Discussions
Waterproof jackets
Hi Greg,
I am a big fan of 7mesh clothing. I had the CoPilot jacket, made from Goretex Paclite+, waterproof and highly breathable, with an over the helmet hood. I was dubious of the hood at first but it proved to work very well. Unfortunately it was damaged beyond repair recently. I also have the Revelation jacket, made from Goretex pro. This features a variety of zip vents and an under the helmet hood. Both are fantastic jackets. For waterproof trousers it's 7mesh Thunder pants. Goretex pro again I think. Check out Guy Kesteven's video review.
7mesh are a premium cycle clothing manufacturer, which is reflected in the price. There range is well thought out, cycle specific and in my opinion the best available. Take a look at all 3 ranges, you mentioned road specific cut not working for you, the gravel or MTB ranges may be a better match. It's what I generally choose for my wife and I
Update.
I mentioned that my CoPilot jacket was damaged beyond repair recently, I have just taken a look at 7mesh website, both mens and ladies CoPilot can be had for £225.
Going to order a replacement for myself, I love the Elk colour, proper "Eric Banana Man."
I can recommend Gore Goretex jackets. I have found them much more waterproof than the likes of Endura, Altura, etc. Ideally go to a stockist and try them for size rather than relying on size guide or what size you think you are. Then just buy a size that give you enough space for your layers of choice underneath. Gore also used to offer a repair service for their jackets handy if you get any unwelcome tares or grazes. You would have to check if that is still available. Again these are premium jackets refected in the price.
Re Halford's jacket.
Yes if you just want waterproof then a cheaper jacket will do the job. However, I think the key phrase here is "breathable". In a purely waterproof jacket you will get a huge amount of condensation inside if you are expending much effort. Indeed a breathable jacket is never likely to be fully 100% waterproof as it needs some degree of permeability to be breathable.
>both mens and ladies CoPilot can be had for £225.
Crikey ! I'd want a week's foreign holiday for money like that ;->
I can report that both Halfords & Decathlon do good cycling jackets at sensible prices like £25. For example, my Halfords jacket, I've done over 7,000 km in less than two years and that includes Cumbria and Lancashire, where it rains for about 300 days a year, so a pretty strong test for UK use.
I have never had a problem with rain leaking in, if anything the Halfords jacket can be a bit too warm at anything over 10C.
I am usually a medium, but a large sized jacket leaves enough room for warm layers underneath.
7mesh now asked me £300 for CoPilot :-(
We use these.
https://www.gorewear.com/en-uk/gore-tex-paclite-jacket-mens-100651
Just find a dealer and try them to get the sizing correct or go a size or two over the size guide if you want a fleece or down jacket underneath.