A couple of years ago The North Face came out with an amazing fabric, one where the thickness of fabric could change without using any seams. Along with zips, seams are the weakest point in a waterproof jacket, and this technology not only eliminated them but also made the jacket lighter and more durable. Clever stuff.

The material has since been continually updated allowing all manner of patterns and materials to be weaved together. The resulting FuseForm manufacturing technique is now appearing across The North Face’s range.

In this women’s trail running jacket, FuseForm has been used to seamlessly add in a perforated membrane in key zones where you’re likely to sweat, mainly along under the arms and all the way down the back. It is, quite frankly, an amazing material that has achieved exactly what it set out to do.

“Seams are the weakest point in a waterproof jacket, and this technology eliminated them.”