Rockrider ST 700 Rain Jacket review: £70 brilliance

At around 500g, the Rockrider ST 700 Rain Jacket is not lightweight but when the conditions are harsh, comfort and morale are everything.

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By ben_haworth

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Rockrider ST 700 Rain Jacket review: £70 brilliance

Like the recess to go over the visor and keep the hood in place, clever idea.
However in 2020 I bought an Altura Cyclone Night Vision jacket for £50 (RRP £100) in a CRC sale and it’s spec is far better than the Rockrider jacket (e.g. waterproof to 15000mm) and it could be a while before I need a replacement.
Still on sale at Cyclestore for £65 or the women’s version at CRC is £40-45, a bargain!

Finally, hoods on mountain jackets are an essential.

Stuff and nonsense. The sooner they go back to no hoods and a decent neck drawstring the better.

unless that hood is detachable I’m out, it just acts as an air brake

Stuff and nonsense. The sooner they go back to no hoods and a decent neck drawstring the better.

This – I don’t want a hood on a jacket for riding.

Also, nothing in this review about how breathable the fabric is – whats the membrane? is it any good?

Wow a decent waterproof jacket I might actually be able to afford !

They did do a non hood one.
This one.
I had a couple and they worked well, just size up. I would be very surprised if they do not appear again. Any item in the 700/900’s is da bomb.

My cycling buddy takes great mirth in recounting the tale that when we were once in the local store I was asked by a random stranger about the location of an item. It was then pointed out to me that I was wearing near 100% decathlon kit by my amused buddy. And yes, I knew where it was..

You never really seemed to get onto the waterproofing and breathability despite saying you’d get onto the waterproofing and breathability?

Does the hood stow away? I don’t like hoods on riding jackets, but, I think we can all agree that even if you like hoods, jackets that dont’ have a hood pocket or strap or whatever to snug it away are absolute bullshit.

I’ve got to say, I’m loving the hood hate…

Just wish manufacturers would listen…

I bought one of these 2 days ago, haven’t had chance to try it properly on a ride yet.
I can confirm the hood is a work of genius. It’s huge but has plenty of adjustment to snug it down to fit over a helmet snuggly. The pocket for the helmet peak is brilliant.
And yes, there is a strap to hold the hood in place when folded down.

Decathlon have been knocking out decent 3 layer jackets, not sold for MTB but suitable fit, that MTB brands charge at least double for in 2.5 layer or even bin bag form!

The prices have gone up and up, so not as good deal as they once were!

I bought one of these 2 days ago, haven’t had chance to try it properly on a ride yet.

Is that because you don’t live in the UK, or just don’t ride? 😉

More real world* kit reviews like this please 👍

*as in reviews of kit people in the real world can actually afford. Not £300 jackets designed to last a season in the real world.

^ wot he sed

You never really seemed to get onto the waterproofing and breathability despite saying you’d get onto the waterproofing and breathability?

Yeah, +1 for this. Especially as you say it has ‘(5000mm) waterproofing and breathability’ – sorry to get all geeky, but if the 5000mm you quote is hydrostatic head, that’s actually a really low figure. Most Gore-Tex is more like 30,000mm, even NeoShell, which is a lot less ‘waterproof’ than most waterproof fabrics is 10,000mm.

Does it keep you dry? Is it breathable?

What is the lowest number to be classed as waterproof? Higher numbers sound great but my limited personal experience is they are all boil-in-the-bag and all they do is extend the time before you get properly sweaty…

More real world* kit reviews like this please 👍

*as in reviews of kit people in the real world can actually afford. Not £300 jackets designed to last a season in the real world.

+1.

Nice colour. I had some Rockrider shorts that were really good also.

I bought the AM jacket from Decathlon after someone recommended it on here.
colour is a bit more low key

Its got the hydrostatic thing at 10000 if thats good! It seems quite waterproof, I have had the hood on over a helmet and I like it more than i expected.
It has vents but they are not zipped so on cold days you get cold air wafting in during windy conditions, a minor gripe overall.

Also came with a little stuffsack so packs down smaller than expected to put in a bag.

Anyway its reduced on Decathlon to £69.99, so probably worth a look at the price…

3-layer fabric with breathable membrane;RET = 6

It has it all: material (10 000 mm), taped seams, water repellent zip

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/all-mountain-waterproof-jacket/_/R-p-309673

The jacket tested (not the one linked by northcountryboy) has a RET score of 12 according to the Decathlon website. Without going into too much detail RET is an iso accredited way of measuring breathability. A RET 12 rating is ok, it’s on par with what you would expect from most outdoor and cycle brands non-branded membrane waterproof jackets. It’s not as good as any of the branded membranes (Gore, NeoShell, etc) though.

What is weird though is the relatively low hydrostatic head rating of 5,000mm. I say low, what I mean is in comparison to stated HH’s from other brands. Most ‘sporty’ waterproofs will have a HH of 10,000mm and over, although if I remember right 1,500mm of HH will be waterproof in rain. The higher HH in waterproof clothing is to make sure in high wind, high rain, higher pressure (e.g. when under a pack) that the fabric doesn’t get overwhelmed. The 5,000mm HH is weird in that you would normally expect a better RET rating from a fabric with only 5,000mm HH.

It’s as breathable a jacket as I’ve used bar lighter-weight (running style) jackets.

It was brilliant for the first third of this year but now the temps have gone up a bit (and the rain in theory is less) I’ll be switching to a stow-able lighter-weight (running style) jacket.

This jacket will come back out post-summer.

jimthesaint
Full Member

What is weird though is the relatively low hydrostatic head rating of 5,000mm. I say low, what I mean is in comparison to stated HH’s from other brands.

How much of that is because of stated hh being a load of horseshit most of the time? Or kinder to say unrepresentative, maybe. The lab performance of a single layer of the material isn’t that relevant once you knock it into a garment, and then you get the outright bullshittery of quoting the most breathable parts and ignoring things like reinforcements (like, almost all waterproof trousers have parts that are far less breathable, but marketing fluff will happily have “reinforced cordura bum and leg panels to prevent wear” right beside “30000mm”

How much of that is because of stated hh being a load of horseshit most of the time? Or kinder to say unrepresentative, maybe.

The way fabric lab tests relate to real world performance is often a bit problematic – MVTR (moisture vapour transfer rate) aka ‘breathability’ tests tend to use heated plates, which bear a questionable relationship to real world use and favour some fabric technologies over others. Polartec had a bit of a paddy about that when they launched NeoShell, which doesn’t play well with the test format favoured by Gore despite subjectively being more comfortable in real world use.

Gore once showed me a set of test results that ‘proved’ Gore-Tex active was more ‘breathable’ than a cotton tee shirt. Go figure.

In the end, I’ll take real world use over lab tests, though that makes testing subjective and a little dependent on the tester’s frame of reference and personal physiology.

The jacket that has kept me driest in heavy rain had zero hydrostatic head

The jacket that has kept me driest in heavy rain had zero hydrostatic head

Paramo?

Breathability is high on my list of requirements for a jacket. I’ve never had a jacket that isn’t as wet inside as outside (and not from water coming through) at the end of a ride even if that ride is only a five mile commute. There’s no point having a high hydrostatic rating for rain if you end up soaked in sweat and at this price I’m tempted to try it. I also like the fact you can actually tumble dry it, which if you use it regularly is great. You can have a dry jacket to go out in even if the day before it got soaked, without having it on radiators. Tumble drying is also supposed to re-enable any waterproofing rather than having to use sprays (though you can use those too). Thanks for the honest review Ben. Any recommendations for non sweaty waterproof jackets for hot weather in a similar price range?

FYI, although this is a great jacket for the money, the cut is quite specific. I’m usually between a medium and large, shoulder/back width and arm length being the factors that make me the larger size sometimes. The Decathlon jacket in a large is actually quite snug on the hem across the hips but reasonably spacious on the chest – but then the sleeves are very slim.

After persevering for a few rides I accepted that it was a bit too tight on the arms, even with just a long sleeve base layer underneath. It’s gone on to a new owner who got a massive bargain!

I bought one and sent it back as Mrs Zip said it made me look like a sainsburys delivery driver.

I’m usually between a medium and large, shoulder/back width and arm length being the factors that make me the larger size sometimes. The Decathlon jacket in a large is actually quite snug on the hem across the hips but reasonably spacious on the chest – but then the sleeves are very slim.

I’m usually in the same predicament and yet for me this is the best fitting bike jacket I’ve ever had. I really like it!

It’s gone on to a new owner who got a massive bargain!

Yes he did, thanks chiefgrooveguru 👍 It certainly is a weird cut, big on the chest, slim at the waist, long arms. Quite a heavy jacket, certainly too thick for the warmer months, but it’ll do just fine.

How does the hood work if you aren’t wearing a helmet? Seems to just flop over my eyes if I’m not on my bike which isn’t ideal.

How does the hood work if you aren’t wearing a helmet? Seems to just flop over my eyes if I’m not on my bike which isn’t ideal.

that’s going to depend on the cinching strategy (!).  I’ve got a Revolution Race jacket (for skiing) that supposedly has a helmet compatible hood (I think my neck is too long for these to ever really work).  But it’s got 2 cinches on it which mean you can shrink it to fit without.  K has a tiny head and hoods normally overwhelm her but she has the same jacket and can use without a helmet as well.