I’ve been wearing two jackets from Magnum for the better part of six months, which includes the cold and snowy season here in Texas. No, Texas doesn’t get the kind of winter weather that more northern states do, but thanks to the Magnum Taurus Softshell and Sparta Jacket I had all my bases covered.
You’re first thought is probably “Jackets… from a boot company?” Absolutely. These are definitely two different jackets built for different purposes, yet they complement each other well. Today I’ll be describing what I feel are the pros and cons of the jackets and how well they’ve held up for me.
Magnum Jackets
I consider myself a pretty active guy; I’m typically out in the elements in one form or another getting out on the trail for exercise, with the dog or out filming our next review for ITS. I made it a point to stick all my other jackets in the back of my closet these last 6 months to truly evaluate the Sparta and Taurus and write up my thoughts.
I’ve taken these jackets into rain, cold, snow, wind and everything in between and I’m here to tell you that my overall impression is very positive. Let’s get into specifics.
Taurus Softshell
Let’s veer off on the true purpose of a soft shell, which is designed to provide a happy medium between a hard shell and a mid-layer. The most well known hard shell material is Gore-Tex; while blocking wind and water well, it’s fairly unbreathable. I’ve sweated out my issued Gore-Tex on more than one occasion and is why it sits on a hanger in my closet. A mid-layer is great for a little added warmth and is extremely breathable, but doesn’t block wind or water at all. Enter the soft shell. Common characteristics of soft shells are that they’re made with material that’s flexible, water repellent and breathable.
As mentioned earlier, I found the Taurus and its heavy insulation to be a welcome change for the winter season here in Texas. Rather than needing to layer in all but the coldest conditions, the Taurus had just the right amount of insulation to keep me warm. When we had our notorious ice fest here in D/FW that shut down schools for four days (which was also when these photos were taken), I threw on the layers with the Taurus.
Features
From what I’ve found, the material lives up to its description and did a great job in all the environments I exposed the Taurus to. It also retains the flexibility commonly found in soft shell material. The material tag lists the shell fabric as being 96% polyester / 4% spandex and the lining as 100% polyester.
Interior
I’m also a big fan of the dual interior zippered storage pockets and the four pistol magazine pockets (two on each side) with velcro flaps. I found the mag pockets to be particularly beneficial when carrying a KYDEX OWB (Outside Waistband) Holster, as I don’t always like running a mag carrier on my belt. The zippered storage interior pockets are a good size and deep. There’s also a small fabric loop sewn near the collar interior that’s made for clipping in a lapel mic, which is a nice touch.
The interior pockets are completely ambidextrous, meaning the right side interior pocket setup is a mirror image of the left side interior. My only real gripe with the interior is that the polyester stuffing “leaks” over time from the liner. You can see this in the interior photos of the Taurus; it wasn’t always this way, but from repeated wear it seemed to develop about halfway through the six month evaluation period. This doesn’t take away from the utility of the jacket, but an issue that needs some attention nonetheless.
Exterior
Other great features are the reinforced elbows, left sleeve zippered utility pocket and the chest pen pocket. Call me a nerd, but I happen to like carrying a pen and Molskine notebook with me everywhere I go for when inspiration strikes. The exterior also has zippered hand warmer pockets, cuff zippers and side zippers running just up to pit height.
I can appreciate the utility of the cuff zippers and side zippers, but found that they’d come unzipped and ride up. They also don’t feature a pull tab like the other exterior zippers on the jacket, causing the jacket to jingle slightly. I think some kind of velcro strap addition would keep the zippers in place and also eliminate the jingle.
The cuff zippers seem like a great way to allow for adjustment when donning the soft shell with large gloves and the side zippers are a nice way to gain some room in the waistband area if you’re carrying concealed, helping you reach your weapon when drawing.
One other thing I want to mention about the Taurus is that it features three different locations where the Magnum logo is embroidered, along with the TECPROOF 10000 logo embroidery on the lower left sleeve. If you know ITS, you know we’re all about branding, but I just thought it was a little overkill on the Taurus.
Sparta Jacket
Hard shells can also be noisy compared to soft shells, which is due to the waterproof/windproof nature of the fabric. The Sparta Jacket is constructed with the same TECPROOF proprietary material as the Taurus Softshell and definitely has taped seams, which are visible on interior of the zip-away rain hood. The taped seams are done very well and I haven’t noticed any peeling whatsoever.
Features
In regards to the breathability of the TECPROOF material in the Sparta, I wore this jacket quite a few times while running in the rain and found it to definitely be more breathable than Gore-Tex. That’s not to say I didn’t sweat it out, but it did feel to breathe more compared to the activity I’ve done in Gore-Tex.
The material tag lists the shell fabric as being 50% nylon / 50% polyester and the lining as 100% polyester.
Interior
The sleeves each feature not only elastic, but also a velcro adjustment tab to cinch down the cuffs if necessary. The liner also doesn’t get in the way when ditching or donning the jacket.
Exterior
The only suggestion I’d have would be to add a second zipper to the top pit area so that it could be opened as a pit zipper without having to open the entire side of the jacket. It’s great to have the added versatility, but there are certainly times when having the side open wouldn’t be necessary. I didn’t find that these side zippers made noise or came open like on the Taurus, due I think in part to the larger zipper that’s used. It definitely negates the zipper creep that I found on the Taurus.
There are also two vertical chest pockets that feature waterproof zippers and caves and zippered hand warmer pockets with a flap to help keep the elements out. Within the hand warmer pockets are the shock cord termination and cordloc of the front waist adjustment. Due to the side zipper access the adjustment is limited to the front half of the jacket.
I’ve left one of the coolest features for last and that’s the hidden horizontal zippered pocket that conceals a tuck-away ID panel. At 12″ wide and 7.5″ tall it’s large enough to accommodate a large Police or Agent identifier that can be sewn to the panel. The entire panel can also be removed via a velcro strip that secures it. Of course you could also sewn a ton of loop velcro to it and turn yourself into a walking morale patch billboard.
Notes
Overall I really enjoyed the time I spend in each of these jackets and as mentioned earlier they really do complement each other well. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either of these jackets to anyone on a limited budget looking for a good soft shell or hard shell. The Magnum Taurus Softshell and Sparta Jacket run $100 and $170 respectively, direct from Magnum.
Both jackets feature a six month no-fade guarantee and are available in sizes M, L, XL and 2XL. You can also get them just like the Ford Model-T; in any color as long as it’s black.
Be sure to stop by Magnum Boots to grab either of these jackets and check out their great boot lineup while you’re there.