Forum menu
Well....What a cracking piece of kit.
It's not a revolution, it's not a game changer, but it is a very well thought out piece of riding kit that seems to answer a number of problems.
I live in the tropical North West of England, and as a consequence am somewhat familiar with that fine rain that wets you through. Having ridden mountain bikes and road bikes and cyclocross bikes in the rain here, the Holy Grail for me is to find a workable rain jacket to wear when it's likley to be a bit damp.
I've used Pertex tops; lightweight, flappy, not waterproof.
I've used Goretex Paclite tops; boil in the bag, restrictive, unpackable when it gets warmer or when climbing.
I've used Goretex Helium tops; again, flappy, unpackable.
The problem has always been to find a jacket that is light enough to use that actually works, but that can be taken off and stored when not in use. I've gone back to using a Castelli Squadra jacket which is basically an evolution of the old boil in the bag nylon waterproof; you put it on when it rains, then open it up when you climb, then take it off when it's drier.
The Castelli Gabba jersey seems to be an answer of sorts. It's a water resistant short sleeve jersey which keeps out most of the rain for most of the time. It's not a waterproof in any traditional sense, but is a water resistant jersey which keeps the worst off for long enough, and works as a jersey for the rest of the time.
The brilliant bit is that it works in the rain, but you don't have to take it off when it stops raining, because you don't overheat in it.
I've been out today for 3 hours in pretty constant rain, and stayed comfortable and warm. I was wet under it when I got home, but not wet enough for it to be a problem. When I was racing, I used a nylon jacket with the sleeves cut off to the elbow; this jacket has sleeves that long. It's not full of bells and whistles, it's just a jacket that works well enough for me to be rambling on here to recommend it.