Sprayway Zeus Jacket – Performance

If you had to sum up the Zeus in a single word, it would be ‘honest’. Or maybe ‘capable’. Or ‘unpretentious’. Oh… anyway, it’s all those things in a deceptively able package. The cut’s a happy medium with enough room for mid-layers, but not overly flappy.

Similarly all the adjusters work smoothly with gloved hands and the hood, with a wired peak, is very good. You can even use it with a helmet for occasional mountaineering outings, though it seems at odds with Sprayway’s ‘family outdoors’ ethos.

You Just Need To Keep Breathing

The only area that lets it down is the breathability of the fabric. We found it sweatier than other jackets when tanking uphill and there are no vents to come to your rescue when you do get hot and bothered.

It’s not necessarily a deal-breaker if you run on the cool side or maybe move steadily in the hills, but if you’re prone to running hot and sweaty, it’s probably not the jacket for you.

Sprayway Zeus Jacket – Verdict

The Zeus turns out to be a surprisingly capable, non-nonsense all-round mountain jacket of the type that Mountain Equipment were making a few years back. It has a decent hood, thorough design and reliable components.

The one thing that compromises it a little, is the basic Gore-Tex fabric. It’s not that it’s ‘bad’ per se, but it does lack breathability compared to rivals and that means the jacket can get hot, sweaty and uncomfortable more quickly.

If that’s not an issue for you and particularly if you can land one at a bargain price, the Zeus is a bit of a dark horse in the waterproof mountain jacket stakes.

More Information

See sprayway.com