RAIN JACKETS

snailmale · Post by **snailmale** » 05 Apr 2010 10:13

Can anyone recommend an adequate rain jacket?
I got completely saturated returning from the Country 20 on Saturday for want of adequate protection. My present jacket, a 'Beacon' one, is a brazen fraud and is imbued with the water-resistant qualities of a string vest. All I ask is something breathable which folds to the size of a postage stamp and does what it says on the tin.

Philip Whiteman · Post by **Philip Whiteman** » 05 Apr 2010 14:31

To be honest Alan, I think that is near almost impossible to have a waterproof cycle jacket.

I use an Altura Night Vision waterproof jacket. It is quite reasonable in cooler weather though you would boil during the summer.

Gore (tex) jackets are the most obvious breathable waterproofs but you will have to pay an awful lot of money for marginal benefit. eVENT is far superior to Goretex but still a lot of money: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... delID=9261

Now this is the only sort of thing that will guarantee dryness...

Dave Cox · Post by **Dave Cox** » 05 Apr 2010 22:00

I mostly wear a Pearl Isumi polyester jacket which works well enough and is bright yellow. I've also got a Gortex packlite jacket which is better but not so much better as to justify the price. Both keep the rain out for a while and keep me wet and warm thereafter. They are not like hiking jackets though.

AlanW · Post by **AlanW** » 06 Apr 2010 07:24

Dave Cox wrote:I've also got a Gortex packlite jacket which is better but not so much better as to justify the price. Both keep the rain out for a while and keep me wet and warm thereafter. They are not like hiking jackets though.

Ive got a Goretex Pac Lite as well, and like you I am really disappointed with it, considering the cost of it! As it does not have any lining, there is nothing worse than having to wear this against your bare arms in the summer when its raining.

I also have a Altura jacket, which is much better, but its three times the weight and plus it doesn't pack down very small. In fact it doesn't really pack down at all! Its more of a "wear all the time" jacket rather than a "its raining" jacket.

George · Post by **George** » 06 Apr 2010 10:59

All these fancy jackets are a con.

When it rains, you get wet. End of.

Just focus on keeping warm, which you can do by wearing almost anything windproof.

Ringo · Post by **Ringo** » 06 Apr 2010 13:00

i agree with george. all rain jackets work to a degree. however, if you get caught in a storm then at some point all rain jackets will leak somewhere. also, if it's too rain proof you end up just as wet through sweat then you do from the rain.

snailmale · Post by **snailmale** » 07 Apr 2010 09:46

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. George and Ringo have just confirmed what I suspected was the case, just wondered if I was missing something.
I was obviously foolhardy to bin my traditional cape c1975

Post by **CakeStop** » 07 Apr 2010 11:20

I generally use a lightweight hi-viz waterproof that cost me about £20. I think it's Lusso and the nearest current equivalent is something like http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/62 ... acket.html. It tends to live permanently on the bike scrunched up into a 400ml tool bottle.

It's not breathable as such but it has mesh strips under the arms which lets some heat out. I work on the basis that I put it on if it rains hard/long enough to bother (I'd put it on to keep warm too if I had an enforced unexpected stop) and take it off again as soon as I can. I have worn it throughout a few audaxes where it rained non-stop all day and I didn't get uncomfortably wet - as others have suggested its more about keeping warm because your skin should be waterproof enough.

pprince3145 · Post by **pprince3145** » 10 Apr 2010 01:16

come and try a Bioracer Dri-Tex jacket in my shop