Gear Review - North Face Resolve Waterproof Jacket

When I was bought a waterproof jacket at the start of the summer, I really had to question just how useful this unexpected birthday present was going to be. After all, we were in the middle of a heatwave.

But as the humidity became unbearable, the heavens suddenly opened while on my way home from work. Fortunately, my North Face Resolve jacket has been flat packed inside my office satchel.

It unpacked expertly, slipped on effortlessly, quickly zipped up, closed with velcro strips and then I pulled up the hood, which fit around my head perfectly. Meanwhile the rain rolled right off.

But what surprised me the most was how light it was as well as fitting comfortably without becoming baggy or restricting movement. With an embroidered The North Face logo on the front it looks surprisingly stylish for a waterproof too.

Technical Info:

While my mundane brain appreciates that this is a comfortable, lightweight and perfectly practical mens waterproof jacket, there's a whole lot of technology beneath the HyVentDT outer layer.

This is a specially treated surface to prevent water penetrating the fabric. Instead water droplets land and simply roll right off. Although this has made me consider a pair of waterproof trousers, because in heavy rain, the water rolls straight off the jacket and on to my trousers, giving me wet legs.

To prevent overheating, an internal lightweight mesh wicks away any excess moisture and does this surprisingly well, especially when it's hot, wet and humid.

The pockets are good for keeping your hands out of the wet, but the zips aren't 100% waterproof, so I wouldn't put anything that's likely to be damaged by a bit of damp in there. I took some gravy bones out with me when walking the dog and by the time we'd got to our destination my collie's doggy treats were a little damp and sticky. Still, he didn't seem to mind too much.

But one of the best features is the roll-away hood, that stows in the collar with a large velcro strip. It's really easy to pull out and pack away while you're walking along, wearing the jacket. Plus the hood has just the right amount of volume for my head.

The full length zip zips up just fine, but has a tendency to split apart at the bottom, despite a little popper button holding the ends of the jacket together. This is quite frustrating when it comes to taking the jacket off, but it seems to be nothing that a little bit of brute force can't quickly resolve.

Otherwise, this is a lightweight, great fitting, very comfortable, breathable and completely waterproof jacket with a fantastic hood feature while being very easy to pack down into the smallest ruck sacks and office bags. It's a shame about the zip, but this seems to happen with all my coats and jackets lately.

What with the weather we're having, perhaps this was the perfect present for the British summer after all?

Review date - 31st August 2011 - Reviewed by AS