Jacket; the Holy Grail

[jogler]

I know there are reams & reams of stuff on here relating to waterproof jackets but in the interests of simplicity let me ask...
Does anyone use a waterproof/windproof & breathable  jacket that actually & really does wotit sez onthe tin without the boil-in-the-bag effect?
I don't want to start another review-type thread,just tell me please what make/model it is & how much £.
I need it to ride through the winter in all weathers,including some night riding.
Keep it simples
TIA

[Tewdric]

Hilltrek Outdoor Clothing Cycling Double Ventile® Jacket

It's not very racy but I love mine in the winter.

[mrcharly-YHT]

the problem is that there isn't a simple answer.

Factors that affect what is suitable:
Time spent riding
Intensity of riding
Are you a sweaty person


AFAIK, most people would rate the jackets made from Paclite.

[Pancho]

Like the Holy Grail, you will spend a lot of time, effort and money in pursuit of the mythical waterproof, breathable jacket.

My experience is that cyclists (note: sample size = 1) generate too much heat and moisture for currently available technology to handle.

I've tried everything from £10 Millets jackets through to £150+ Rapha jobs. I have now given up looking for the Holy Grail and, instead, am slightly damp but content in my functional Karrimor cycling jacket.

[border-rider]

What MrC & Pancho said

For me (and it is a personal choice), a lightweight Karrimor Paclite jacket over a long-sleeved shirt - or on very cold days a thin jacket - works best.  It requires me to keep moving, but any more than that and I overheat.

[Chris N]

http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx?dept_id=123&prod_id=141

Endura Stealth soft shell jacket

[MSeries]

I have now given up looking for the Holy Grail and, instead, am slightly damp but content

Me too. If I have to wear a jacket this year I shall mostly be wearing an Altura Night Vision or an Altura Nevis or another Altura. Not too expensive and OK.

If it's just cold and a bit damp I'll wear a windproof jersey with a base layer or two and maybe a gilet. I did a thread last year entitled "What I wear for winter widing". Others contributed their garb.

What I wear for winter widing

[Zoidburg]

I ride dressed as MV does, paclite shell over a helly or in very cold weather over a full zip winter jersey.

My old paclite died recently so it was replaced with a Dare-2-be trailaddict jacket which was only £40 but is made from a perfectly good paclite clone material.

[clarion]

Me three (or whatever).  Even last night, it was better to rely on the rain-delaying properties of a ls jersey over a short one than wrap myself in plastic and get saturated from the inside.

In most weathers, I'm wetter on the inside.

[gordon taylor]

As others above, I wear an Altura and sweat when I'm hot. They are cheap enough (I have three waterproofs and one Altura windproof) to swap and change and wash. I don't think I'll ever buy an expensive jacket ever again.

[Charlotte]

It's no surprise that you'll see the more experienced cyclists just getting wet.  Finding a jacket that does everything the OP asks really is almost impossible.  Maybe it exists.  If it does, I bet it costs a shitload.

On PBP, I wore a Montagne featherlight jacket over a l/s jersey most of the time.   Combined with Rainlegs and a very English attitude to adversity (i.e. pissing myself laughing at the yanks in their Goretex sub-aqua suits) I was fine.

If you're on a bike and it rains, you're going to get wet.  Accept this and worry about not getting cold instead.

[Zoidburg]

It's no surprise that you'll see the more experienced cyclists just getting wet.  Finding a jacket that does everything the OP asks really is almost impossible.  Maybe it exists.  If it does, I bet it costs a shitload.

On PBP, I wore a Montagne featherlight jacket over a l/s jersey most of the time.   Combined with Rainlegs and a very English attitude to adversity (i.e. pissing myself laughing at the yanks in their Goretex sub-aqua suits) I was fine.

If you're on a bike and it rains, you're going to get wet.  Accept this and worry about not getting cold instead.

Charlotte is talking about a very hi-tech waterproof and breathable material.

It's called your skin.

[Tom B]

Following Tewdric's recommendation in an earlier thread (and because I love ventile) I bought a Hilltrek in August. It is wonderfully comfortable, not too tight, has good pockets and keeps out even the heavy rain we've had recently, tho not for ever, of course. Ventile is also unusually hard-wearing and has no coating or similar to lose. Have got half a dozen different cycling jackets but think it unlikely I'll be wearing the others much this winter. I'd recommend it unhesitatingly (thanks, Tewdric!  )

This said, the Hilltrek is more of a commuting / touring jacket than a sporty item. From what MV, Zoidburg, Charlotte et al say, I suspect they ride considerably faster than I do and would soon  be generating enough heat not to need the protective qualities of the Hilltrek and would feel stifled or cramped by its weight. For a pootler like me it's ideal, tho

[bikenerd]

I've just bought an Altura Crosslight (or Crosslite possibly).  It seems more breathable than other fully waterproof jackets I've had, including my super spendy Mountain Equipment Goretex one, which is perfectly good for hill walking but too hot and sweaty for walking.

The Altura is still not truly breathable, though.  If it's a relatively warm day (>10 deg C) I still get a bit damp.  The windproofs like Charlotte mentioned are more breathable but less water resistant.  My Montane windproof is no longer water resistant at all on the arms, but I've had it a while and it has been abused!

I came to the conclusion a while ago that expensive "breathable" waterproofs are a bit of a marketing gimmick.

[border-rider]

pissing myself laughing at the yanks in their Goretex sub-aqua suits)

<OT> We enjoyed the sight of the ones with plastic bags over their helmets.  The wind inflated them and made them look like a bunch of cycling Mekons

[LEE]

Event fabric is as good as it gets wrt breathability but, since I sweat in just a cotton t-shirt, no "plastic" fabric is going to keep me sweat-free on a long and/or hilly ride.

My Montane Event "Stormrider" is the best of my 4 attempts to locate the Mythical one.

Montane Featherlite - reports on here suggest a very variable jacket.  Some are waterproof for hours whilst some, mine, are simply not, and are worse than useless.

Altura Nevis - Good value but a bit bulky and sweaty.  I always felt very cold in it.

Endura Gridlock - 100% waterproof and warm but very bulky.  Seemed to breath very well.

Montane Event - Light, very breathable, totally waterproof, well thought out features (great wide, velcro, cuffs for gloves, 4 pockets that are also mesh vents) but pricey.

As Charlotte says, you will get wet.  My Montane is warmest when wet.  When used with a Merino base layer I sometimes don't notice that I'm drenched.

[teethgrinder]

If I don't want to get wet I use my Carradice poncho cape. It's the best thing I'veever used for keeping dry. That and a huuuge front mudflap and spats to keep the tootsies dry. Plus a hat with a peak. You still get warm though but it circulates air rather than breathes.
Not too clever in strong wind or when you need to give hand signals though, so I rarely use it.

My £120 Gore Tex Packlite is my current waterproof, but the membrane is rotting and I'll probably be after a new waterproof next year. I'm not entirely convinced that my Gore Tex is worth the extra money compared to a cheap breathable, but is noticeably better. I still sweat in it though. I even had my sweat freeze inside it once. Twas a cold day.

[Manotea]

The thing the marketing types don't mention is that all these hi tech breatheable fabrics work a lot better and its generally easier to regulate your temperture if you're not covered in an inch thick layer of blubber.

Sad but true. Read it and weep.

[Greenbank]

+1 to Goretex Paclite.

I wore my Gore Alp-X jacket for the majority of the Bryan Chapman. To the point that I wore it continually (well, except in controls) from 0km to Aberhafesp (450km) and then put it back on for the last bit from Monmouth to Chepstow as the sun went down and it got chilly and the heavy rain started again.

Maybe I'm kidding myself and justifying the fact I spent £120+ on a jacket and therefore it's got to be good, but it's saying a lot when I can wear it from cold 6am start, right through a day of showers and heavy rain, overnight to Menai and back, and then only take it off when the sun comes out on the section between Dolgellau and Aberhafesp and onto Woebley.

I am a freak and do manage extreme temperatures better than most. I can wear shorts and short sleeve jerseys whilst others are reaching for arm/leg warmers etc, plus I can do an entire 400km ride in temps between 4^oC and 15^oC, back to 4 overnight and finish in sunshine without removing a single arm or leg warmer or removing my jacket.

[Greenbank]

I also reproof mine every 3 months or so with Nikwax Tech Wash and then Nikwax TX-Direct waterproofing agent. After that water beads like the jacket was brand new again for quite a while.

[chillmoister]

+1 for the Montane Event Stormrider jacket ..priicey at £150 but worth it in my opinion after trying many different jackets....kept me dry on some seriously wet rides over the last year including the BCM.  The Event material need to be kept clean to work at it's best so needs a fairly regular bio detergent wash in the washinging machine and ironed afterwards ...yes really!

[Marmitegeoff]

I like my Foska jacket,  reproofing it every couple of months.

Geoff

[Julian]

I generally don't bother with a waterproof unless it's absolutely tipping down, in which case for long distances I have a Montane featherlite - this is great over a jacket or long sleeved jersey but not  on bare skin, in which case it clings and so you get wet anyway.  For commuting I have a crappy old community-service-yellow Aldi special which is utterly unbreathable but sufficiently waterproof to get me home. 

I've just ordered one of these in the hope that it will be the Holy Grail Jacket.  Doubt it though.

[Wendy]

http://www.endura.co.uk/Product.aspx?dept_id=123&prod_id=141

Endura Stealth soft shell jacket

+1

[Gandalf]

I have just upgraded my Lidl sweatbucket to an Altura Night Vision Evo, the difference in breathability is a revelation.  Mind you, for £80 it should be.