Northwave North Wind Jacket

The Northwave North Wind Jacket is one of those emergency jackets that you might need for part of your ride. Lightweight, packable and a relaxed fit makes it ideal for those relaxed day rides where you want to keep things to a minimum.

Its made 100% from polyester which while not the most technical of fabrics certainly keeps the wind out. Impressively so to considering how thin the material is. The downside with this windproofing is a lack of breathability: if it can't get in it can't get out either.

Northwave have got around this by including plenty of vents and flaps to release unwanted heat. You've got a large mesh section under each armpit, a mesh flap at the upper back and a vent at the lower back.

This lower vent is ideally placed to give you access to your jersey pockets without having to unzip or go under the jacket. All this venting adds up to good breathability for a jacket of this style and it's one of the cooler ones on the market.

Another neat addition at the lower rear vent is a small section of material which Northwave call a banana pouch pocket. You can roll the jacket up and it stores itself in this pouch, which is ideally sized for a jersey pocket.

The build quality is okay but there are a lot of loose thread ends for a fifty quid jacket and the whole thing feels a little cheap. The zip has been working smoothly though, and the material itself is pretty robust.

As far as fit goes Northwave have always been an exception to the general rule that European gear is smaller, being more UK sized than European. This is a medium/UK38 (chest size) and it was still quite big on me considering I actually have a 38in chest. It's spot-on in the body though, with a dropped tail giving plenty of rear coverage. The arms are the right lengths when you're in the drops.

Overall the North Wind Jacket is entering a very crowded market place and while it's much cooler than many of its rivals I think the quality and overall feel doesn't justify the £49.99 asking price. There are better on the market for the same price.

Verdict

Roomy jacket with plenty of vents let down on quality and price