Buyer's Guide to Winter Jackets

Winter jacket (Paul Smith©.)

There's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. We've spent the last few months riding in the most challenging conditions we could find to reccomend what to look out for when choosing a winter jacket...

Layering

Wear the right under-garments

Whatever the jacket, it's no use without wearing the right stuff underneath to transfer (or 'wick') sweat from your skin to the inside of the jacket and then out into the air. Cotton T-shirts or sweatshirts will just suck up the sweat and store it, leaving your skin wet and letting body heat straight through. Woolly jumpers are a bit better because they at least stay warm when wet, but they take an age to dry. What you need is a proper semi wool or totally synthetic 'wicking' thermal which has treated or shaped fibres that literally suck the sweat off your skin and spread it out across the inside of the jacket for maximum evaporation.

Don't make the mistake of wearing one thick layer either, because it will be colder than several thin layers with warm air trapped between them. Thin layers also mean you can easily adjust your warmth by taking one off or adding another. They're less bulky, lighter and easier to move about in too. It might not seem enough, but a single long-sleeve thermal under a wind shell is perfect for most spring/autumn conditions, and adding a vest or shortsleeve thermal underneath will see you right through most of winter.

Waterproof or windproof?

Make that choice

Cycling-specific jackets offer a mix of protection levels from fully storm resistant waterproofs to windproofs that shrug off a few minutes of light drizzle. Choosing a 'proper' waterproof might sound essential, but you'll get serious rain on a ride much less frequently than you think. Unless you pay a fortune, a fully waterproof jacket is likely to be heavier, bulkier and hotter than a wind/showerproof jacket, which makes it harder to carry when you don't need it.

Lighter, windproof shells tend to let more sweat vapour out and more cold in, which means you stay drier and cooler inside on long, hard rides. With a decent insulation layer underneath they can be as cosy as a full waterproof though. They also pack up easily for putting in pockets or bags when you don't need them, so you can take them just in case.

Sweat shop

Letting off steam

Whatever manufacturers might claim, weatherproof jackets - even the best ones - never let sweat out fast enough to stop you getting wet inside if you're pedalling hard and getting hot and sweaty. Some fabrics are definitely better than others at stopping you getting sodden, but what really helps is enough ventilation to make controlling the inside temperature easy. Opening the front zip obviously lets cold wind in, but it also lets all the bad weather in too, and your chest area is generally colder and sweat free anyway.

Underam zips are great because they flow cold air over the big arteries just under the skin in your armpits, cooling your core temperature very effectively. However, you need to make sure the zips actually let enough air in to make a difference, that they stay open while riding, don't get hidden by any pack you wear and that you can open and close them easily with winter gloves on.

Interestingly, the most recent research says that just rolling your sleeves up is the most effective temperature control. Again, it exposes big arteries close to the skin surface in your wrists and forearms for direct blood cooling and there's loads of cool wind flow too.

• Back to top
• Email to a friend