I need a lightweight, fit-in-pocket, rain jacket for road rides that’s the very best quality available – and actually IS waterproof.

Would love an Assos Sturmprinz but at £250-£300 their prices really have gone nuts.

I read very good reports on Rapha’s Rain Jacket… Are these any good?

Would anyone who had spunked the cash on a Pringle Rapha jacket ever say it wasn’t teh awsumz?

FWIW, I have one of these – http://bontrager.com/model/09218
Pricing from £99+, packable to jersey pocket size if you have bigish pockets, and properly waterproof with taped seams etc. Also, pit zips for venting. Money well spent, but without the brand cachet that you may want. 😉

rain jackets that fit in a pocket are pretty common and most work I think. But may need re-proofing one day. If money is no object then I’m sure Rapha or Assos will fit the bill but something that works would include Gore, Sugoi, Castelli, Endura, dhb, Altura etc etc. Mine is Karrimor and 9 years old. Does the job you appear to require.

Montane work for me.

If Sky are buying and wearing Castelli Gabba’s it rather suggests that buying a Rapha rain jacket may not be the best investment…

I ride with Rapha, I like the stuff no matter what CFH says.

Other kit is available and if it fits buy it.

Lets not have another boring ” lets kick Rapha” thread.

They really are getting rather dull now 🙄

Not kicking Rapha did you see MSR a large number of non sponsored teams were wearing Castelli Gabba’s and paying for them including Sky just saying if pro’s are ditching team kit for something that’s better it might be worth looking at?

The $10,000 Bike and The $100 Jacket

http://road.cc/content/news/78651-milan-san-remos-other-winner-castellis-gabba-jersey-video

i like rapha, i like bontrager (i ride one).

A rain jacket that’s designed to fit in your pockets gonna spend most of it’s time in your pocket or your bag. A montane featherlite is all you need.

I did, I have a wardrobe of Castelli too, it’s good stuff.

However, as its Italian sizing, go one size bigger.

I prefer Nicks Vulpine kit..

Vulpine…

Love my Rapha kit, but I’m in the market for a rain jacket too and the Gabba has massively shot up my thinking about it list now… ;0)

Just sent my City rain jacket back to Rapha as it’s just wetting out on the sleeves & no amount of re-proofing seems to stop it. Replaced it with a Gore AS which is brilliant (same price as Rapha BTW), but no idea about longevity & that’s what I’d be focusing on – everything seems to work well on the first few rides, but will it still be working after a year of washing?

Looking at the specs, the Gabba isn’t waterproof, but made from a version of Windstopper. To me it seems its water resistant with a water repellant finish.

I bought a Rapha rian jacket in the sale for £110. Cream though. Error.

Other than the ridiculous colour choice (me being tight), it’s probably the best fitting item of clothing I’ve ever owned. And the first genuinely waterproof jacket I’ve had that doesn’t feel like wearing a bin bag. Worth every penny of £110, but at full price I’d struggle to justify it when you can get an Endura Helium for half the price (got one of these as well. Nice, but doesn’t fit me as well and not as comfy, pockets are a bit irritating as well as the cuffs).

I’ve got the Assos sJ.13 luftSchutz Shell Jacket which is a brilliant piece of kit.

Looks a bit “gimpish” but it’s incredibly warm for a thin shell, packs to the size of a packet of peanuts and it’s freakishly breathable. It gets a thin layer of salt on the surface of the fabric after rides where sweat has evaporated.

It has really nice stretchy panels too, and mesh area for added breathability. It’s not supposed to be 100% waterproof but I’ve not noticed any water ingress in heavy rain..

The biggest thing that makes the Gabba not waterproof is no seam taping, the fabric itself is waterproof. You can make sure that the jacket is well proofed all the time though and then the water will run off and not get the same chance to sneak in the seams.
I’ve got a Gore Active Shell road jacket and it is amazing, really breathable. Its not as snug a fit as the Gabba but for most of us I reckon thats probably a plus 🙂

I’m using an active shell jacket as well, great breathability, waterproofing a little compromised after an off, but it’s a little bulkier than I’d like, both while wearing it, and in the jersey pocket.

I have a gabba jersey and it’s great for hard riding in drizzle or days where It may rain, but I also have a gore oxygen jacket, and if it’s a day with a lot of rain/grey clouds/anything more than just drizzle forecast then the gabba would not cut it, I always take the oxygen and have never gotten wet, almost negates the feeling of riding in the rain.

10/10 for both but to reiterate the gabba is not a jacket, it’s a jersey, I would choose to wear it instead of a gilet, not a jacket.

Real slim road fit for the oxygen too, active shell, not crinkly long arms and back, short front, slim body, waterproof zips and nice detail on the wrists for fitting over gloves not under.

rapha rain jackets are excellent but the new rapha race cape is even more excellent!
Id get that.

the gabba isn’t a waterproof jacket but a jersey OK for majority of time but not designed for what you’re looking for!

as mentioned, whilst everyone’s creaming their chamois over the Gabba (who knew anything about it before last weekend eh?) it’s not really a back-pocketable jacket, it’s a put-on-and-leave-on for rainy rides jersey

whilst the Rapha jacket is very good, packs up really small and light and is a good waterproof the Gore Oxygen GT AS Jacket i have is tons better, packs up bigger than the Rapha (has its own little stuff bag though), is cut perfectly for road riding and has lasted enough multi-hour rain sodden rides and stopped me from crying enough times to be an absolute winner

I have the previous generation of the Sportful-Hot-pack and has never let me down when needed. Packs down really well too.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V9pODlo02w[/video]

The luftschutz is packable but although it beads rain well it has material sections on the side so isn’t really waterproof. The sturmprinz is great, beads off water brilliantly and is amazingly breathable (better than any goretex or pertex stuff I’ve used), it’s not really packable though.
I’m happy switching between the above depending on conditions (i.e. I take the luftschutz unless I know it’s going to be raining most/all of the ride in which case I’ll wear the sturmprinz and adjust other layers to compensate.
If I wanted a breathable packable waterproof I’d prob either go for the Rapha or maybe a Sportful Hot Pack, the Castelli Pocket Liner looks interesting too but I don’t think it’s very packable. The Montane Photon looks decent to and I think I was a new Gore ultra light shell in a new product section in some mag (maybe the Comic)?

How about the Castelli Pocket Liner, they’re not cheap but it’s exactly what you’re asking for.

The Gabba is nice but it’s certainly not waterproof, it’s popular with the pro’s for racing as it’s more aero than even a close cut waterproof jacket and when you’re working hard even the most breathable waterproof jackets aren’t going to be breathable enough.

I use a Montane Photon teeny packable jacket, i bought it last year from CRC cheap(ish) and within a week i had bought another one as it is that good, I’m between a 38″/40″ and a medium is a perfect fit, here’s the montane bumpfh from their website.

Design a waterproof bike shell with exceptional breathability and light enough to pack into a jersey pocket was the brief. The Photon exceeds this with a breathability rating of a startling 25,000 MVTR and a phenomenal weight of 190g. The Photon revolutionises weather protective bike clothing.

Exceptionally high fabric breathability at 25,000 MVTR and a 20,000mm hydrostatic head
Bike specific tailoring to reduce volume at the front of the body and a long drop tail
Upside down chest pocket zipper so that gravity aids closure whilst riding
Rear shockcord collar adjustment to prevent rain entry and core body heat loss
2.7 metres of 360° Dusk till Dawn reflective body contoured piping
Internal MP3 accessible headphone pipe
Water-resistant zips with semi automatic puller
Moulded cuff grab tabs for ease of use whilst riding
Includes stow away stuff sac
As with all MONTANE® clothing PERTEX® Fabric contains a Durable Water Repellency (DWR) as the first barrier to keeping you dry. Clean your garment in order to maintain this.
Machine wash in warm water at 40C/104F with a mild soap. MONTANE® recommends that you use Nikwax Tech Wash.

Montane Photon here

I have the original Rapha rain jacket that was called the stowaway jacket. Its a fantastic jacket but not completely waterproof, the fit and feel of it is very, very good though.

I’m not sure if the new rain jacket is fully waterproof though, does it not have waterproof panels.

Gore Bike Wear Oxygen Active Shell.

It’s actually waterproof, very breathable and fits well.

I’ve got the Rapha Wind Jacket which is actually still pretty waterproof, very lightweight and easy to roll up and stow in a jersey pocket.

Not sure I’d want anything more waterproof than that to be quite honest, it’s done the job through several long days of showery damp miserable conditions when I did LEJOG.

Another vote for the Gore here. Perfect fit for road riding, slides perfectly into a jersey pocket, breathes well and is 100% waterproof.

Just got a Rapha race cape in the sale, I got other “pro” stuff from them and it’s great if you are skinny and don’t want to end up wearing sail-like outerwear- I have high expectations; we will see; I expect robust and functional….

I have the rapha hard shell and it’s been excellent so far, put up with rough treatment on the MTB with no probs at all.
It’s not foldable / packable as the OP was looking for, but this post is to share a general bit of confidence in their waterproof stuff.

+1 for gore oxygen as a fantastic roady shell