Jacket terminology?

Not really had much “technical” “proper” biking clothing before.

Anyway, what’s the deal with soft shell and hard shell? Is it as simple as soft = not very waterproof, hard = waterproof? I know there’s different gradings of waterproof though…

Is it possible to get a decent looking, waterproof (good enough for a ride in some good welsh/scottish rain), breathable (good enough for a decent XC ride, and I sweat a fair bit) jacket, for a reasonable price (under £100, well under ideally)?

Ta, Duane.

No, not at any price.

So all the people you see wearing fancy jackets on XC rides in the rain, they’re either soaking from the rain, or from their sweat?

Fair enough I guess :/

Pretty much.

So what do most people settle for? (I know that’s an incredibly vague question, just trying to see what’s available etc)

I go for a waterproof gilet.

I’m far from an expert (but have happily spend cash trying).

So – simple answer ime – No.

Softshell are ideal for warm / sweaty folk ime (yes – I’m sweaty) even on awful days. It can rain for 4 hours in a softshell before I get cold (proper Scots rain too!). Yep – they’re not waterproof – but even when wet not actually cold until you stop exercising.

Hardshell – Even with Event/Goretex – it’s boil in the bag time after one hour. I’m soaked after this and once I go downhill I’m freezing.

TBF – I do carry an Event jactet – It almost never gets used. Softshell / windproof for almost everything until I see Noah fuelling up the outboard 😉

go for breathable, because rain will get in and down and up through most things, and you can be a lot more comfortable when it’s just cold

I have a thin Salomon ski jacket which seems to be working well so far. The under arms aren’t waterproof so you get some venting. Very warm for how thin and unrestrictive it is, and it stops your main body/arms from getting soaked through.

Thanks all. So a little less waterproof/more breathable seems the way to go.

I just posted this on another forum which gives a bit more info on what I’m looking for;

Starting to do a bit more XC/longer riders, and as it’s getting wetter/muddier, I’d like a decent riding jacket – I have a RaceFace one but it’s not very waterproof or breathable.

So, would like;

Fairly breathable and waterproof (I know that’s pretty tricky, but something that is kinda both would be nice)
Looks good (I do a fair bit of photo-shoots etc) (if I can wear it when not on the bike without looking a numpty, even better)
Bright colour (see above, so blue, red, green, orange etc)
Has a hood (ideally one which can be folded away)
Can be folded up vaguely small
Vaguely tough (I fall off, and build trails).

If it could also be used for snowboarding, running etc that would be ace, but not essential.

Price wise, under £100 would be nice, but fairly-flexible.

Any recommendations?

Cheeeers, Duane.

Worth giving Furtech a call to see if they have any returns in your size in the Claw 2 model, friend of mine had a really good deal on one.

I really rate my Altura Attack X jacket. Seems well-made, fits well in a slightly oversized MTB sort of way rather than a tight roady kind of way, and is definitely very waterproof and breathable. I’ve had cheap jackets in the past and I was either freezing or sweating, no middle ground. The Attack X seems brilliant – never too hot or too cold. It’s nice and breathable too – though I suspect this is as much due to large well-positioned vents as it is the fancy fabric. I dunno, I used to be of the opinion that expensive jackets were a waste of time, then I got given this as a present, I’d definitely buy another with my own money 🙂

It’s a bit over your budget but I don’t suppose the slightly cheaper ones are much worse.

I use a soft-shell for biking because it that much more active and even when they are wet they keep you warm (as long as you are still moving).

If you spray some Nikwax spray on proofer on it then it can resist the rain that little bit longer. Don’t use the wash in stuff as it proofs the inside as well which means if its not raining the inside gets a bit wetter as the inside is also water resistant.

For walking in the mountains I have a Gore-Tex Pro Shell jacket which can be a little bit sweaty on the climbs, but for the sheer protection it offers, is worth it. Especially with some of the persistent weather you get in Snowdonia.

Managed to get a North Face summit series for that price a few years ago, and it’s fantastic. Very waterproof, but never get overly warm in it. Like a second skin to me, wear it all year round, if it does get warm I can always open the side vents up to cool down. Seems to be tough enough, but obviously don’t want to test it too much.