Gore Phantom jacket review

If you’ve never had a Gore Bike Wear softshell jacket, live on beans and toast for a few weeks and then treat yourself to a Phantom. This is a must-have jacket if you love to ride no matter what the weather. 

The Phantom jacket takes the impeccable Gore pedigree and adds a great twist – zip off arms. The sleeves unzip to reveal short (non-windproof) sleeves underneath, creating a great milder weather or harder riding top. Partially unzipping them works as effective venting too, giving this jacket an amazingly wide operating range.

There’s plenty to love about Gore Bike Wear’s Soft Shell N2S Windstopper fabric. It’s light, quiet to wear and warm when it has to be. It boasts low sweat levels and it’s quick drying. The Phantom nurtures this love with its zip-off arms, which reveal two lightweight, black quarter sleeves.

The full-length front zip has a baffle underneath, the collar stands up to keep a seal around the neck, and there are triple rear pockets to satisfy the cycling jersey requirements.

The multi-panel cut with stretchy back panels means a snug fit for efficient wicking on the back, too. Add some reflective detailing on the arms and you have a jacket-cum-jersey that’ll see you through at least three seasons of the year.

Occasionally we found ourselves zipping an arm to the wrong side. Maybe Gore should add an ‘L’ and ‘R’ on the inside of the sleeve tops.