Something breathable and waterproof and suitable for 4-5 hours rides without being too hot. Not one of them plastic things but an actual jacket. Be nice if it could withstand a crash or two. The Endura MT500 II looks decent so anything along those lines? It’ll be an xmas present from my folks so cheaper is good. Not got a clue so any help appreciated.

Ta

Madison stuff is good. I currently have the Roam. Shopping about you can pick one up for about £60. ( Freeborn do them at that price)

I’ve go at the mt500 jacket, it’s very nice, as per most reviews could do with slightly more length on the back..

It’s too nice to get filthy so far for me

ENDUra photon is down to £25 on crb, it’s fully seamed , although may be a boil in the bag

It’s too nice to get filthy so far for me

That’s my fear. It’s a bit dear for a coat i could ruin on the first ride.

That Roam looks just the ticket however. Size wise how do they stack up? I’ve XL arms attached to a L body and no chance to try on for size.

Like most thing s MTB, the more you look the more you get lost by choice. My current coat was a sales bin special (Berghaus something or other) and has been great for 8+ years – sadly too many crashes has made it a bit rubbish as a coat 😀

The Roam is a nice relaxed fit. I am a medium and there is lots of length in the arms.

I’ve had an Altura Mayhem for years. Love it. Not too warm (and I do get hot).

I just went rather leftfield with a Paramo Enduro Windproof and Enduro Fleece, heavily discounted from their seconds eBay shop (not seconds actually, just photoshoot/exhibition stock). Despite the name they’re more for mountaineering than biking. But really rather good for MTBing.

And confusingly when you wear both together they’re completely waterproof. I had one of their older jackets for over a decade and despite a lot of use it looked almost new and worked great when I sold it – very tough, lifetime guarantee, pretty much infinitely repairable. I’m L arms on an M body – fits well, nothing like older Paramo middle-aged sack fit.

I picked up a nice Mountain Hardwear one from Cotswold in Bets y Coed.
They had a lot of good kit in.
I’ve I could’ve got into a medium, id’ve snapped their hand off for the Fjallraven shell they had in..

Failed to read fully – too expensive! Good value in the long-run because you can just stitch it back up if you tear it and it’ll still be waterproof, there are no taped seams to fail, no membrane or coating to wear out, but quite an outlay to start.

I just picked up the forclaz 400 jacket out of decathlon
60 quid and has same specs as most bike jackets but half the price

I picked up a Madison Road Race Apex jacket for £45 a couple of weeks ago from singletrackbikes via Amazon.
It’s a roadie cut, but it is a very good waterproof jacket. Wore it last wek when it was lashing down and stayed dry, I like the fact that it has got vents on the chest and also the forearms so ther is plenty of air to circulate to keep you dry on the inside.
I asked the same question a couple of weeks ago and the consensus was to get something that vented well

I looked at the MT500 but reckoned it was a load of cash so settled on the Madison Flux Superlight, which can be had for under £100 in most sizes.

this one

I also have a Keela Saxon, after trying sanny’s one one (which he raved about when testing)

this one

I picked up a Madison Roam jacket off the Bay recently. An unused present still with tags for £45 8)
It was a bit of a punt but I’m happily impressed with it. Its well thought out with some good features, a nice feeling fabric, vented & not too boil in the bag (I run hot too).
I’m 6’1″ medium build and the XL is ideal & I’d agree its a relaxed fit. You could wear it for post ride pints in the pub without looking too “MTB”…

I’ve generally stuck with Madison, but I’m now on a second failed jacket (different models, both times the zip went).

My first was a Madison Zenith, great jacket, a bit thin for really blustery weather, no hood but very waterproof and very light. Annoyingly the zip failed half way through a stormy ride at Nant-yr-Arian one day. Replaced under warranty though. Don’t tend to use it except on the roadie as I’ve switched to hooded jackets for MTB.

I replaced that with a rather excellent Madison Addict (Storm 3 Way something). I bloody loved this one, bit thicker than the Zenith, had a hood, about the same water proof wise, but better in windy conditions. Very snug. But the zip failed.

To be fair, they offered to replace like for like again, but were out of stock so had to source something different to tide me over. So I’ve gone for a different approach, two jackets rather than one pricey one, so I’ve got a Royal Matrix and a Madison Roam.

The Roam is a great fit (only got it on sat so not ridden with it yet), it isn’t as fancy as the Addict, but at circa £60-80 rather than the £120-140 of the Addict its no shock. Its casual enough for no MTB wear.

The Royal Matrix had been really good so far (had it since September), very waterproof, fit isn’t as good as Madison stuff, but its fine on the bike, easy to move around. Hood is great, goes right over the helmet and zips up to keep you hyper toasty.

I love the Madison stuff, but I really wish they’d make them more reliable zip wise.

Cheers for the replies, been googling all the suggestions.

Roam looking good so far for style and price. I do run hot when cycling, how’s it for ventilation? My old jacket was a bit sweaty on longer rides but i just assumed it was me and not the jacket. Checked the size of it and it’s L and is a perfect fit despite me being 6’5″. Doesn’t have a hood – do they get in the way at all through the trees etc?

Big vote for Keela Saxon. Great fit, the most breathable jacket I’ve used so far, properly waterproof and good protection in real winter weather. Reasonable price and made in the UK too.

The Mrs wore hers (a new lady-fit) yesterday and it kept out 3 hours of non-stop heavy rain in the afternoon, and she was comfortable with two thin base layers under it at 5C.

Madison flux is great but susceptible to tears & snags on brambles & such.

I bought the Gore Bike Wear Power Trail jacket on wiggle recently, tried one on ages ago but didnt fancy the price tag at the time. they were down to about £125 on wiggle plus another tenner off with the SAVE10-NEW code.

however its far too nice to get shitted up on the bike!!

Before choosing the jacket you want choose the fabric you think would most suit your needs – I like highly water resistant softshells over proper waterproof sweatboxes – Schoeller fabrics – especially the 3DRY is incredibly breathable and adequately weatherproof – Better than Gortex Pro /eVent – Paramo Analogy is also great – different in that it doesn’t stretch but great in a deluge – Black Diamond’s Dawn Patrol jacket is ace – schoeller can be washed normally as opposed to needing nikwax etc.