First take on Lowe Alpine's very black Polartec Powershield alpine jacket that's 98 per-cent windproof, but more breathable as a result.
|
Lowe Alpine Torque Jacket -
First Look
|
|
|
Price:
£170.00
|
|
Weight: 647 grammes (men's
medium)
|
|
Features: Polartec
Powershield fabric, athletic fit, twin zippered hand warmer
pockets, full length front zipper with internal wind flap,
easy adjust cuffs, drawcorded hem with singe-handed pull,
harness friendly differential cut hem, adjustable neck with
single-pull cord. Women's version also available. Available
in black or black.
|
|
Warm, breathable, highly wind and water resistant.
Lack of hood limits versatility, not cheap and not super
lightweight.
|
The Concept Yep, another soft shell jacket, so highly wind and
water resistant, but more breathable than a fully waterproof 'hard
shell'. The Torque is part of Lowe Alpine's new technical 'Integrated
Alpine System', so it's cut snug with a cut-away front hem to prevent
bulky, mobility-reducing fabric layers in the wrong places. It's
designed to be worn with shells like the
Ice
Light we looked at a few weeks back. Alternatively, in less
severe conditions, it's a shell in its own right. Pockets and hem are
supposed to be compatible with a harness, more of which later.
Features We like Polartec's Powershield fabric a lot. It's a
claimed 98 per-cent windproof laminate, with the extra two per-cent
of permeability appreciably upping breathability compared to say,
Gore's 100 per-cent windproof Windstopper.
Otherwise it's a straightforward jacket, albeit with a scooped hem
for compatibility with the latest Lowe Alpine technical mountain
shells. There are neat touches like the double Velcro cuff closure
and all the hems are adjustable. That's it really, no weird gimmicks.
In Action The Torque's cut nice and neat, not quite as snug as
an Arc'Teryx Gamma with its sculpted lines, but the stretchy, fleecey
-backed fabric gives and instant snug and secure feel and the lack of
excess bagginess means it layers neatly with close cut shells,
including Lowe Alpine's excellent latest generation Gore-Tex numbers.
The hem cut seems to work too with no complaints on high steps.
We
reckon the Powershield fabric has a breathability edge over
Windstopper in UK conditions and it has to be really blowing a hoolie
before you're aware of any heat loss from the additional two per-cent
permeability. We've noticed some minor chill on 40 mph mountain bike
descents, but most of the time it's simply not an issue and the
jacket seems to dissipate excess heat and mositure better than most
similarly protective kit. It's very water resistant too, though in
heavy rain, it'll leak at the seams.
We found for anything short of really intense uphill stomps, the
Torque coped well and humidity cleared fast once things calmed down
again. Judicious use of the main zip for venting helps, as do the
cuffs, which can be fastened so they're open and allowing a good flow
of air to the forearms up funnel-like sleeves. Neat.
Downsides? Why oh, oh why, oh why is there no hood? Surely a
jacket that does the same job as a hardshell 90 per-cent of the time
would benefit from some built-in bonce protection, even a roll-away
windproof number like the one used by Macpac on their equivalent
Stealth jacket. Then there are the handwarmer pockets. The openings
are well above harness and waist belt line, but the deepness of the
pocket means that anything in them when you don a harness gets caught
underneath. Not a massive issue for sure, but it seems a bit odd.
Early
days, but we love the fabric with its warm, protective snug feel and
decent breathability and the medium close cut also presses all the
right buttons. The Torque's virtually windproof and very water
resistant too and offers just the right level of insulation for
active use in cold, mountain conditions. Stuff like the hem cut and
cuff fasteners are well thought through too.
Our one major quibble is lack of a built-in hood. If you're not a
hood wearer, this won't matter to you, but we reckon a hoodie version
would extend the jacket's versatility when things get cool and
committing. It would also help to justify the £170 price tag,
which is par for the course for Power Shield garments, but still
quite expensive. A cross between the Torque and the Ninja Hoodie with
integral hood and a slightly closer fit again would be a real killer
garment, still maybe next year.
As it stands, the Torque offers great and breathable protection
combined with a decent active cut and makes a very effective alpine
jacket allowing you to do without the hardshell till things get
proper bad out there. You'll need a good hat as well though :-)
Know more or want to?
If you'd like to add your own experiences of this product check
out our user review system and post your opinions to the world. If
you have questions you can mail
us direct, ask
Richard Gear or try a posting to our gear
forum.
