This chunky synthetic jacket is perfect for hardy hillwalkers tackling Munros or Wainwrights. It features Sprayway’s ThermoSphere insulation, made from 100% recycled polyester, offering warmth and sustainability at a reasonable price.
The 120gsm fill in the body and 80gsm in the sleeves and hood provide warmth without bulk. Its slightly oversized cut accommodates layering, with extra sleeve and body length, a snug rollaway hood, and three-point adjustment.
Additional features include microfleece-lined hand pockets, inner and outer chest pockets, a two-way zip with chin guard, and adjustable cuffs and hem. While it doesn’t pack as small as a down jacket, it stuffs into its own pocket for easy stashing, weighing in at 550g for a men’s M.
Designed as a versatile all-rounder, it delivers excellent performance for UK hillwalking. Let's get into some details.
Pros
- Practical
- Warm
- Well-priced
Cons
- No women’s version
- No inner ‘dump pockets’
| Price | £180/$229.43 |
| Women's sizes | n/a |
| Weight | 600g/ 1.3lb (men’s L) |
| Materials | 40DTecShellnylon with PFC-free DWR; 120gsm (body) and 80gsm (arms, hood) ThermoSphere synthetic insulation (100% recycled polyester) |
| Men's sizes | S-XXL |
Design and features
As well as being one of Scotland’s most spectacular mountain regions, Torridon is a term that carries serious heritage in the Sprayway range. Why? Because this was the name given to the Manchester brand’s iconic ‘90s waterproof jacket, which became one of the decade’s best-selling Gore-Tex shells. And like several other 1990s relics, it recently made a comeback.
In winter 2019, Sprayway relaunched the Torridon, to great acclaim. It’s still in the range today, albeit tweaked and upgraded with the latest eco-friendly Gore-Tex fabric. Now, there’s the Torridon Insulated jacket to add to the lineup.
This jacket is built with the same high-quality feel and attention to detail as its namesake waterproof shell – though here the focus is on practical warmth for frigid British winters. As such, the Torridon shell and the Torridon insulated jacket would combine well to make a great all-season layering system.
In basic terms, the Torridon Insulated is a less hardcore adaptation of the classic belay jacket. It shares many of the same hallmarks and features as various tried-and-tested climbing classics in this category, like Mountain Equipment’s Fitzroy, Patagonia’s DAS parka and Rab’s newer but excellent Generator Alpine jacket.
So, you get hard-wearing and practical synthetic fill, which is warm, quick-drying and will continue to insulate even if it gets damp.
It also has a roomy cut designed for overlayering, plus some technical design elements like a two-way main zip, elevated hand pockets that sit clear of a climbing harness or rucksack hip belt, fully adjustable cuffs with Velcro tabs, and a protective hood.
The hood boasts three-point adjustment and a wired peak, but it can also be rolled away and secured with a Velcro tab, where it acts as a cosy neck baffle. It’s not as big as the hoods of dedicated climbing jackets though, which means you don’t get such a good fit when worn over a helmet. On the other hand, it cinches in nicely over a bare head or beanie, which will be a benefit for hillwalkers.
Patterning and articulation are also slightly simpler than you might find on the most technical belay jackets, which again points to the intended use as being primarily for throwing on when static. For example, you do get a little hem lift when raising your arms, so for dynamic winter scrambling and climbing there are better alternatives out there.
But in all other regards this is a very versatile insulating layer, and for winter hillwalkers who occasionally tackle harder routes, it would still do the job.
The Torridon Insulated features four pockets: two hand warmer pockets, which are cosily lined with a soft microfleece, a zippered outer chest pocket and a zippered internal security pocket. All are good sizes for stashing devices like a smartphone or GPS units as well as other small essentials.
The right-hand pocket is also designed as a convenient pack pocket, so the whole jacket can be stuffed away into a convenient little bundle. It’s a bit of a shame that the jacket has no stretchy inner ‘dump pockets’ for stashing gloves or mitts though – not least because these go a long way in helping to prevent the loss of gloves on the hill.
Other good features include a chunky two-way zip that is easy to use even with numb fingers. It has a soft chin guard to prevent irritation and a bottom press stud to prevent zip creep. There’s also a small inner baffle to stop draughts and moisture getting through, and it’s nicely stiffened to ensure it doesn’t snag on the zipper. You also get dual split tether hem drawcords and a drop tail for added rear protection.
Fabric and fill
The Torridon Insulated is built from Sprayway’s TecShell, a 40-denier ripstop nylon finished with a PFC-free durable water repellent (DWR) treatment. It’s actually a bit tougher than a lot of rivals, which tend to range from 10D to 30D weights.
In our testing, it took plenty of punishment in Eryri (Snowdonia) throughout October and November, including on Tryfan’s North Ridge. And as well as being hard-wearing, it’s also pretty windproof, offering plenty of protection from buffeting on exposed hillsides and blustery summits.
The ThermoSphere fill is proprietary to Sprayway, and as far as we can tell it’s a pretty standard wadded sheet fill made from hollowfibre polyester. In the body you get a chunky 120gsm weight, while in the sleeves and hood you get lighter 80gsm fill. This offers a slightly slimmer silhouette as well as increased mobility without sacrificing too much warmth.
As you’ll have probably noticed, there’s no mention of big name branded materials here, like Pertex, Gore-Tex or Primaloft. In short, you’re not getting absolute premium fabrics or fills. It means this jacket isn’t quite as performance focused as ‘best in class’ rivals. But this all keeps the price down, and what you do get is still a very solid and dependable bit of kit.
Performance and comfort
As we’ve said, though the Torridon could be used for mountaineering, its cut is much better suited to hillwalking. It feels like the sort of jacket to wear hunkered down next to a dry-stone wall or huddled in a stone summit shelter, rather than stood around on an exposed belay stance.
For these kinds of scenarios, it performs really well. It’s easy to grab out of a pack and pull from its stuff pocket, and big enough to chuck on over multiple layers, including a winter shell. Once zipped up it feels snug and protective, with a cosy hood and a full coverage fit.
The face fabric does a good job of fending off wind, drizzle and general dreich. If it does get soaked, it’ll still do a better job of keeping you warm than any down jacket, and it should also dry quicker when conditions improve.
We had it out on test throughout November in the mountains of North Wales, when we got the first snow of the season. Temperatures in the hills hovered around -2°C and got as low as -10°C once factoring in windchill. The jacket handled these conditions well when layered with a midweight baselayer and fleece, and occasionally over a shell too.
One drawback is that unfortunately, the Torridon Insulated Jacket currently only comes in a men’s version – hopefully a women’s version will follow next season.
Sustainability
The Torridon Insulated scores pretty well on this front. Being fully synthetic, it does of course use fabrics and fill that are ultimately derived from petrochemicals – oil – but at least the insulation is fully recycled, as are the lining fabrics. Only the outer shell is made from virgin polyamide (nylon).
And this is treated with a fluorocarbon-free water repellent finish, which is free from the harmful ‘forever chemicals’ that have been shown to bio-accumulate in the environment, and which the outdoor industry is now almost completely phasing out.
As a brand, Sprayway has also been a member of the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) since 2012. It’s currently classed as ‘good’ by that organisation, under the criteria of their annual Brand Performance Check, scoring 63/100 overall.
As part of the Outdoor & Sports Company (OSC) group, it collaborates closely with both Fair Wear and the factories involved in the production process. It has signed up to the 8-point FWF Code of Labour Practices, which are based on UN and ILO principles.
This particular jacket is made in China. Traceability isn’t quite so good. OSC states that it is “not their policy to publish detailed information of our suppliers or supply chain. However, we are happy to share more general information about our supply chain such as number of suppliers, country of origin and the product(s) physical journey on request”.
Price and competition
With a UK RRP of £180, the Sprayway Torridon Insulated Jacket undercuts some of its main rivals in price, like Alpkit’s 0Hiro (£200) and the Mountain Equipment Shelterstone (£220).
The latter was our best value pick in this group test last year, while the 0Hiro was our best value choice the year before that. The Shelterstone uses 115gsm synthetic fill throughout, compared to the 120gsm/80gsm mix in the 0Hiro and the Torridon Insulated.
Admittedly, the Shelterstone and 0Hiro both add useful inner dump pockets and come in dedicated women’s versions – points in their favour. But gents can save themselves some cash and go for the Torridon Insulated. And hopefully, Sprayway will come out with a women’s Torridon Insulated jacket in time for next winter.
Another solid alternative at this value-orientated end of the synthetic insulated jackets category is the Keela Solo (£165). We tested that jacket alongside the Sprayway but it didn’t quite make our top six this year.
It’s still excellent value though, being just as tough as the Torridon Insulated whilst also slightly warmer, thanks to 133gsm Primaloft Gold fill (with 100gsm in the sleeves). On the other hand, this also makes it bulkier and a fair bit heavier, tipping the scales at over 700g in a men’s size L. We preferred the Torridon’s fit too, finding the Solo a bit boxy – but if you have a short, squat build, it might suit you.
Verdict
Warm, well-priced and a solid performer, this no-nonsense synthetic jacket represents great value for what you get: a practical and reliable overlayer that ticks all the boxes for winter hillwalking.
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About the author
Matt Jones is a freelance journalist based in the heart of Snowdonia National Park, he’s a vastly experienced gear tester and self-confessed outdoor kit geek. Matt’s been one of our main gear testers for the last couple of years and is the first person we call with any complicated kit queries that need in-depth and forensic analysis.