Paramo Torres Smock

I bought one of these as the cold weather approached. It has never been off my back since. (A slight exaggeration)
Much more than showerproof though I don't think they would guarantee waterproof. Washes well and still shrugs off the water. It has been used in town in sub zero temperatures and on the hill in everything else.
A longer length version would have been a perk but I'm a short***e anyway and prefer the less frumpy look of Torres to the other Paramo jackets on offer.

Posted: 22/01/2010 at 10:35

How does this stack up against the other options at the heavy and warm end of the synthetic filled jacket spectrum? Rab Belay Jacket, Patagonia DAS Parka, PhD Zeta, TNF Redpoint and so on...

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 12:54

send me one of each and i'll let you know. medium please. heavy? why?

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 17:47

Parky,  no need to unleash the (in)famous 'Parky Pernickitiness'. There are in my, and it seems David's, view 2 ends to the array of synthetic jacket out there. Light ones (Generator, Montane Prism etc. etc.) which come in at about 3-400g and the heavier, warmer ones like the Rab Belay, Sleeka jacket which are 800g or so. I too would be curious to know how the Torres Smock compares and where it would be placed in that spectrum. I handled one the other day and found it bigger than my sleeping bag when test bundled to see pack size so would like to get an appreciation of its relative warmth.

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 18:34

i'm just intrigued ben rather than pernickity (this time anyway). an apology for misreading the original heavy out of context.

can you still send me one of each though.

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 18:58

I suppose I could have been after the heaviest jacket possible by way of endurance training.

But Ben's right, I'm interested in how warm it is compared with other 'seriously warm' synthetic fill jackets. I'm vaguely after something a bit warmer than my neutrino hoody and was wondering whether this would fit the bill.

And I'd be glad to send you one of each - send me about eight hundred quid and I'll pop them in the post!

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 19:11

And...just for full comparision and further opinion...one each to me too?

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 19:12

david, the only way you're going to get a comparison is find someone who has one of each and has used them in similar circumstances. failing that they're all going to be much of a muchness. one persons warm won't be anothers. it boils down to your intended use, what features you want and how much you want to spend.

the paramo has a sturdyish fabric. i have a torres gilet. the fabric makes it, well, sturdy and also provides excellent rain protection as richard suggests (and i do too - far superior to the quantum skinned stuff i have)

weight warmth and not bothered about rain then the torres is possibly inferior to the other offerings (ignoring features). you want good rain protection and warmth then the torres is possibly superior to the other offerings. my caveat is warm and dry - sod immaterial weight differences; it's what performs.

remember that the torres is sized to go over other layers so is its weight actually comparable?

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 19:29

These are pretty warm, unfortunately they don't come in ninja.

Posted: 13/02/2010 at 19:30

I only own the Torres gilet and I've never had chance to get up-close-and-personal with the belay jackets mentioned, but surely there must be a more scientific way to work out the warmth of them? Do the manufacturers tell us the weight and type of fill? Can we place a warmth/type ratio and so work which should be warmer?

Next, you can look at other aspects not relating to warmth like the thickness of the inner and outer liners to get a view of sturdiness, and finally build quality?

Posted: 14/02/2010 at 03:20

Sure its easy really - Paramo give the fill as 133 g/m2. Thats certainly generous. Their standard outer fabric (as per info on Cioch's site) is 110 g/m2. I guess the liner is some typically thin things as per other people.

(although to be sure you need heat pads of course )

The outer fabric is certainly heavier than it need be purely for weather resistance - see drishell at 48g/m2, endurance quite similar or even the two layer windstopper on Haglofs' windstooper barrier hood at 80g/m2. 

They're all basically waterproof (and totally wind proof - the windstopper slightly more durably so I guess.).

Durability surely not usually such an issue for something you really won't be wearing when active very often. Especially as the synthetic fill won't last for ever. As there's no obvious reason for them not to eventually use their lighter outer fabric on it it must surely be coming.

That'd shave off most of the 'excess' weight in comparison to related alternatives. Their typical cut (good for some of course!) likely explains the rest.....

One perhaps surprising point it does have in its favour is its price - 102 for this amount of warmth seems very good.

Posted: 14/02/2010 at 09:29