A miracle has happened. For one whole day in many months we have not had any rain. And for the first time in more weeks than I can count I have left my waterproof jacket hanging up in the house while I take Wispa the Wonder Whippet for a walk. Even if it hasn’t actually been raining at the time of our morning and evening walks, the clouds have been threatening enough to make me carry the waterproof with me. Indeed, I have WebTogs to thank for the well-timed arrival of a North Face Women’s P8 Waterproof jacket just as our Scottish summer ended (sometime in April) and our Monsoon Season arrived. There has been weeks and weeks of time to give this jacket a very thorough testing!

To start with the jacket just looks gorgeous! As an outdoorsy girl I like wearing brightly coloured clothing and I prefer pinks and purples to dark blues and blacks. The one I have is a shade of Berry Purple. But if you prefer black it does come in the less conspicuous colour, too.

The other thing I immediately noticed is the oh-so-soft material. Most of my waterproof jackets (and I have a few!) are the more familiar crinkly-to-touch Goretex but this North Face Women’s P8 Waterproof jacket is made of a material called HyVent that is soft to touch, soft to wear and also very waterproof. I can vouch for the latter given the amount of rain we’ve had!

While it has been rainy it hasn’t always been cold so beneath my jacket I have been wearing a t-shirt. A t-shirt with the usual waterproof jacket over the top can feel cold and sticky, then sweaty, on the skin but with the HyVent material my arms have felt very pleasant and non-sticky and non-sweaty.

Apparently North Face’s HyVent material is a “waterproof, breathable technology that utilises a three-layer construction to stay simultaneously breathable and waterproof in extreme conditions. The durable woven outer layer protects the wearer from abrasion. The mid-layer utilises a PU coating and micro pores to channel water vapour from the inner layer to the outer, while keeping water out. The comfortable inner layer also channels moisture up to the micro pores.” So that explains it’s nice feeling when wearing it!

The jacket also boasts a good range of features including:

• Zip closure hand pockets (useful for keeping Wispa’s snout from snuffling out digestive biscuits that are meant only as treats).
• Velcor adjustable wrist cuffs (ideal for my skinny wrists).
• Roll away hood (I haven’t rolled it away yet for fear of being caught out in a yet another rain storm)
• Elastic shock cords in hood for tighter fit (this has been useful in the high winds that we’ve also experienced during our Scottish Monsoon Season)
• Storm flaps (again, useful in all the storms).
• Button hem closure (looks good and helps to keep the rain out).

I have has lots of favourable comments about this jacket. It fits really well, with a feminine shape to the design. The arms are long enough for my very long arms (for once) and the jacket would be perfect for wearing on a country walk, to the shops or for dog walking in the rain. I can see it being a useful jacket for going to and from the office during our Scottish summer (that is “summer” in the loosest possible sense) as it’s both smart and practical.

North Face have come up with a good all-rounder jacket that offers good looks and versatility. At £75.99 the price is pretty good, too. I would love to think that I won’t be wearing the jacket for many weeks to come as we suddenly get our Scottish summer but I can’t say I’m very hopeful! In fact, I’m expecting the jacket to be coming with me later today!

WebTogs also sell a men’s version of the North Face P8 Waterproof jacket