What's It For?
Crux distinguishes the Torq from the Flak range by saying that it's designed for alpine summer mountaineering and less technical climbing where greater breathability and lower weight are 'prime considerations' - it's also worth bearing in mind that the Torq has two conventional chest pockets which arguably makes it more walking friendly than the Flak with its Napoleon pockets.
It's also aimed - and we quote - at 'climbers with fit and conditioned physiques, but is sufficiently generous to allow for layering'. The cut, by the way, is the same as the harder core Flak Jacket.
The Techy Bits
There are a couple of stand-out features on the Torq. The first is the lighweight eVent fabric, which feels reasonably substantial, but cuts overally weight to just 440 grammes. It's also slightly more breathable than the fabric used for the Flak jacket.
The other is the use of Swiss-made Riri Aquazips throughout. These are highly water resistant to the point of being almost waterproof. Unlike conventional water-resistant zips which rely on a urethane seal to keep water out - they often leak - the plastic teeth of the zip mesh tightly to form a watertight seal.
They're big. toothy, expensive and popular in the marine market where keeping dry is all part of the game for sailors. Crux also uses the zip on its innovative eVent-shelled sleeping bags.
How It Performed
We've been using the Torq for a while now for both walking and scrambling and like the Flak before it, it'll appeal to those looking for a simple, minimalist jacket with no frilly bits. Or maybe just no frills. That means you get two big chest pockets and full-on mountain hood, but no pit-zips, core vents, weird extra pockets or perforated velour chin-guards...
At 440 grammes, the Torq is in the zone for a lightweight alpine shell and around 80 grammes lighter than the identically cut but burlier Flak jacket. Talking of cut, it's trim without being exactlingly tight. Crux has uncompromisingly aimed for 'climbers with fit and conditioned physiques', but deliberately left enough room to fit a sleekly cut mid-layer.
Length as about right for all-round use on the OM test body giving decent crotch coverage without interfering with harness or movement. It's a handsome beast too, but it's not all about looks. The cut works well for climbing and scrambling with long enough sleeves and no hem-lifting. Pockets clear harness and pack-belts and are huge. They can also be used handwarmer style if that's your thing, which arguably makes the jacket more suitable for walking than the Flak.
The fabric works well too and has all the excellent breathability we've come to expect from eVent. It also drapes nicely, ooh get us, making it comfortable to wear over a baselayer. It doesn't mean you can't overwhelm the fabric, but it will take longer. Rolling up the sleeves adds useful venting and they are loose enough to allow this even for burly climbing forearms.
We found the unusual Riri Aquazips quietly effective. As we said, the plastic teeth mesh together to give a mechanical and highly water-resistant seal that won't leak when the zip flexes and they do seem to work well. Having said that, we still wouldn't keep anything fragile in the pockets, the zips are highly water resistant rather than totally waterproof and have a much lower hydrostatic head than the fabric.
Ours leaked marginally in a direct tap water experiment. The huge, toothy main zip's backed with a storm flap though and seems to work fine. The giant-sized puller's easy to use with gloved hands too.
Last but not least is the hood. Like the Flak it manages to handle a helmet and also cinch down tightly enough to grip and move with a bare head. Unlike the Flak, the Canadian-manufactured Torq has only a stiffened, laminated peak rather than a wired one. Worn with a helmet, this doesn't really matter and in moderate rain without, again it's not a problem, in really windy, wet conditions though, we'd prefer a wired peak. It doesn't make the jacket useless as the laminated peak does work quite well, but we do think it would make more sense to fit a wired peak.
Verdict
A neat, sleekly cut, minimalist alpine shell jacket at a reasonable weight and using the most breathable conventional waterproof fabric we've found in the form of eVent. The Torq's ideal for technical climbing and mountaineering but can also double as an effective all-round mountain jacket if you can live with the non-wired hood, which is our one quibble. Having said that, most of the time the laminated peak is fine and if you're wearing a helmet, the lid itself tends to form a peak and give extra protection. If you want wiring from Crux, you'll have to look to the Flak Jacket or Smock,
Buy if... you want a highly breathable, reasonably lightweight alpine shell, have a fit, climber's physique and aren't bothered by the lack of a wired peak. If you are, look at the Crux Flak Jacket instead.
