North Face Windwall 1 - Women's Review

Likes
The North Face Windwall Women's Fleece Jacket does an excellent job of blocking wind and keeping you warm at the same time. I had this fleece and a couple others while climbing on a really windy day and the other fleeces let the wind right through and left me feeling pretty cold. I put on the Windwall and felt much warmer just because the wind was not cutting through the jacket. Extra features like the hem drawcord and the tight elastic sleeve cuffs help seal out the wind. The wind resistant fabric makes this jacket relatively water repellant, which is a nice feature on a jacket you plan to have with you all day. This jacket is also pretty lightweight, which makes it easy to bring along.

Dislikes
Even though this North Face jacket does work well as a windbreaker, I'm not sure I'm sold on the combination of windbreaker and fleece. At least in this jacket, the combination leaves the jacket feeling stiff and not very breathable. Also, you cannot push up the sleeves and the jacket lacks the qualities most often associated with a fleece: being soft, warm, and cozy. For me personally, I would rather have two separate layers: a cozy fleece and a wind shell. Or if I was going to go with a combination jacket like this, I would choose the Mountain HardWear Mistral, which is still soft and cozy like a fleece although more expensive.

Best Application
This jacket would be best suited for an outdoor activity like camping, where you would want a wind resistant layer but don't want to bother with the two separate layers of a windbreaker and a fleece.

Value
This jacket is very inexpensive compared to most other fleece jackets, especially considering it is wind resistant. It is well worth its price of $99.