Talus Jacket

Outdoors Magic – “A cosy jacket with an impressive fill, great features and all at a very decent price”

Who Is The Keela Talus For?

This is a jacket for anyone who ventures into cold and wet places. We can see it as being a great option as a standalone insulator during the warmer months, something to sling on on a windy summit or when the sun starts to set while you’re at camp. Then come winter, it’ll work excellently as part of a layering system. Scottish mountaineers should particularly like that aspect of it.

Materials and Construction

60gsm of PrimaLoft Gold synthetic insulation is used right across the jacket, including in the collar and hood. It’s actually been carefully zoned as well, so the bulk of it in the torso and then there’s a slightly lighter fill in the arms so that your movement isn’t hindered at all.

Now, the great thing about PrimaLoft Gold is that it basically brings the same kind of feel and performance as down, with an excellent warmth to weight ratio and lovely lofty feel. It even has a bit of an edge over down when it comes to wet weather use, because while standard down will flop and become useless with a bit of rain, PrimaLoft Gold will still carry on insulating, even when it’s absolutely soaked. What’s more, at least 50% of this fill is made from recycled content, more specifically, plastic bottles diverted from landfills.

Then there’s the outer shell fabric which, despite feeling very light actually has a surprising durability to it. That’s all thanks to the Cordura fibres that make up the ripstop thread within it –  a seriously impressive touch, that.

Stretchy fleece-lined panels then line the sides of the torso and under the arms to add a bit of extra comfort and to aid the overall temperature regulation as well.

Testers Verdict

Will Renwick, editor of Outdoors Magic

“This is exactly the kind of insulated jacket that I look for – one that’s made for the normally rather wet conditions we get in the UK. You see, on a typically wet day here, you’re going to get damp no matter how good your waterproof jacket is, normally because moisture starts to seep in around neck, and it’s this inevitability that makes me prefer synthetic insulation to down. With an insulated fill like PrimaLoft Gold, you can accept that while you’re going to get wet, at least you’re going to still be kept warm – and that’s not usually the case with down, unless it has some impressive hydrophobic treatment.

Trail Magazine – “A no-nonsense synthetic layer that uses high quality fill and boasts plenty of features, offering performance, practicality and good value.”

Let’s face it, nowhere in the UK does cold and wet weather like Scotland. So we were interested to test Fife-based Keela’s synthetic Talus jacket.

It ticks plenty of boxes, utilising tried and tested 60gsm Primaloft Gold wadded sheet insulation for core warmth, with lighter Primaloft fill on the arms, plus side stretch panels made from a heavyweight, hard-face fleece fabric. This combination of fabric and fills makes it pretty much windproof, yet offers improved articulation over conventional insulated jackets. It’s comfortable to wear, though roomy, and you may want to consider sizing down for a more tailored fit.

A no-nonsense synthetic layer that uses high quality fill and boasts plenty of features, offering performance, practicality and good value.

Joint-Forces.com – “All together very comfortable and easy to wear”

This is one of those garments that seems to work for many applications. It is light, very packable, warm and highly wind- and water-resistant. So it ticks a lot of boxes for many times of the year.
The Talus jacket has proved ideal for exercise periods outdoors in a wide range of conditions.

This jacket from Keela works well as a mid or top layer. If doing so was possible these days, it is plenty smart enough for a visit to the pub. The Talus Jacket, available in Blue in six sizes or more tactical Charcoal in three, has 60gsm Primaloft Gold as its insulation so straight away you know it will be good. It has two useful sized ‘hand pockets’ which are part-lined with soft feel fabric, an internal pocket and for me, importantly, a decent sized chest pocket. We all have and use mobile devices these days, to stay in touch and often to track and navigate with and to grab those photo opportunities when out and about, so it is essential they are handy.

Adventure Travel Magazine – “The Talus jacket offers fantastic warmth and a great set of features”

The last piece of kit I reviewed from Keela was the Cairn 3-layer shell, which performed very well and won a ‘Best Budget Buy’ award, so I was excited to see what the brand had to offer in an inisulated jacket test.

As I found before, Keela knows how to put together a decent bit of kit, with a fantastic design and quality for the price.

For a start, the Talus jacket has a very good set of features. As per most jackets, there are two lined hand-warmer pockets, an internal zip pocket, elasticated cuffs and two glove-friendly hem toggles. Meanwhile, the hood offers a fantastic amount of warmth and pulls in nicely around the fce thanks to the volume adjuster at the rear and the two toggles at the front, both of which are simple enough to use while wearing gloves. This, along with a high level of insulation and loft, ensures this is a very warm jacket. Of course, this warmth also means that the Talus jacket is not especially lightweight (566g in medium) or packable, being one of the bulkier synthetic options here.

Generally speaking, the jacket fits pretty well, but I did find it a tad short (I’m 6ft 2in), while it can also feel slightly restrictive across the shoulders and upper arms if you have another layer on underneath. Having said that, the sleeves are plenty long enough, and everything comes together well to ensure no cold air can slip inside.

In a line – The Talus jacket offers fantastic warmth and a great set of features.

Expert Reviews – “you’ll love Keela’s sleeker Talus jacket.”

If you love the warmth of an insulated jacket but hate the Michelin man-style bulk of a puffer style, you’ll love Keela’s sleeker Talus jacket. It’s stuffed with 60g of Primaloft Gold synthetic insulation, so it’s still very warm even when wet, and the outer surface or the Talus is windproof enough to help trap in heat even when it’s blowing hard outside. We like the stretchy side panels, which are lined with fleece rather than insulation and are designed help the jacket to move as you do when you’re getting active.