CORE4 TORRENT RAIN GEAR

When I received my Torrent jacket and pants, my initial reaction was that rain gear shouldn't feel this soft and be this quiet. The only rain gear I have ever had was the bargain store plastic kind, and this definitely was not bargain store quality.

The Torrent jacket is very comfortable, it has two hand warmer pockets (one pocket converts to the stuff sack for the jacket) The main zipper, just like the Element jacket has a soft cover over it for maximum comfort, has Velcro cuffs, and a draw string on the hood ( I had a hard time figuring out how to loosen the draw string up after I had it cinched down) If you get heated up while hiking, it has pit zips with mesh that gives you ample ventilation.

The Torrent pant was just as soft and comfortable as the jacket, this must be credited to the brushed tricot fabric it is made of. The biggest thing I noticed on the pant was the ease of getting them on over your boots. With zippers running all the way up to your thigh, you can pull these pants on over the biggest boots with ease. It has two hand warmer pockets, and the back pocket converts into the stuff sack. It has an elastic waist that is lined with the same gripping rubber strip as the Element pant to keep them from slipping off. A button snap and Velcro closure over the snap keep the waist waterproof. My pants were a little long, but with the two different snaps at the bottom of the legs you can snap them closed around your boots pretty well.

The Torrent rain gear is not the smallest when packed away, but is pretty light weight. Now for the waterproof test

Being the end of January, there isn't much rain , so I decided to make my own. I went to my works car wash and turned on the hose at full spray and ty-wraped it to the wall spraying directly on me. ( my wife had actually told me to was her car, so I thought this would be a good time to do the test) I stood in the direct spray for 5 minutes, turning and twisting in every direction. After the five minutes I shut the water off, removed the rain gear and was totally dry, not one seam leaked! The only thing I did not like was the rain gear seemed to stay wet on the outside for an extended period of time, but I am willing to give that up for the quiet fabric and ease of movement you get.

All in all this is a great set of rain gear, I can't wait to try it out on a hunt. Now instead of running for a tree, or the truck, I can put on my Core4 rain gear and keep hunting. After all that is sometimes the best time to hunt.