The Desolation Hybrid jacket from The North Face was designed for mid-layer integration with Steep Series jackets.
The jacket has a thin layer of Primaloft Silver insulation distributed around points susceptible to cold, the areas not covered with cosy Primaloft get a thin layer of stretchy material, this makes for great articulation around the hip flexors, arms and waist.
The thin layer of Primaloft does a surprisingly good job of keeping you warm and the outer material seems to keep the wind at bay even in the stretchy areas. This makes the jacket versatile enough to be worn as an outer layer (it also helps that the looks are quite low key).
As is the trend these days the jacket packs down into its own pocket like a snail into its shell - the resulting package is pillow shaped, this could be handy for those ultra-lightweight overnight adventures.
There's a little fabric loop next to the left hand pocket which you can use to secure the strap for your avalanche transceiver, this stops it potentially moving around your torso and causing general aggravation, a nice touch we thought.
Although the Desolation Hybrid purports to be for steep and deep serious backcountry use there's no reason not to use it as a casual top layer or just for a nice cosy mid-layer for cruising around the pistes in.
