Hitting a variety of price points, over the past week or so we’ve seen a bunch of new options to keep the weather at bay as we fight to ride year round. And with us all doing a bit of holiday shopping for our cycling friends and family, you kinda can’t go wrong in making it more comfortable for the other cyclists in your life to get out and pedal no matter how cold or wet it gets. The latest jackets that have caught our interest are Northwave’s affordable Extreme H2O Jacket, which comes in both short and long sleeve versions, Rapha’s designed premium Classic Winter Jacket and their lower priced packable Core Rain Jacket, plus the ultralight packable & waterproof Plan B race cape from Morvélo. Check out the details and get some Cyber Monday shopping out of the way after the break…
Northwave Extreme H2O
The Extreme H2O from Northwave balances protection from the cold, water, and wind to get through the winter, but knows the trouble of going too thick or not breathing well enough. That mix of protection, fit, and breathability was the basis for the new Extreme H2O Jacket, and to make it work across an even broader range it comes in two versions with the same tech and features: by itself long sleeves for riding between 5-15°C, and short sleeves for 8-18°C, and add in baselayers for even cooler range. The key to the lightly insulating jacket is the H2O Flex membrane tech, a four-way stretch membrane in the middle of the 3-ply fabric, that moves with your body while providing a 10,000mm shield against wind and water. The result is a fit like a race jersey, with added protection. The Extreme H2O comes in both black and fluo yellow, and sells for 100€ with long sleeves, and 95€ with short sleeves. Northwave.it
Rapha Classic Winter Jacket
On a bit of the opposite side of the price spectrum comes Rapha’s updated Classic Winter Jacket. Designed to handle riding in the coldest, wettest weather the shell merges their previous Hardshell Jacket and the all-around Classic Softshell. The £260/350€ jacket is said to be the latest evolution of their first ever jacket, and adds a new hardshell fabric that is said to breathe well, and gets taped seams to keep the weather out. It gets features like an offset zip, lots of storage, and a stowable drop-down tail to keep you butt dry in really wet weather. It comes in black, gray, dark orange, and bright yellow (chartreuse). For and extra £20/30€ it also comes in a special edition tricolor transitioning from light red wine to a dark merlot.
Rapha Core Rain Jacket
Back on the affordable side of things, Rapha also just introduced a new rain jacket in their recent Core collection. Taking the performance of their to-tier products and paring it back to the essentials, we’ve seen some solid performance from the other Core basics without breaking the bank. The Core Rain Jacket is a fully taped outer layer shell that remains very packable, so it can always find a place in a pocket when the weather looks dicey, or even just windy. The ~125g jacket comes in black, navy blue, red, and bright yellow (chartreuse) and sells for £100/125€
Morvélo Plan B
Morvélo gets right to the point with their new shell: Always have a Plan B. At a super light 79g, the Plan B packs down tiny, and fits inside of its own single zip rear pocket. Using a 2-ply membrane fabric gives the light jacket good water resistance and total wind blocking , while it relies on a pair of rear shoulder vents to keep breathability high. The jacket gets four-way stretch for a close jersey-like fit without too much flapping in the wind. At just £65/76€ the translucent rain shell comes in both men’s and women’s cuts and will let you show your team kit and sponsor logos while you stay dry and cozy. Morvelo.com
