@ Houndlegs – The Evo has been great – had it 5-6 years now, so has been upgraded, I think. I will probably get another, was just looking for alternative suggestions.
It’s a hot jacket, even with the (big) pit zips fully open. I’ve ridden in -6 with just a regular base layer and winter jersey underneath. The water repellancy has now gone but I suspect could be revived if I could be bothered to get the right stuff to reproof it. It’s tough – I came off on black ice the day after I bought and I remember sliding across the road with my (bike) helmet bouncing off the tarmac thinking “I only bought this sodding jacket yesterday!” but it didn’t get a mark.
Best of all are the reflectives – I’ve had other cyclist and even drivers comment on how visible it makes me. And they haven’t come off over the years either.
To be fair, I only bought the Evo version because it was the only one that came in a bright red, rather than Hi Viz yellow. It’s still bright red after lots of use and washing. If colour isn’t a big factor, then some of the cheaper non-Evo versions might be just as good for what you want.
Try one for size if you can – Altura are quite realistic on sizing, and it is not cut for racing snakes either. The old version I’ve got is a large, and seems to have been designed to have a couple of decent layers underneath. I tried on the current medium today at an LBS, and that was a much nicer fit, and I’m borderline L/XL with most brands.