Our first impressions of the impressively lightweight Diad waterproof, breathable shell jacket which tips the scales at just over 200 grammes and fits into a pint mug...
The North Face Men's Diad jacket - First Look
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Price:
£120.00
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Weight: 202 grammes
(medium)
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Features:
Ultra-lightweight waterproof jacket featuring 'magic seam
construction', 10mm ultraskinny seam tape, HyVent DT 2.5
layer fabric, reflective logos, adjustable hood with
stiffened peak, Napoleon pocket, mini pit vents,
Velcro-adjustable cuffs, hem cinch cord. Men's version
only.
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Light, light, light...
Hood quite
basic.
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What's It For? The Diad has one real purpose in life, to be as
light possible while still remaining waterproof. It's aimed at fast
and light outdoors people who want something they can stuff in their
pack or pocket just in case it rains. That's it really. It's not
intended to be super durable, just light, compact and waterproof.
The Techy Bits How do you make a very lightweight waterproof
jacket? It starts with TNF's HyVent DT fabric, a lightweight material
that they describe as 2.5 layer - the inner material is micro-girdded
to save weight and the outer uses a fine rip stop.
The key though is the 'Magic Seam' construction. The fabric is hot
cut and seams are welded edge to edge using 'state of the art rotary
sonic and line-bonding machinery' it says here. The end result, claim
TNF, is a saving of 42 grammes in the weight of the garment. That's a
lot when the total weight is a shade over 200 grammes.
Finally, you leave out as many unnecessary features as possible,
so just a single pocket, no fleecey beard guards and so on.
How It Works First things first, the Diad is light, very, very
light. Our medium test jacket weighs a genuine 202 grammes on the OM
electric test scales and that's impressive. It also packs small,
around the size of a small grapefruit or you can stuff it happily
into a Pete's Eats pint mug with only a small muffin top to
show...
So it's very small and not very heavy. Happily, it manages to do
all that without feeling unpleasantly flimsy unlike some minimalist
kit we've seen. The fabric's light but has a nice quality handle to
it and isn't too crisp-packety. We wouldn't use it with a heavy pack
or rub it regularly against rocks, but it doesn't feel super
fragile.
Cut is on the short side with a bit of a droptail thrown in and in
classic TNF stye is just a little looser than the 'Performance Fit'
designation might suggest. It's hardly baggy, but nor is it Arc'teryx
tapered close though it's neater than TNF's boxy standard fit.
It's also not as minimalist as you might think. There are small
pit-zip vents tucked away under the arms and they're neat enough to
be unnoticeable, though we didn't find them particularly effective.
Hem and cuffs are both adjustable and there's a hood with both front
and rear tensioners.
The hood's quite minimal with big side cut-outs and only a small
peak, so not great for full-on protection, but on a par with a lot of
other lightweight jackets designed for summer use.
The fabric's not at all bad either. It's not in the same league as
eVENT when it comes to breathability, but it's not bad and while we
wouldn't want to use it for sustained high energy activity in warm
conditions, it copes fine with normal walking use. And to be fair,
this jacket's about weight saving rather than all-round
performance.
We seem to have spent more time carrying the Diad around 'just
in case' than wearing it, but really that's what it's for, and you
can't argue with its impressively low weight and bulk - there are
few jackets out there which'll give it a run for its money on the
scales. Off the top of our heads, there's just the Montane 200,
which actually weighs more than 200, the Patagonia Specter Pullover
at a claimed 184 grammes and the GoLite Rage jacket at a claimed 200
grammes, though that has no hood.
It also manages not to feel too minimalist when you are wearing it
with okay breathability and a nice, non-flimsy feel and you're not
short-chaged on the feature side either, though you won't be carrying
an OS map in the pocket.
All in all, it just goes to show what The North Face is capable of
when they direct their massive resources to a tight, focussed
objective. If you're looking for an ultralightweight waterproof and
the cut suts you, you won't find much to touch the Diad.
Know more or want to?
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