Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
roubaixtuesday
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

PH wrote:
roubaixtuesday wrote:
The showers pass kit looks excellent. Any idea where one might try them on?

I don’t, unless you’re near Spa who stock some. The UK distributor is somewhere in the north east and very easy to deal with, they do a prepaid return service to remove some of the risk, you might also be able to negotiate a discount to match Spa’s 10%.
I have an Elite jacket, a bit too bulky to carry but excellent in every other regard, I’ve never had anything that vents as well, so well that I can often keep it on after it’s stopped raining.


Could you help me with a couple of questions?

1. How wide do the cuffs go - I use very thick crab claw winter gloves and I'd need the cuff to go over the top of them?

2. How long would you say the sleeves are compared to a typical jacket?

Thoughts much appreciated, ta.
PH
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by PH »

roubaixtuesday wrote:
Could you help me with a couple of questions?

1. How wide do the cuffs go - I use very thick crab claw winter gloves and I'd need the cuff to go over the top of them?

2. How long would you say the sleeves are compared to a typical jacket?

Thoughts much appreciated, ta.

Happy to answer those, but I’m not in the same country as the jacket till next Wednesday. If no one has answered before, I’ll do so then.
Without measuring, the cuffs are wider than any other jacket I’ve owned, it’s part of the air flow, I don’t usually have any problem with sleeve length so I’ll leave that till I can measure.
slowster
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by slowster »

I have a small Refuge jacket. The circumference of the cuff is 28cm (measuring the cuff flattened and multiplying the result by 2). I can get a pair of Sealskinz lobster claw mitts underneath the cuffs, although if wearing the jacket over a thick fleece with bulky cuffs it is much more difficult to put on the gloves, whereas a long sleeve cycling jersey or Powerstrech type jersey will not get in the way. The Elite jacket and the reflective jackets appear to be a more cycling specific design/cut, so it's possible that their cuffs might be narrower.

I think I have fairly average proportions, and the sleeves are a good length for me.
roubaixtuesday
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

PH wrote:
roubaixtuesday wrote:
Could you help me with a couple of questions?

1. How wide do the cuffs go - I use very thick crab claw winter gloves and I'd need the cuff to go over the top of them?

2. How long would you say the sleeves are compared to a typical jacket?

Thoughts much appreciated, ta.

Happy to answer those, but I’m not in the same country as the jacket till next Wednesday. If no one has answered before, I’ll do so then.
Without measuring, the cuffs are wider than any other jacket I’ve owned, it’s part of the air flow, I don’t usually have any problem with sleeve length so I’ll leave that till I can measure.


Cheers - sounds good on cuffs and sleeves probably need to be tried on tbh so don't worry about that.

I'll see if the winter commuting budget runs to one.
martinn
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by martinn »

I have a showers pass elite jacket. Very good but not perfect. Vents work great. I do end up sweating in it if on a long ride.
As an aside, the US company were great when I managed to put a couple of holes in the jacket, sending free of charge a large piece of material that I could glue on to fix it.
If you want a breathable and waterproof jacket, one of the audax riders I know swears by the gore shakedry jacket. How does it work, "witchcraft" was the reply
I am in two minds, but probably will get one.

Martin
Vitara
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by Vitara »

We've been here before. Most rain jackets are limited in how waterproof and breathable they are. You might find a brightly coloured jacket that can keep you dry for a 12 mile commute in heavy rain, but most will not breath very well and will at some point start letting water in.

If you want a jacket that is breathable and will remain waterproof all day long then you should look at the Gore One Shake Dry. It's not cheap, but it does its job well. It is also only available in black, which is not what you want. For me staying dry is important, so I'm happy with black, there's plenty of other parts of me and my bike that can be brightly coloured, reflective and lit up.
eileithyia
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by eileithyia »

Flicked through with interest and if you ever find the answer we would all be delighted to know...

Interested about the jacket cuffs inside the gloves... as to me that is likely to cause water to run down inside the gloves filling them with water.

Commuting I would do as someone else has mentioned, if I had to pull on waterproof layer I would take a layer off.

No longer have to do the commute so manage to get by on a light goretex fold up in a pocket cape... it is black, but like yesterday I just changed items around so my bright pink gilet was over the top (I also had a bright rear flashing light on).

I have a slightly heavier not so packable goretex jacket that i might take on a particularly wet forecast or longer audax, which would mean carrying a bigger bag to my usual day rides. But on a long audax I would probably carry a bigger bag anyway.. with some extra clothes for a longer audax.
I stand and rejoice everytime I see a woman ride by on a wheel the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. HG Wells
brianleach
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by brianleach »

It costs an arm and a leg but this is the best breathable/waterproof jacket I've used.

https://saddleback.co.uk/products/caste ... acket-1-41
John_S
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by John_S »

Hi All,

Many thanks for all of the extra replies, ideas and suggestions which are much appreciated!


Hi deliquium,
thanks for your message and re: your comments about the Paramo Quito being baggy & flappy I don't think it would appeal to me either then because it would annoy me on windy days and I just want something that goes over my my existing layer options (but perhaps minus a base layer per the advice from PH) and is then waterproof & breathable. I appreciate that a jacket choice is very personal but unfortunately I don't have many places on my doorstep where I can try lots of different options on and even if I could it's still difficult to get the real world performance appreciation of breathability & waterproofness whilst standing in a shop. Thanks for the tips re: the Gore jackets and I'll look into them but previously the fact that a lot of Gore jackets are black has, for me personally, put me off. Also I also wonder like you if claims of being extremely waterproof & extremely breathable can really be believed.


Hi roubaixtuesday,
Thanks for the tips and I'll look to see if the jackets that I consider have vents plus I'll take a look at the Altura one. A long time ago I tried on an Altura Night Vision jacket and just for me I didn't like the fit but they could be different now.


Hi slowster,
Thanks for your message and following this it does make me think that my desire for a bright, waterproof, breathable & reflective jacket might just be like searching for the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. However I will look at the Showepass jackets. On taking a quick look at their website perhaps their Spring Classic jacket in red (which is ok although not the brightest colour but better than black) but I'd have to catch it in a sale.


Hi Vorpal,
Thanks for your message and yes I'm definitely going to have to compromise somewhere and your mehtod of having different jackets for different conditions isn't a bad one. Ideally I'd like to keep the number of jackets I need down to a minimum but we'll see how the search goes.


Hi Caledonia64,
thanks for your tips & advice and it's funny to hear that the best jacket that you've had just happened to be found in a Normandy hypermarket and being waterproof for 20 years sounds like you had good value for money out of it.


Hi PH,
thanks for your message about layering and the right base layers and I have some merino base layers which I like using.


Hi martinn,
thanks for your message and after Showerpass have been mentioned a couple of times I am taking a look at their jackets with the Spring Classic one catching my eye as a potential. Re: the Gore Shakedry jackets yes they do seem to get good reviews for being waterproof and breathable but they all seem to come in black (which I think is something to do with the fabric only being possible to make in black at the moment) and if possible I'd like to get a jacket in a brighter colour which is more visible.


Hi Vitara,
thanks for your message and it's not actually my 12 mile commute that I'm too worried about because for the time duration of that commute I can actually live with getting wet (I just wear a brightly coloured & reflective gilet over a jersey) because I have a hot shower at the end of both journeys. I'm more concerned about getting a waterproof jacket to wear if it rains when I'm doing an audax or other long distance ride which is over a longer duration. Thanks for your tips and if everyone tells me that the Gore Shakedry jackets in black are the only truly waterproof & breathable jackets then I'll have to consider one but black just isn't my ideal colour.


Hi eileithyia,
Thanks for your message and ideas. Yes one thing I had considered was if for example I did get a Gore Shakedry jacket in black could I put my lightweight, brightly coloured and reflective gilet over the top of the skakedry jacket so that I then have a visible layer on top but I don't know if that impairs the performance of a waterproof jacket by for example preventing water from beading off the surface of the jacket.


Hi brian, thanks for your message and funnily enough a CPT3 jacket had come up when I was searching for waterproof & breathable jackets. To be honest you're probably right in the sense that their jacket could tick a lot of my boxes and perform very well so thank you for mentioning it and giving your feedback on it. Unfortunately it is beyond my budget but it definitely looks like a good one.


Also whilst looking for waterproof jackets I stumbled across something else a bit different and I don't think it fits my bill but it got me thinking slightly off tangent. Basically a little while ago I watched the Hugh Fearnley Whitingstall tv series on the BBC about plastic and the damage it is doing to our environment. As far as I can work out the vast majority of waterproof jackets are going to be made from some form of man made synthetic fibre derived from the petrochemical / plastics industry. This popped into my head when I saw a review of a Vulpine rain jacket which is made from a treated waxed cotton instead. Now I know that cotton production has its own environmental issues including water use and so isn't perfect either but I found it interesting that there do seem to be some alternative fabrics out there being used for waterproof jackets. Having said that I don't think that the Vulpine jacket would work for me in terms of what I want from this jacket because it's not exactly in a bright reflective colour and depending on what you read about it people have views & opinions on how waterproof the jacket is.

https://road.cc/content/review/153400-vulpine-mens-harrington-rain-jacket

Thanks again for all of the ideas and tips which are much appreciated!

John
brianleach
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by brianleach »

Strangely enough John I also have the Vulpine Harrington in blue. It's a very good jacket and it is my go to for social/town/shopping riding. However it is quite heavy ie hot and I am not sure how long it would stay waterproof for!!
John_S
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by John_S »

Hi Brian,

Thanks for your message and that's a funny coincidence that you also have the Vulpine Harrington jacket. You're message is really helpful because that confirms that in terms of what I want from the specific jacket right now I don't think the Vulpine one would be quite right for this circumstance. But I think it's great that manufacturers are using different materials, other than solely man made synthetic petrochemical industry derived fabrics, and as you've mentioned I'm sure it's a great casual/ ride about town kind of jacket which will work both on and off the bike.


At the moment it seems like the jackets that are the best fit of being waterproof and breathable are perhaps the Gore Shakedry ones with the downside (for me anyway) in that the colour is black and plus the price is pretty high.

There are some other jackets that might fit the spec list but are unfortunately out of reach for me budget wise unless I either save for longer or get lucky and find one at a big discount. Contenders in this category could include the CHPT3 jacket mentioned by Brian or perhaps one of the Showerpass jackets. Also in this bracket could possibly be the:-

Assos Equipe RS Rain Jacket (£265):-
https://www.assos.com/equipe-rs-rain-jacket?quantity=1&g=equipe-rs-rain-jacket_lollyRed-1-F.jpg&color=145

PEdAL ED Hikari jacket (nice reflective details) but £236:-
https://pedaled.com/products/hikari-reflective-shell/coral%20red

7mesh Rebellion Jacket in yellow (made from GORE-TEX Active fabric but the manufacturers website doesn't state either waterproof or breathability ratings) but it's £280:-
https://7mesh.com/rebellion-jacket

POC Avip Rain Jacket in Zinc Orange (nice and visible) but £295:-
https://www.pocsports.com/eu/avip-rain-jacket/58000.html?dwvar_58000_color=Uranium%20Black&cgid=cycling-jackets#start=1

At a bit cheaper than the above there is the Resolute Bay Reflective Cycling Jacket at £200. Now this does look as if it's cut as a more urban, relaxed, commuter style jacket with perhaps a looser more comfort orientated fit than a snug race fit and it has a hood but the hood is detachable. What really attracts me to this jacket is both the colour and the reflective details which seem to show up fantastically well in photos and would be a huge plus point. What I don't know is whether or not it would be breathable enough with the details given about the jacket saying that it has Breathability = 8,000g/m²/24hrs and Waterproofness = 10,000mm but the following review says that it is breathable and it has vents which was pointed out above as being an important feature to go for.
https://road.cc/content/review/258208-resolute-bay-reflective-cycling-jacket

At an even cheaper price point there is the Sporful Hot Pack Norain jacket in yellow at £135 but the details given for this jacket say that it has 10,000 mm waterproof protection and 10,000 mv/p breathability and I don't know enough about these numbers to know whether or not that's truly breathable enough for what I want to avoid the dreaded boil in the bag effect.
https://www.sportful.com/gb/hot-pack-norain-jacket/p/110133719A-102
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/reviews/jackets/sportful-hotpack-norain-jacket

Then I found the Milltag Rain HD Jacket (£99) and on the website it says, "The fabric is also designed to allow for breathability (37.700 g/m² / 24h)", and does that mean that it should be quite breathable? Although the website says nothing about how waterproof it is.
https://milltag.cc/collections/mens-outerwear/products/rain-hd-jacket

Or at quite a bit cheaper, £63, I spotted the Galibier Tourmalet II Rain jacket which the manufacturer says has a waterproof/breathability rating of 9k/8k:-
https://galibier.cc/product/tourmalet/

Thanks again for all of the advice above!

John
Last edited by John_S on 17 Sep 2019, 10:06pm, edited 1 time in total.
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deliquium
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by deliquium »

As you say, it's a very personal thing. I bought a red Gore Bike Wear 'JGPATH' model Paclite jacket at lease 9 years ago. Very light due to not having a separate mesh liner. Fitted me like a glove even though it's a SMALL and I'm a 37" chest, which suggests their guide is a bit peculiar. It's not tight on me and I can easily wear it over a thin merino base layer and a thick merino long sleeve jersey (it's not one of their 'race fit' cuts).

Importantly, the neck isn't too tight - and I have a thick neck! My one and only criticism is the cuffs are only half elasticated and quite tight - which means removing the jacket to take of any gloves.

It's been worn for many thousands of miles and everything is still intact. However, over the years it's got a little grubby from inevitable oily hands/gloves and laziness in cleaning on my part.

Yes it's waterproof, but I'm not aware of any current technology that can 'breath' and dissipate perspiration when the outer material is wetted out, or one is going 'full gas' up a long climb. However, riding along at ~12mph on the flat or gently rolling roads (not many here) I don't 'over' sweat it.

I'm so pleased with it I have just found another new one on eBay, albeit in bright blue for £75 posted and hit the buy it now button last night. I believe they still have one available with a 30 day refund - and if paid for with Paypal, Paypal will refund return postage.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/163465728388 ... i&mail=sys

If you're anywhere near Beddgelert in Snowdonia, please feel free to pop in and try mine on?

Kind regards, Paul
Current pedalable joys

"you would be surprised at the number of people in these parts who nearly are half people and half bicycles"
John_S
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by John_S »

Hi Paul,

Many thanks for your message which is much appreciated for the tips and ideas. Also thanks for the offer of trying your jacket on which is very kind but I'm in Norfolk and so too far away to take you up on the offer.

Based on the jackets that I've found I'd pretty much narrowed it down to going for one of three being either the:-

* Showerspass Elite 2.1
* Showerspass Spring Classic
* Resolute Bay Reflective Cycling Jacket

The reviews (links below) which I read about the Resolute Bay jacket seemed to give very positive feedback and the main thing that got my attention is just how reflective it is.

https://road.cc/content/review/258208-resolute-bay-reflective-cycling-jacket

https://discerningcyclist.com/2019/04/resolute-bay-ls2-reflective-cycling-jacket-review/

Plus it's currently available for £150 down from £200
https://resolutebay.cc/collections/outerwear/products/reflective-cycling-jacket-orange

However today I spotted that Resolute Bay have launched a new Kickstarter project with a lightweight version of their reflective jacket. The downside being that it won't be available until April at the earliest but then that's the downside of backing a Kickstarter project with the upside being that it's currently available at a decent discount over what will be the RRP (available now at £80 compared to what will be the RRP of £160).

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/resolutebay/lx-paclite-reflective-jackets-from-resolute-bay

I figure that I've waited this long to get a proper cycling waterproof jacket and so I can wait a bit longer. I've been riding all my life with cycling being my main form of transport for a lot of it. When I was young I always just cycled in everyday non-cycle specific clothing and I did the same as I got older. That's because when I was commuting I was only doing it over a short distance and so I just used my regular clothes. However about 6 years ago I moved out of the city by about ten miles and it's when I did that that I started buying my first cycle specific clothing. As a result of having done 6 years of year round all weathers commuting without a specific rain jacket one more winter isn't going to hurt and when it rains I'll continue to use my brightly coloured reflective gilet.

But if I'd have needed to get a jacket sooner I probably would have bought the existing Resolute Reflective Jacket.

Fingers crossed it'll work well when I get it! If it doesn't then perhaps I'll be back in the market saving up for a Gore Shakedry jacket and perhaps by then they'll have cracked the issue of the Henry Ford approach of you can have any colour you want as long as it's black.

Many thanks for all of the help, advice and tips from everyone above.

Cheers,

John
Last edited by John_S on 18 Sep 2019, 10:30pm, edited 1 time in total.
roubaixtuesday
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by roubaixtuesday »

Thanks to slowster and PH for recommending, Showerspass Elite XL just arrived:

20190918_175655.jpg


I have to say it's far and away the best designed waterproof I've come across: visible without being too gaudy, very long arms and very wide cuffs, good pockets. well vented, and just about fits in a jersey pocket if you need. Perfect for winter commuting which will be its main use.

If anything the XL might be a size too large, but large most likely insufficient and I'm not sure I can be bothered with the palaver of returns to find out.
fivetoedsloth
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Re: Can anyone recommend to me a breathable, brightly coloured & reflective waterproof jacket?

Post by fivetoedsloth »

I am chiming in from the other side of the pond (May be too late since it looks like you got a nice jacket already)...

I recently bought this cheap high viz running vest from Amazon to wear on night rides over my regular clothes:
https://www.amazon.com/Reflective-SAWNZ ... est&sr=8-8

The thing I like about it is that it is extremely high viz (makes a big reflective X on your back), and I can wear any color shirt or jacket under it, even dark colors. Because it is just straps and a buckle in the shape of an x, it isn’t hot or bulky. My brother who cycles with me bought one too, and we both like it a lot and have been wearing it all summer here in Texas. When (if?) it gets cooler here (it is still hitting 100!), I will use the same vest over my warm clothes. I like that it frees me from the mission of finding garments in reflective or high viz colors. It is compact and lives in my bike bag at all times. Comes with reflective leg bands, which I sometimes wear.


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