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This versatile Matrix softshell jacket with reinforced hips, hood, and elbows offers excellent, mobility and breathability. Perfect for summer Alpine climbs, hiking, and scrambling.
Rab says:
This lightweight and durable softshell jacket made with Matrix™ stretch fabric offers great mobility on technical climbing adventures. Working to adapt to your output and regulate temperature, this tough softshell fabric is highly breathable and fast drying. With reinforced ripstop overlays, the Torque Jacket is built to withstand rock and ice. Its fluorocarbon-free DWR finish provides moderate protection from light rain and snow.
The Torque Jacket’s fully adjustable, helmet compatible hood has a stiff peak to aid visibility in swirling spindrift, and concealed cordlocks, so you can cinch it in tight when the wind picks up. It has a robust, two-way YKK® VISLON® front zip for ease of use with a harness, with an internal stormflap for wind and weather protection. The cuffs can also be adjusted with hook and loop tabs and their extended design offers extra protection over the back of the hands. Built with two zipped hand pockets, a zipped napoleon chest pocket, adjustable hem, and regular fit, it makes a great outer jacket or midlayer, with storage to keep gloves, snack or compass close at hand.
Our Verdict
This is an incredibly hardwearing softshell designed for people who are out in the wilds all day, possibly over multiple days, regardless of what the weather has in store. Softshells are more breathable than their hard-shell cousins as well as offering a much larger range of movement, the drawback is they are not waterproof, but very water-resistant. The torque jacket excels at both of these, being highly breathable but also having unprecedented freedom of movement, thanks to the matrix stretch double weave fabric, a durable and comfortable soft shell outer fabric. The top of the hood, elbows, and hips are made from a ripstop double weave, that reinforces the jacket in key positions, most notable around the hips, this helps to protect the jacket from heavy backpacks or climbing harnesses, this material although more durable still has a good level of stretch, so you aren’t compromising movement for durability, an excellent feature.
A nice fitting jacket, with a fully adjustable drawcord hem, and hook and loop (Rabs Velcro) sinched cuffs help ensure the jacket is tailored to you and to the weather conditions. The hood is fully adjustable, has a stiffened peak, and is fully compatible with a helmet. All 3 pockets, 1 chest, and 2 hand pockets are mesh-backed, which helps with ventilating heat, further improving the breathability of the jacket. The main zip, is more “exposed” than I would have predicted, but is backed with a storm flap ensuring the worst of the weather can not penetrate the jacket.
This jacket is going to get a lot of use, it’s going to be brilliant for the hill walkers, the mountain climbers, and the backpackers, but just as good for the scramblers, rock climbers, and belayers. A fantastic jacket for when you aren’t sure what the weather has in store. my one nit-pick would be that I would have liked to have seen them use some of the reinforced ripstop weave across the shoulders, for use with a backpack, but as I say I’m nit-picking.
- Reviewed by Ultralight Outdoor Gear
Features
- Fully adjustable helmet compatible hood with concealed front cordlocks and stiffened peak
- Two-way opening YKK® VISLON front zip with internal storm flap
- YKK® zipped napoleon chest pocket
- YKK® zipped welted hand pockets
- Anti-snag hook and loop cuff adjustment with with extended knuckle protection
- Fully adjustable drawcord hem
Specifications
Our weights
- Small weighs: 419g
- Medium weighs: 465g
- Large weighs: 470g
- XLarge weighs: 508g
Material & Construction
- Matrix™ stretch double weave outer fabric with fluorocarbon-free DWR (182gsm)
- Ripstop Matrix™ double weave reinforcements panels on hood, elbows and hips (222gsm) with fluorocarbon-free DWR
- Main: 88% polyamide, 12% elastane. Second: 54% polyamide, 33% polyester, 13% polyurethane.
- Centre back length (Size M): 72cm / 28.3inch
- Fit: Regular
