Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex Pullover Review

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Introduction

The Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex Pullover (7.7 oz / 219 g, MSRP $175.00) is a synthetic-fill, high loft insulating garment.

Its materials and construction are similar to the full-zip Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex Jacket. This review will not focus on the comprehensive details of design, materials, and construction, as that information was presented in our review of the Torrid Apex Jacket. Instead, this review will focus on the usability of the pullover design.

This Limited Review is based on my experience with it over the course of more than 60 user days while hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, and backpacking in Southeast Wyoming and Northern Colorado.

Features and Specifications

Weight: 7.72 oz (219 g) – the actual measured weight of my pre-production sample (Men’s Size M)
Fill: 2 oz/yd² Climashield Apex synthetic insulation
Fabric: Ultralight ripstop nylon fabric with DWR (options for 7D, 10D, or 20D fabrics in various colors)
Marsupial (“kangaroo”) front pocket (insulated on both sides)
1/2 length front zipper for ventilation
Raglan style sleeves to increase comfort and range of motion
Elastic cuffs
Adjustable shock cord for waist hem (tucked inside front pouch)
Adjustable hood
Made in USA (Winona, Minnesota)

Description of Field Experience

I don’t have any experience using the Torrid Apex Pullover in “summer” conditions in the U.S. Mountain West, where I live and do most of my hiking. Based on my experience in inclement conditions during the other three seasons (fall, winter, and spring) in Wyoming and Colorado, I have no reason to believe that the Torrid Apex Pullover wouldn’t make a fine summer insulating layer anywhere in the Continental U.S.

man using an ice screw to drill through a frozen stream surface — Using an ice screw to drill through the surface of a frozen stream on my quest to find water. On this day, where temperatures hovered near 0 F (-18 C), I appreciated the looser fit of the pullover, which allowed me to layer it over other insulating layers.

My experience with the Torrid Apex Pullover includes more than 60 user days in the following contexts:

as a worn and at-rest insulating layer for done-in-a-day winter activities (snowshoeing, skiing, and hiking) in temperatures down to minus 5 F (-15 C); and
as my primary at-rest/in-camp insulating layer for multi-day backcountry trips in temperatures down to 15 F (-9 C).

I have extensive experience with the Torrid Apex Pullover:

in high winds (while trekking, at rest, and in camp);
as an outer layer in heavy snowfall (while trekking, at rest, and in camp); and
as an insulating layer to complement my sleep system at night.

For additional context, here are three examples of how I integrated the Torrid Apex Pullover into my clothing and sleep systems in more extreme conditions:

Scenario: Day Trip – Snowshoeing in a Blizzard

Environmental Conditions: Temps 0 to 10 F (-18 to -12 C), Winds 10 to 30 mph (16 to 48 kph)
Torso Clothing Worn While Trekking: 150-weight merino hoody, lightly-insulated softshell jacket, Torrid Apex Pullover

Scenario: Overnight Bivy in Exposed Blizzard

Environmental Conditions: Temps 15 to 25 F, (-9 to -4 C) Winds 5 to 15 mph (8 to 24 kph)
Torso Clothing Worn: 150-weight merino hoody, lightly-insulated softshell jacket, Torrid Apex Pullover
Sleep System: 20 F (-7 C) down sleeping bag, 50 F (10 C) synthetic overbag, waterproof-breathable bivy sack

man in bivy sack during a snow storm — Enjoying a blizzard during a Wyoming winter bivy.

Scenario: Cooking In Camp During a Storm

Environmental Conditions: Temps 15 to 25 F (-9 to -4 C), Winds 20 to 25 mph (32 to 40 kph)
Torso Clothing Worn: 150-weight merino hoody, lightly-insulated softshell jacket, Torrid Apex Pullover, waterproof-breathable shell jacket

Performance Summary

Weight & Warmth

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This topic has 16 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 3 years, 6 months ago by Victor Jorgensen.

Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)

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Apr 23, 2021 at 9:00 am #3710156

Ryan Jordan
Admin

@ryan
Locale: Central Rockies

Companion forum thread to: Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex Pullover Review

The Enlightened Equipment Torrid Apex Pullover (7.7 oz / 219 g, MSRP $175.00) is a synthetic-fill, high loft insulating garment.

Apr 23, 2021 at 10:12 am #3710164

Jerry Adams
BPL Member

@retiredjerry
Locale: Oregon and Washington

that link doesn’t work

but https://enlightenedequipment.com/mens-torrid-apex-jacket-custom/ does work

Apr 23, 2021 at 11:07 am #3710167

Andrew Marshall
BPL Member

@andrewsmarshall
Locale: Tahoe basin by way of the southern Appalachians

Hi Jerry. What link specifically?

Apr 23, 2021 at 8:42 pm #3710220

Yu Cheng C
BPL Member

@james830613

Hi Ryan! Thanks for the review! I was excited about the pullover for few ounces saving!

However I found that in EE website the new torrid pullover model is a little bit heavier than the Full-zip instead.

I think they might have made some changes from the prototype.

Apr 23, 2021 at 9:30 pm #3710222

Stumphges
BPL Member

@stumphges

Thanks, Ryan.

In practice, how much did you compress your Torrid pullover (e.g. size of stuffsack)? And did you feel that that amount of compression was sustainable, from a loft-degradation perspective?

Apr 23, 2021 at 9:45 pm #3710225

Jerry Adams
BPL Member

@retiredjerry
Locale: Oregon and Washington

Hmmm… link works now, not to worry…

Apr 23, 2021 at 10:28 pm #3710226

Austin P
Spectator

@boogie-days

Really fantastic review!

For those who are interested: they put up the link for the Pullover yesterday, and indeed the weight is actually about 10% more than the full zip in a comparable size (8.11oz for 7D inner/outer hooded pullover size M vs 7.40oz for 7D inner/outer hooded full zip size M). Here’s what their rep had to say:

The reason why the new Torrid Pullover has nearly an ounce heavier is because the pocket is insulated and the pocket is about half of the front of jacket.

Hope this helps someone out there!

Apr 24, 2021 at 5:38 pm #3710275
Ryan Jordan
Admin

@ryan
Locale: Central Rockies
Interesting on their claimed weights and why. In our review samples of both (men’s size M with 7d fabrics), our actual measured weights were:
- Jacket 8.01 oz
- Pullover 7.72 oz
This is on a NIST-certified and professionally-calibrated scientific scale accurate to 0.01 oz.
Apr 25, 2021 at 8:13 am #3710302

Mike M
BPL Member

@mtwarden
Locale: Montana

I have the full zip jacket (10 d) that sees a lot of use all seasons, it definitely punches above it’s weight for warmth.

For the very minimal weight savings, I’d take a pass on the pullover- full zip is easily worth the 0.25 oz (and then some) to me.

If you need any customization- fabric, insulation weight, sleeve or back length, extra pockets, etc- Jan’s (Nunatak) Apex jacket won’t disappoint either.

Apr 25, 2021 at 1:36 pm #3710335

Eric Blumensaadt
BPL Member

@danepacker
Locale: Mojave Desert

Interesting and well documented article. Synthetic fills ae continually getting better in CLO value per ounce and (with Climashield in particular) resistance to loss of loft after repeated trips through stuff sacks.

My main problem with the EE Apex pullover is that it IS a pullover. For me the slight extra weight of a full length 2-way zipper is not a good reason to give it up for the inconveniences of a pullover for on-off ease and venting options.

What I want to see here at BPL is a scientific test of synthetic insulations like Climashield, NanoPuff, Primaloft, etc. for CLO value per weight and, in particular, loft retention after repeated stuffings. This would mean similarly sized garments stuffed into one size of stuff sack for an 8 hour period and then shaken out and laid unstuffed for say, another 8 hours for X number of times. Loft retention is, for synthetic insulations, the gold standard. After all, what good is a synthetic insulation that looses 50% loft after maybe 10 stuffings?

Apr 25, 2021 at 2:10 pm #3710337
Geoff Caplan
BPL Member

@geoffcaplan
Locale: Lake District, Cumbria
Yes – Eric is right – consumers like us are very much in the dark when it comes to
- CLO when dry,
- CLO when wet,
- drying times and
- loft retention.
We’re in the dark about how the different types compare to each other, and how the category as a whole compares to down.

There’s plenty of marketing hype and bro science, but very little objective information.

Anything that BPL could do to cast a little light on the issue would be very much appreciated, I think.
Apr 25, 2021 at 4:25 pm #3710353

jscott
BPL Member

@book
Locale: Northern California

I’m not a full member so I can’t read the whole review. How does this compare to a Patagonia Nano Puff in terms of warmth? the Nano is a bit heavier.

Apr 25, 2021 at 9:04 pm #3710379

Rex Sanders
BPL Member

@rex

Under improvements, Ryan wanted options to drop the hood and the marsupial pocket.

Soon you can order the EE Torrid Pullover without a hood, and save about 0.8 ounce (23 grams).

Total claimed weights vary with size and fabric options.

Still stuck with the pouch.

— Rex

Apr 25, 2021 at 10:09 pm #3710382

jscott
BPL Member

@book
Locale: Northern California

I like a hood and a marsupial pocket….why wouldn’t I want a hood for an 1/8 of an ounce?

still wondering if it’s more or less warm than my Nano Puff…

Apr 26, 2021 at 10:47 am #3710415

Chris
BPL Member

@chaas-2

Thanks for the nice review Ryan!

I had the full-zip version with 7d inner & outer. I liked almost all aspects of it (fit, warmth, low weight, cost) but I found the 7d fabric made it pretty vulnerable to even relatively light breezes. I was only looking at this for static warmth (I run really warm when moving), so that disqualified it for me and I sold it.

Do you have any thoughts on the other fabric options? EE describes the 20d as essentially windproof, so perhaps a 20d outer and 7d inner would be a good balance for a static piece?

Apr 26, 2021 at 11:13 am #3710417

McMick
BPL Member

@mcmick

(+) I have the Torrid zip M, great fit, long arms, great ventilation with the full zip (I’m a stick @ 6′-2″ / 160 lbs)

(-) But: the Neck is really tight, so layering is hard, even a buff is tight and the shoulders Do compress the Insulation.

Anyone know if the Pullover solves these problems OR if a Size up on the Full zip Apex solves the above? (It does look like the Pullover is way roomier in the torso area).

Weight diff no biggie.

Apr 26, 2021 at 3:08 pm #3710449

Victor Jorgensen
BPL Member

@dblhmmck
Locale: Northern California

@ McMick,

I sent EE an email question about the Torrid jacket fit nearly 2 weeks ago. In my case it was a question about forearm tightness of a small torrid that I plan to replace with a medium. This was their response:

“Right now the Stock Torrids are a new design which has a cinchable waist, better pockets, and more room in the chest/shoulders/arms. I’d recommend getting this new version, but it isn’t in production for custom orders yet. We’re hoping to have that available in the next month or so.”

Since my question pertained to the jacket rather than the pull-over, I am not sure if the pull-over uses this “new design”. But from seeing pics of people wearing the pull-over, it appears to me that it does. EE was very quick in responding to my question, in case anybody wants to verify this with EE.
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