Rain jacket - Galibier Tourmalet or Rivelo Langcliffe?

ryanshattered

I've been looking at rain jackets and the Tourmalet had caught my eye as being a great option and pretty much unbeatable for the price (£58). There didn't seem to be anything else out there comparable at that kind of money (happy to be pointed toward alternatives). However, I'm a member on Sport Pursuit and I was looking at their Rivelo sale and they have a jacket in their range called the Langcliffe that also looks great and is the same price as the Galibier.

Anybody got experience with either?
Any alternatives people would suggest?

Features I would like:
- Folds down to fit Jersey pocket
- Access to Jersey pockets while wearing jacket
- Breathable (I get quite hot when working hard)

I would use it to commute so the reflective features on the Rivelo appeal, but I do have a reflective sash belt that could be worn with the Galibier when dark so not necessarily essential.

wahla21

I have the Tourmalet and it's an excellent rain jacket. Fit is very good, long in the arms, longer back, maybe a bit short in the front but it's ok when you hunch forward.
I wouldn't say it's as breathable as the Gabba or those ones but for the money it's great! It'll keep you dry when it rains and if you want to take it off it folds fine.

I would've wanted more reflective material but you can't have it all.

Cheers

ryanshattered

Hmm, wouldn't normally think of Altura, but this looks pretty excellent.
http://road.cc/content/review/173406-altura-podium-night-vision-waterproof-jacket
No jersey pocket access but I like the looks and the fact it has plenty of reflectives and a sensible amount of high vis without being ott.

ryanshattered

In the end, I went with the Altura, for under £60 on Amazon (from Millets sports). The Tourmalet is out of stock in the XL until May, and the Rivelo was only available in black in my size.
I've not used it in rain yet, but I am very impressed with the jacket so far.
Fit is perfect, I'm 6'1", reasonably muscular build - 92kgs - 42" Chest, 34" waist with very long arms and the Large is spot on, even the sleeve length.
Nice and short at the front, long enough at the back and no excess material flapping or any noise at all when riding.
The night vision reflectives are great and the overall appearance is very smart. I like the strategically placed yellow panels with the majority of the jacket being black.

0 Celsius this morning and I wore it over the top of a long sleeve Under Armour cold gear base layer and short sleeved summer jersey, roubaix bibtights on the bottom half.
Rode hard on the 5 mile commute and got a sweat on but remained comfortable in the jacket and didn't need to open the zip. The cold breeze did not penetrate at all.
Interesting part is that I arrived at the office and the keyholder had not unlocked - cue an hour and a half waiting around in the sunny 0 temperature for somebody to arrive and sort it out. I would have expected my damp baselayer to get pretty uncomfortable under a waterproof in these conditions, however it didn't. I was cold, particularly in the extremities, but only what you'd expect from standing around in these conditions.
When I eventually got inside and took off the jacket, I could see a very small amount of moisture along some of the taped seams, but none on the main panels of fabric. My base layer was also now dry, so the 'shield' fabric does apear to be impressively breathable.

Will report back when its seen some wet weather but I have good hopes of this being a go-to outer layer for most of the year.

One thing to note is that I cannot for the life of me get it to pack down fully into its rear pocket. It packs down into the pocket, but trying to then do up the zip is a bridge too far... Despite that, it will stay packed and go into a jersey pocket in this state (without the zip done up)