The North Face Expedition Shirt

A versatile, easy to pack 1/2 zip fleece pullover that makes an ideal mid layer, providing warmth and comfort without bulk. Breathable. Quick drying. Easily compressible. Relaxed fit with longer shirt tail hem. Deep zip front neck with inner storm flap. Gusset underarms. Durable flat locked seams. Zipped chest pocket.

Site	Price	Postage	Total
	£49.99	£2.95	£52.94

   User Reviews

General comments: This shirt is really light weight. It feels great over a t shirt or next to skin and is generally tough enough to handle most activities. The chest pocket is a little on the thin side but will hold most things that will fit through the zip. The quarter zip neck is also quite welcome when you need to cool off a bit but don't want to stop to take the shirt off. North Face do need to be careful with their washing instructions though. My fiance put it through a tumble dryer and shrunk it. After checking the label it does say it can be tumble dried but trust me from previous experiance, don't, air dry it if you want it to fit again.

Pros: It's light, warm, dries quickly when wet. What more can you ask for.

Cons: Label says it can be tumble dries, Expeiance proves it can't. Price a little on the high side compared to other companies alternatives.

General comments: Available in Black, Taupe or Khaki, I opted for Taupe when I found one heavily reduced. The North Face Expedition Shirt is a very well made lightweight fleece top. The Polartec Classic, is a far better quality fabric than North Face's own TKA 100 - soft, warm and surprisingly hard-wearing. It is however very prone to damage from flying fire sparks as I found out to my cost. Construction quality is excellent - seams are wide but very flat, with the shoulder piece seam running at high chest level rather than on the shoulders or across sensitive nipples as some poorer designs do. I've not worked out the advantage of the V shaped seam on the base of each sleeve, but the cuffs don't rub. Another nice detail is braid stops at the end of each zip. The pocket isn't capacious - fine for holding a train ticket and just about okay for a mobile phone, if you don't mind the mesh rubbing a little if you're not wearing a baselayer. Fit is generally excellent - plenty long enough in the body to avoid riding up when bending, but the collar could perhaps be a quarter or half inch bigger. I find it warm enough without a baselayer, but whilst it wicks reasonably well for fleece it's not in the same league as Lowe Alpine's Micro Grid. In general though it's a great lightweight fleece with the usual good ventilation control quarter zips give.

Pros: Hard-wearing soft fabric. Well designed.

Cons: Collar not the most generous for garment size. Fabric extremely prone to damage from fire sparks.

General comments: The North Face Expedition Shirt is a deserved classic fleece. I have owned a black Expedition Shirt for over 5 years and the design has hardly changed. There are more technical lightweight (100 weight) fleeces out there, but this is at a good price point, is comfortable and reasonably long. My fleece is now hardly fluffy at all resembling an extremely thin worn out bit of fabric, it has burns on the cuffs and the hem is starting to fray and come apart. I have worn it for everything from trips to the pub to expeditions in the Alps. It is a take anywhere piece. It is unusually long and the rear of the shirt is extra long so you can tuck it into trousers or salopettes. Most newer 100 weight fleeces are short and designed as technical ‘jumpers’ that you wear as outer garments. This fleece was designed as a mid-layer ‘shirt’ and it does exactly what it says on the tin. The front zip is deep for good ventilation and the elasticated cuffs keep out drafts effectively. It has a useful key fob pocket which I often put my camera battery in when the temperature plummet. It has been a great workhorse and I would buy another.

Pros: lightweight, classic design, cheap (ish)

Cons: not that cool anymore!!

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