The Enlightened Equipment Torrid Jacket (Stock Model) is a really heat and light-weight artificial insulated jacket that’s optimized to be used by hikers and backpackers. It is just not a lot to have a look at style-wise (when you get the “stock model”) so it’s not going to face out on a ski slope, but it surely’s an expertly designed and crafted garment that’s nice for 3+ season use on chilly mornings, in camp, or as an adjunct to a backpacking sleep system. Its key options embrace the usage of light-weight wind-resistant materials, an adjustable-sized hood, zippered pockets, elastic wrist cuffs, and a buried hem adjustment, amongst others, that align it nicely for individuals who put on backpacks.
Specs at a look
- mannequin: “Stock” Torrid (Custom colours and choices are additionally accessible)
- weight: 8.4 oz (dimension medium)
- weight examined: 8.7 oz (dimension massive, inventory, males’s 7D material)
- gender: males’s and women’s fashions accessible
- pockets: 2
- sizing: barely massive to accommodate layers
- material: both 7D or 10D nylon
- insulation: Climashield Apex 2.0
- “breathability”: 7D (35 CFM) or 10D (10CFM)
- DWR coating: Yes
Synthetic Insulation vs Down Insulation
The Enlightened Equipment Torrid is an artificial insulated jacket that makes use of Climashield APEX insulation as an alternative of goose or duck down. Climashield APEX is steady filament insulation consisting of interlocking polyester strands which can be extremely compressible but preserve their unique form after use or extended storage. Climashield doesn’t pull aside when stretched and doesn’t clump, shift, or separate with repeated use or washings. This makes it good insulation for a regularly used jacket that you just plan to make use of for climbing or sleeping in, and one which’s a lot better than down when uncovered to perspiration and physique oils.
Climashield APEX is cheaper than down, leading to a jacket that’s rather more reasonably priced than a comparable down jacket. Jackets made with Climashield APEX are additionally cheaper to fabricate than down and don’t require baffling or complicated stitching to seize and loft goose or duck down. In reality, the Torrid Jacket is just not sewn by means of, a typical development technique with down jackets in the identical heat vary, leading to a hotter jacket with fewer uncovered needle holes.
Stock vs Custom
The Torrid Jacket is on the market in a decrease price “stock” mannequin in restricted colours and with a hard and fast characteristic set, and a “custom” mannequin which has a better vary of sizes, colours, material choices each inside and on the outside of the jacket, and hoods, together with a helmet-compatible hood, which the inventory mannequin doesn’t have. These are inclined to weigh barely extra, they’re costlier and take for much longer to fabricate than the inventory fashions which ship out virtually instantly. As a reviewer, I like to make use of the inventory mannequin of a product as a result of that’s what most individuals really purchase.
Fabrics
The Stock Torrid is on the market in two completely different grades of nylon: 7-denier on the within and out of doors of the jacket or 10-denier on the within and out of doors. Being thinner and lighter weight, the 7-denier is much less sturdy and extra topic to abrasion than the 10-denier material. It’s additionally costlier, since you pay extra for much less weight, because it have been.
The 7-denier material has a ranking of 35 CFM in comparison with the 10-denier material which has a ten CFM. CFM (Cubic ft per sq. meter) is a measurement of how a lot air breathability and air resistance a material has. The next CFM is extra breathable, however much less wind resistant and a decrease CFM is much less breathable and extra wind resistant. Note, air breathability is just not the identical as moisture vapor transmission (MVTR) which measures the passage of water vapor by means of a substance and is normally utilized to rain jackets. They’re simply confused.
You can get all geeky about these material alternatives, however when you select the 7-denier Stock Torrid and end up being chilled as a result of it has much less wind resistance, you may put a rain jacket over it. This is much less more likely to be a problem with the extra wind-resistant 10-denier material, which can even be extra sturdy.
Features
The Stock Torrid Jacket is fairly bare-bones on the subject of options, however they are surely dialed in for hikers. For occasion, the hood is human-compatible, not helmet-compatible which I recognize as a result of outsized hoods aren’t as heat. You also can resize the face opening utilizing twine locks positioned on the surface of the hood alongside the neck and actually seal out drafts. It works nice and helps seal within the heat.
The wrist cuffs are easy elastic however present a comfortable match with out lots of slack. This helps stop chilly wind from blowing up your sleeves.
The Torrid has two zippered handwarmer pockets on both facet of the jacket. They’re not 100% hipbelt appropriate as a result of you may’t open or shut the zippers, but when they’re unzipped, there may be sufficient room to sneak your fingers into the highest of the pockets whereas carrying a hip belt to maintain them heat.
The jacket additionally has a hem adjustment to seal out chilly drafts from working up your legs and chilling your torso. The hem adjustment is managed by cords positioned inside the 2 zippered pockets utilizing the identical design that Montbell makes use of within the down Ex Light Anorak (practically twice as costly), which is likely one of the greatest aggressive alternate options to the Torrid, by way of weight and heat.
Finally, the Torrid Jacket has raglan sleeves with a seam that runs from the underarm to the collarbone. This development method gives extra inside room for layering and higher freedom of motion. The total arm is constructed from a single piece of cloth, additional slicing down on the variety of seams and needle holes sewn by means of the exterior material.
Usage
When climbing, I run scorching and discover the Torrid to be too heat to put on for energetic use For me, it’s a jacket I can throw on after we cease to take a break and I would like extra heat or to put on in camp when consuming or hanging out with associates. It’s straightforward to stuff right into a backpack and the artificial insulation makes it fascinating for humid or moist climates. The Torrid can be a lot simpler to clean than a down jacket, which is vital when you plan to make use of it each day on a protracted journey or thru-hike.
The Torrid Jacket additionally makes a very good adjunct to a quilt or hoodless sleeping bag in colder climate if you’d like extra heat in your higher torso. The jacket’s hood strikes along with your head, even when you’re a facet sleeper and pockets are a very good place to stash your headlamp so you’ll find it the darkish. When it’s chilly at night time, I at all times sleep in an insulated jacket as a result of it helps stop warmth from escaping up round my neck and higher chest after I transfer round in my sleep. This works nicely no matter the kind of sleep insulation you employ, be it a quilt, a hoodless sleeping bag, or perhaps a mummy bag.
Recommendation
The “Stock” Enlightened Equipment Torrid Jacket is a well-designed and well-sewn artificial insulated jacket appropriate for 3+ season use. Weighing 8 to 9 ounces, it’s remarkably heat for such a light-weight jacket, plus it’s loaded with fascinating capabilities together with an adjustable hood, zippered handwarmer pockets, raglan sleeves, and buried hem changes. I’m additionally actually impressed with the standard of the design and the stitching, which is totally top-notch for a smaller firm. While the Stock Torrid lacks a couple of options like a zippered chest pocket and might’t be stuffed into considered one of its personal pockets, I feel the options it does embrace are fascinating and can fulfill most hikers.
You’ll additionally get the Stock Torrid Jacket rather a lot sooner than a Custom Torrid Jacket as a result of they’re held in stock and don’t should be manufactured first. That’s one thing to think about throughout peak shopping for seasons like early spring or the winter holidays when Custom Torrid Jackets could also be backordered by a month or extra.
Highly Recommended!
Disclosure: Enlightened Equipment donated a jacket for this evaluation.
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