Advice on jacket that packs away small

BowtomePhil

Hi, I am after a decent, not greater than £100 jacket that packs away small and is waterproof and breathable.

I have been searching the web, but prefer advice from people who actually wear them.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

navrig

You'll find there is no definitive piece of advice on the "best" jacket. Nothing on the market will fully meet your requirements as even the most breathable membranes will cause you to sweat when cycling hard meaning you will get wet inside out.

To get the best advice you will need to think about your needs - windproof vs materproof vs weight vs packability vs cost vs type of cycling vs time of year it will be used and even then you will be conflicting suggestions.

Sometimes it is better to accept getting (very) wet but keeping warm in which case, perhaps, you don't need waterprrof but if this is for commuting then getting very wet may not be an option.....

southdownswolf

ahhh, the Holy Grail..... ;-)

Unfortunately a sacrifice will probably be needed one way or another. Breathable but not totally waterproof. Breathable and waterproof but expensive. etc etc

I use a Castelli Sottile, which for the money isn't bad, but I still sweat in it.
The Sportful Hot Pack 4 gets good reviews, so may be worth a try.
However, the best jackets tend to be the Goretex type jackets, but they are another £50+

sloppyschleckonds

Castelli Leggero

ctc

PBK are doing some deals on the Sportful Hot Pack No-Rain jacket

http://www.probikekit.co.uk/sports-clot ... 45862.html

£66. I bought one and used it once so far, and din't get too hot on the commute home, which isn't bad considering it was > 20 degrees. And p*ssing it down.

cougie

Aldi rainjacket. Less than £20. It sits in the backpocket for 90% of rides anyway.

BowtomePhil

Thanks all

d87francis

I have a couple of Giordana ones now and would thoroughly recommend them. One they don't make any more but the other is a carbon something and is light, windproof, waterproof and reasonably breathable. They have also both been fantastic fits.

the_cyclist_of_catan

I think Rapha have their Rain Jacket in the sale again; £190 down to £110. Mine's been almost flawless - whenever I take it with me it almost never rains.

t4tomo

My pearl izumi pro is pretty much unbeatable on being lightweight and packing away small - it rolls up to pretty much a fat cuban cigar size.

Its good enough to turn a reasonable shower and breathability is OK.. As a stick it in your bag / pocket / saddle pouch in the summer its great for the money - £45 on evans website

trek_dan

The Cyclist of Catan wrote:

Mine's been almost flawless - whenever I take it with me it almost never rains.

very good point

I've tried a couple of pack away jackets (I ride in Northumberland/Tynedale and it showers quite a lot) and the best I've tried for at least having some breathability is the Montane Velo H20. I think it was about £40 at Evans.

foggybike

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

Castelli Leggero

+1 for this:

http://www.outsideonline.com/blog/outdo ... acket.html

If you can find one.

VeloPeo

The only thing I now use in bad weather is a short sleeve Castelli Gabba and the Nanoflex arm/leg/knee warmers where needed. Fabulous kit. I've found it good between -5 to 20C depending on the base layer you put under it. Did over 200 miles using it in shite weather on a 24hr ride Saturday into Sunday

teisetrotter

Never really bothered with water proof .... you get wet anyway. What is important for me is windproof, the chill factor of the wind is a killer, but remove that and I dry myself out through hard work. So if it is a warm wet day a gillet, if not I have an old Endura top with wind proofing on the front of the arms and chest.

FatTed

Rapha have an additional 10% off this week in the sale.

typekitty

I have this. Longish and packs up nicely to fit in my back pockets. Material makes it very warm but does the job.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/castelli-squadr ... of-jacket/

ShauNuff

I have the Sportful Hotpocket. Pretty reasonably priced and has done the job whenever it's been called into action, fits into a jersey pocket in its handy bag etc

keef66

I got a Gore Path jacket a couple of years ago when Wiggle were doing them for just over £70 in the sale. The Paclite material is 100% waterproof and pretty breathable. Bit of a challenge fitting it in a jersey pocket though.

dav1d1

I have this one

http://shop.pactimo.co.uk/ultra-lite-cl ... iW4CMsaySM

Packs away nicely into a jersey pocket and really good when worn,

speedo

Try ENDURA PAKAJAK - Around £40

leegreenhough

I have the Altura pocket rocket, its small and stops the wind and the rain spot on, i would recommend

luv2ride

+1 for the Pocket Rocket...