The North Face Casaval Hoodie Review

© UKC Gear

In recent years there's been a boom in active insulation. Yes it pays to be cynical about trends in the outdoor industry, but this is one that I'm fully on board with. These lightweight, versatile layers are fantastic all-rounders, capable of being worn throughout a wide variety of activities in a similarly broad range of environments. Whilst The North Face set up the Casaval Hoodie as a 'mountaineering jacket' and a 'midlayer' I'd actually say that its scope is significantly greater than that. Since its arrival I have worn this jacket for pretty much everything.

In Use

The Casaval Hoodie is designed with mountaineering in mind - and there's no doubt that it'd be great for that. It's lightweight, stretchy and breathable, allowing just enough air through to wick away sweat, whilst simultaneously providing enough insulation to keep the edge off the cold. However, as per the intro, these are the exact same properties that make it suitable for a whole range of other activities, and in recent months I have basically lived in it. 

The Casaval Hoodie in use on Golden Arete (6B), Over Owler Tor  © UKC Gear
The Casaval Hoodie in use on Golden Arete (6B), Over Owler Tor
© UKC Gear

The jacket stretches a lot, so excels on occasions when you've got to move quite dynamically - whether that be scrambling, mountaineering, or climbing. It's also impressively durable, which will be a bonus if you are using it around rock, when it's likely to get a hammering.

The catch is simply that it has limits: As 'active insulation', it won't keep you warm if you're standing around for a while on a cold day. Great though that breathability is, it does mean there's a lot of airflow, and if you're going out in really icy and windy conditions you'll need to layer up accordingly (and be sure to bring a belay jacket too).

The author on The Edge Problem (6C+), Llanberis Pass  © UKC Gear
The author on The Edge Problem (6C+), Llanberis Pass
© UKC Gear

Fit

The Casaval Hoodie has a very active fit, with a slim body and long arms. It's immediately comfortable courtesy of its cut, coupled with the super-stretchy fabric. 

It features an over-helmet hood, about which I am torn 50-50. On lighter layers such as this I tend to prefer a slightly more minimalist, under-helmet hood. The reason for this is simply that because it is such an all-rounder, and mountaineering is just one of the things it can do, an over-helmet hood is perhaps a little unnecessary for hillwalking, scrambling and bouldering. 

The Casaval Hoodie has excellent freedom of movement, making it an ideal choice for dynamic activities  © UKC Gear
The Casaval Hoodie has excellent freedom of movement, making it an ideal choice for dynamic activities
© UKC Gear

Fabric

The Ventrix synthetic insulation used throughout the Casaval is body mapped, with more in the body (40g) and less throughout the hood and sleeves (25g). This feels like a good balance, as too much insulation will lead to the jacket becoming sweaty, but too little will lead to it being pretty ineffective. When it comes to fabric things are flipped, as the Casaval features a more durable face fabric on the arms and hood (91g/m2), as those are the areas you're likely to be scuffing, while the body has a little less in order to save weight where it's not needed (50g/m2). Both the insulation and the fabric are made from recycled materials, which has to be applauded.

Features

Due to its minimalist, stripped back design there aren't many features to talk about other than the hood (which we've already discussed), pockets and zip. There are two handwarmer pockets, both of a good size, capable of fitting a hand in with a midweight glove. In addition to this there's a sizable chest pocket, which is a really valuable feature, as they're great for storing all sorts of things, whether that be a topo, map or phone (with a topo/map uploaded onto it).

If there's one feature where the Casaval falls short it's the main zip, which feels a little light and flimsy. With cold hands or gloves it can be a real pain to get on, and more than once I've had issues doing it up, which is obviously a bit of a bugbear. Whilst a burlier zip would have had a knock-on effect to the overall weight of the jacket I think it would have been a worthy addition and much more in keeping with the character of the rest.

The author about to abandon ship on Syrett's Roof (6c+), Almscliff  © UKC Gear
The author about to abandon ship on Syrett's Roof (6c+), Almscliff
© UKC Gear

Weight

At 357g (size M) it's a bit heavier than you might expect of a fleece, but perhaps that's not surprising given that it offers additional benefits. I'd say it feels light for what you're getting, and bearing in mind that as active insulation the likelihood is that you'll be wearing it rather than carrying it in a pack. 

Summary

To summarize the Casaval Hoodie in one sentence: this is a layer that you won't want (or need) to take off. It's a very user friendly top to wear all day - irrespective of what that day out actually entails - because it's comfortable, breathable, light and stretchy. At £250 it's certainly not cheap, but when you look at its closest competitors it's around what you'd expect to pay for a premium jacket of this nature.


For more information The North Face



30 Mar, 2023

HOW MUCH????????????

30 Mar, 2023

Alpkit griffon is sub £40, not sure why I would spend an extra £200 for this 😱😱😱😱😱


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