North Face DIAD

[Christopher Plesko]

Well they’re on sale most places for $139.25 but I can’t find one in town to try on for size. How do they fit? I’m 5’11” and 155lbs. I wear a medium Marmot Ion and small micropuff vest/pullovers.

Should I order the medium to have room underneath or do they run big and the small would be fine?

[JW]

Chris, I have a medium and would say they (the old style with no hand warmer pockets) have a unique fit. The torso length is shorter than most, the chest width is wider and the sleeves a little shorter than most. For me this worked out great because I am shorter and stockier (5’8″, 155lb, 40″ chest). I wear a small houdini windshirt, a small new style micropuff jacket, and a medium in the old style micropuff vest. Sounds like a medium would be the smallest for you so that you have adequete arm/torso coverage. Although I don’t feet this jacket is long enough anyway. I like the way the houdini has a nice low drop tail. Hope that helps.

Oh by the way, don’t pay over $75 for one on the old styles (no hand warmer pockets and lighter than the new ones).

[Christopher Plesko]

Jhaura,

Do you know where to find the old ones at $75? All I see is them for about $140 and listed at 7ounces on places like backcountry.com

[JW]

Chris,

Keep an eye on ebay. I found three there now, though not in your size range. I got mine there for $70+5 ship. If there are a few auctions, I look for the one that ended without selling or has a buy it now and contact the seller making him a decent offer to take it off his hands right away:

http://search.ebay.com/diad_W0QQfrppZ50QQfsopZ1QQmaxrecordsreturnedZ300

[Jonathan Shefftz]

I bought mine for about $70 from EMS over the summer — if you know the right product code (you can probably find it in one of my old posts), then any EMS store can search the inventory at all other EMS stores, and shipping is just a few bucks.
In the old style, a size small fits me perfectly (not too baggy with no layers, but big enough for lots of layers), and I am 5’8″ 145 lbs 36″ chest, 32.5″ sleeve.

[Christopher Plesko]

If you can find the number that would be great. I’ll keep my eye on ebay as well. For anything near $75 I’d buy one right now.

[JW]

Chris, I was thinking of getting rid of mine because I use my poncho mostly. It is the older version with no pockets, mens medium, blue body with gray accents. I’ve got the original tags too. Brand new but modified very lightly bringing the weight down to 6.1oz from 7.1oz.

The way it came was with very 6 large barrel locks and heavy duty shockcord. On the inside of the jacket all the shockcord is attached in channels. So I made tiny 1/2″ slits in the ends of the channels and removed the shockcord. The shockcord is attached with these 3/4″ strips of fabric in the channel. I seam ripped the old shockcord out and installed 1/16″ shockcord in place on the hood with two micro barrel locks in the same factory configuration. The back of the hood and the waist I left empty. The slits can be left as is or covered with seam grip and a small patch. None of this is visable from the outside, nor effects the wtb in any way. All cosmetic from the inside. I also removed the zipper pulls and replaced them with 1/16 dacron cord. I really like it this way.

I’d be willing to let it go for $75 shipped to you tomorrow. I’ve got to go to the po anyway. I can post pics if your interested.

[Christopher Plesko]

Very interested. Can I see the pictures? You can post them here or send them to [email protected]

My wife isn’t feeling well so I’m headed to bed but I will look at them in the morning and send via paypal if we reach a deal.

Thanks!
Chris

[EndoftheTrail]

Jonathan:

Have you had a chance to wear your new DIAD in the rain — or done a shower test on it?

[Christopher Plesko]

Thanks for the extra pictures. Already sent paypal as we discussed over email.

Can’t wait to try it out. 6.1oz WP/B jacket. Fun :)

[Jonathan Shefftz]

Sorry, no rain yet (that I’ve been out recreating in) and haven’t gotten up the nerve for a shower test. (Figure that would mark me as too much a gear nut case!)

[Christopher Plesko]

DIAD arrived today thanks to Jhaura. Arrived as described and in just 2 days, thanks man!

Just got back from a bike ride with it. It could possibly replace my windshirt or at the very least allow a hoodless windshirt in it’s place. The pit zips are certainly functional for me although the ride wasn’t an extreme test. Opening them is a one handed opperation. Closing them appears to require 2 hands to get them started and after that the zipper slides easily. I will put the jacket to the shower test in a little bit and report back. My wife already thinks I’m a nut so it’s ok. :)

[EndoftheTrail]

Christopher:

Yeah, do that, and let us know. Methinks Jonathan is in deep denial… :)

[Jonathan Shefftz]

. . . that I spend way too much time in my new basement ski/work room (whose direct access from the garage largely dictated the entire house layout), so if I start using the master bedroom shower as part of my mad scientist projects, well, hmm. (Fortunately she didn’t seek to institutionalize me after I went night skiing at Stowe — a mere 5.5-hour roundtrip drive — on Thursday and didn’t get to bed until 1:10 in the morning.)

[Christopher Plesko]

Well I spent about 15-20 minutes in the shower walking back and forth under the water much to my wife’s amusement. I wore a smartwool lightweight zip-t underneath the DIAD. A couple more notes to mention post test. The medium is definitely as small as I can go due to the length as mentioned by Jhaura. The sleeve length and hood are more than adaquate. I can tuck my hands up in the sleeves if needed. The hood blocked all water with my head level or slightly down. The fit of the chest area is plenty big enough to layer some insulating layers underneath without being too flappy. After the shower test was over there was no sign of water on the smartwool shirt at all. The only area of wetness was at the end of the sleeves where the stitching of the velcro seemed to wick a little water. I might dab a little seamsealer on those stiches. The majority of the jacket is welded and seam taped and none of those locations leaked water at all. After going out to dinner (~2 hours?) the jacket is completely dry from just hanging on a hook.

[EndoftheTrail]

Thanks for posting — sounds like a winner — you like it enough to contemplate using it as a windshirt, and now, it has passed your shower test.

[Mark Jones]

Does North Face still produce this jacket? It is no longer on their website. I would like to see NF produce a matching pant in the <5.0 oz. range.

This is one of my favorite pieces. I have used one for several months hiking the AT, Smokies and Blue Ridge in rain conditions from 35 to 65 degrees. I find it much more breathable than Marmot Precip or 3 layer Gortex. I prefer my 3.0 oz. Marmot Chinok for a wind jacket as it is more breathable. The size medium fits my 5’11” 150 lb frame well with plenty of room for layering without being too bulky. The torso is of sufficient length without excess for full coverage with a pack. The pit zips are functional. The fabric was a little noisy initially, but this has diminished with wear and repeated stuffing. This is a great rain jacket. I purchased mine when they were somewhat rare and was not fortunate enough to pick one up for the prices mentioned in previous posts.

In summary, I love this jacket.

North Face, please make a DIAD pant.

[Paul Tree]

I believe either a hardshell OR down jacket obviate the need for a windshirt. No? Is this a climate-specific requirement??

[Eric Noble]

I would say a hard shell MAY substitute for a wind shirt but a down jacket may not. Each garment has it’s own purpose. The hard shell excels at keeping water out. The down jacket is all about warmth (insulation) and the wind shirt is focused on the wind (convection). There is obviously over lap in functionality and I am being simplistic. The strength of each garment is also its weakness. The hard shell is so good at keeping moisture out that it has a difficult time letting it out. The down jacket is so good at keeping you warm that you can sweat and saturate the down. A wind shirt needs to be so thin and light for it’s purpose that it can’t provided much warmth.

A good wind shirt will be as good at keeping water out as it is at letting it out, which is good enough for most rain showers. In my opinion, a major benefit of a wind shirt is protection from bugs as well. My wind shirt is used more that any other torso garment besides my base layer. Maybe some day a rain shell will make the wind shirt obsolete, but I can’t see that ever happening with a down jacket. I even use my wind shirt in the winter, but I can see how you could do without it when it is quite cold.

[Don Wilson]

I believe TNF is still producing the DIAD. Sometimes they leave things off the website due to seasonal production or availability.

Don

[Christopher Plesko]

Quoting Eric:
My wind shirt is used more that any other torso garment besides my base layer

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We are both in Colorado but I concur 100%. My first line of defense is the windshirt for wind, rain, bugs etc. Being on a bike much more than on foot I don the windshirt frequently to cut the windchill even in warmer weather.

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