g (men's medium)

Features Waterproof, breathable jacket made from HiVent DT fabric, with reinforced shoulders, sides and arms, plus stretch panels behind shoulder blades, 13mm skinny tape, water-resistant main zip, pit zips, and pockets, two venting chest pockets, two Napoleon pockets, die-cut Velcro cuff tabs, hem drawcord, adjustable helmet-compatible hood with flexible peak 'Performance Fit'.

The Antigravity was new to the TNF rnage this summer and is part of their Summit Series. That means it's a technical jacket designed for high mountain use. As you'll have guessed from the name, it's also pretty light, so if you think of it as a lightweight but protective mountain jacket you won't go far wrong.

Most companies producing a 200-quid mountain jacket would use either Gore-Tex or eVent fabric, but TNF has enough faith in its own HyVent DT material - the DT stands for Dry Touch by the way - to use it here in three different guises - the main body fabric, reinforced sides, arms and hem areas and in strech version behind the shoulder blades.

Other neat touches include 13mm skinny sealing tape to cut weight and increase breathability, water-resistant zips and venting pockets. None of it's rocket science these days, but it's all very nicely executed.

The North Face may be increasingly popular with 'normal people' but don't assume that means they've lost the ability to make excellent technical garments, the Antigravity is a very effective lightweight mountain jacket.

For starters, the Hyvent DT fabric may not be in quite the same breathability class as eVent, but we reckon it's at least as good as Gore-Tex XTR. Then there's the cut, which is closer and more fitted than other TNF kit we've used making for a much neater fit, which we really liked. We also reckon that the reinforcements on the shoulders, arms and sides should make it durable enough for pack use despite the very reasonable 500-gramme weight figure. It's also long enough to give reasonable butt protection.

The detailing's very good as well. Two great big venting chest pockets give good stowage but more importantly, help keep you well vented, the same's true of the sleeves which roll up to expose your forearms for more cooling - neat cuff tabs by the way.

And on top of that, there are big pit-zips complete with double-ended waterproof zips. We did find them a little fiddly with gloves on, but the double-ended zip means you can leave the centre section - under the arm-pit - fastened to minimise billowing in windy conditions, which is neat.

The hood has always been a bit of a weak spot for TNF in the UK and true to form, the Antigravity only has a smallish peak that's quite soft too. The hood itself adjusts quickly and easily, but for good rain drip protection, we'd suggest wearing a peaked cap as well. Apparently that's what our American cousins do. The hood will also take a helmet for alpine and climbing use, but we found it quite a tight fit with our normal BD Half Dome, so it may be worth trying before buying with you normal climbing lid to be on the safe side.

Initial Verdict

The Antgravity really is a very neat, lightweight mountain jacket that breathes well and has been properly thought through. There are lots of venting options, whcih is great, and clever use of different materials, though we don't think the stretch panels do much. The cut is sleek too and less boxy than past equivalents, which is good in our book.

Our only gripe is the hood or specifically, its peak which is a touch too minimalist for us, though with a peaked cap or a helmet, it's not a problem.

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