TESTED: The North Face Venture Jacket

As a wise person once said, there isn’t such thing as bad weather, just bad gear. I’m pretty sure that person must have been a mountain biker, because I couldn’t think of an example of where that saying rings more true than cycling through the winter.

Heading for a ride when its cold and wet outside can be pretty uninspiring, and with ineffective apparel in can be downright miserable. But experienced riders already know the deal. Start off with the right apparel for the weather conditions, and you’ll be more comfortable and better protected against the elements.

As the largest outdoors apparel company in the world, The North Face have a solid understanding of what it takes to get you onto the trails regardless of the conditions. They may not have a dedicated cycling apparel line anymore, but many of their garments feature clever crossover features that allow them to be used for a wide variety of activities.

A good example would be the Venture jacket. With its longer sleeves, zippered ventilation and dropped whale-tail, the Venture would appear to be just at home whether you’re hiking through the rainforest, or shredding trails at the bike park.

The Venture Jacket is available in sizes from Small through to XX-Large, and comes in no fewer than 11 colours. It’s also available in a Women’s specific cut, with 9 colours and 5 sizes to choose from.

“Classic, year-round rain shell constructed with HyVent® fabric, the Venture Rain Jacket from The North Face is engineered to withstand wilderness storms and is styled for everyday use.” – from The North Face

Construction

Designed as a tough outer shell to shield you from the elements, the Venture jacket is built from The North Face’s own HyVent 2.5 Layer fabric. This fabric employs a waterproof/breathable membrane to stop water coming in from the outside, while letting sweat vapour pass through from the inside. HyVent is essentially The North Face’s in-house version of Gore-Tex, offering similar levels of performance at a much cheaper price point.

The Venture features a full-length zipper up the front of the jacket, complete with a stormflap that helps to channel wind and water away from the zip. There’s a brushed fleece lining at the top of the collar where it meets your chin, and a small zipper garage keeps you from experiencing cold metal against skin. The collar itself is quite high to protect your neck from piercing gusts of wind, and the integrated hood fits neatly underneath a helmet to avoid you from getting water trickling down the back of your neck.

Other details include two zippered hand pockets at the front of the jacket, adjustable cords around the waist, Velcro

• Venture uses a relaxed fit that allows it to be the outer shell over a number of other layers
• Nth Face’s own HyVent fabric, which employs a 2.5 layer construction
• Offers waterproofing, windproofing and breathability
• Seam sealed
• Stormflap for front zip
• Two zippered pockets
• Large vent openings underneath the armpits that can be opened to introduce cool air into the jacket. Very effective

On The Bike

Despite typically fitting a Small size for jerseys and jackets, I found the Venture on the roomy side, which is pretty typical for an outdoors brand. Whilst not as slim-fitting as other cycling specific garments, the cut of the Venture does mean that you can wear it over several layers for those early mornings during the vile depths of winter. That aside, my advice would be to size down rather than up if you have the choice.

Otherwise the Venture sits really well whilst in a riding position. The lowered tail offers protection from muddy spray off the back wheel, and the elastic waist cord allows you to cinch it down snugly to avoid flapping about.

The sleeves have got a decent length to them, which suits most riding positions. And the “Rip and Stick” Velcro tabs at the end of the cuffs proved easy to cinch down over the top of gloves.

I really dug the high neck collar on the Venture, as it prevented the wind and rain from finding their way further down inside the jacket. And while it may have looked daggy, the hood was a godsend when a light shower turned into driving rain. The hood is adjustable, and it also has a neat peak integrated into it that directs water droplets away from your face.

There are no official figures for how waterproof or breathable the HyVent 2.5 fabric is, but I found the Venture to be more than capable when I was caught in a heavy downpour. The seams are taped to prevent water ingress through the stich lines.

Admittedly the Venture wasn’t as breathable as other high-end jackets I’ve tested, but it did reasonably well when the body temperature started to climb throughout the ride.

That said, the large zippered openings underneath the armpits were perfect for introducing cool air into jacket. The zips were a little tricky to open and close without two hands, but they were super handy for managing heat buildup.

Bottom Line

While there are certainly fancier jackets and high-tech fabrics on the market, the Venture is a no-nonsense piece of kit that will work just as well on the bike as it does off it. It’s sufficiently waterproof, and it kept me warm and dry when the elements were trying to convince me otherwise.

As a tough and versatile outer shell, the Venture jacket offers up great performance at a great price.

Hits

• Quality HyVent membrane fabric
• Versatile for on and off-the-bike use
• Great value

Misses

• A little baggy in its fit
• Not as breathable as higher priced options

RRP: $160

Website: https://thenorthface.com.au/