Test 2016: Rain jackets for road cyclists - 28 rain jackets for road cyclists tested

It's hard to imagine nowadays: Until the mid-1980s, there was no functional clothing for cyclists, let alone functional rain protection. If you ask veteran cyclists what they used to protect themselves from rain, wind and cold 30 years ago, many seem to have erased the memory from their minds - accompanied by a sorrowful expression on their faces. Those who still want to remember compare the rain jackets available at the time with bulky plastic bags or waterproof oilskins, as was common among deep-sea fishermen at the time. Such a short "East Frisian mink" withstood the rain, but did not let the sweat out, which is why generations of cyclists first had to stew in their own juices on every ride, only to cool down and almost freeze to death.

The first revolution in clothing technology took place in 1985. Three cycling-enthusiastic engineers from W. L. Gore were out and about in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps in all weathers at the time and probably thought to themselves after every ride in the rain, annoyed by fluttering plastic covers under which they were sweating like crazy: This can't be it! So they developed a waterproof, breathable rain jacket based on the Gore-Tex membrane, which has also been used for clothing since the mid-1970s, especially for the requirements of road cycling: with a short front and extended back, a cut adapted to the rider's posture and an elasticated waistband to prevent the jacket from riding up. Other details, such as the tight and high-necked collar or the adjustable cuffs, demonstrated the cycling expertise of the three engineers and made the jacket a success right from the start. It was called "Giro", laid the foundation for the Gore Bike Wear brand and served as a template for most cycling jackets from other brands.

The test results of these rain jackets can be found below as a PDF download:

LADIES:
- 7Mesh RE:GEN Jacket
- Adidas Infinity Jacket Woman
- Bontrager Woman Race Stormshell Jacket
- Gore Power Lady GT AS Jacket
- Löffler Women's Bike Jacket GTX
- Mavic Ksyrium Elite H20
- Odlo Typhoon Jacket
- Pearl Izumi Women EliteWXB Jacket
- Poc Avip Women Rain Jacket (TOUR test winner)
- Rapha Women's Rain Jacket
- Sportful Hotpack Norain W JKT
- Vaude Women Sky Fly Jacket II

MEN:
- 7Mesh RE:GEN Jacket
- Adidas Infinity Jacket
- Bontrager Men's Stormshell Jacket
- Castelli Tempesta Race Jacket
- Craft Active Extreme
- Endura FS-260-Pro SL
- Etxeondo Capa Gore-Tex
- Gore One GTX Active Bike Jacket (TOUR test winner)
- Löffler Men's Bike Jacket GTX
- Pearl Izumi Elite WXB Jacket
- Poc Avip Rain Jacket
- Rapha Pro Team Race
- Santini Guard II Jacket
- Sportful Survival Gore Jacket
- Sugoi RSE Neoshell Jacket
- Vaude Men's Sky Fly Jacket II

Protection without an outer skin?

With the presentation of its latest rain jacket, the company from Feldkirchen in Bavaria is now shaking up the tried-and-tested three-layer principle. The grey-black shimmering jacket consists only of the waterproof and vapour-permeable membrane and does not need a protective textile outer shell. Theoretical advantage: what is not there cannot soak up water; raindrops roll off immediately and rapid cooling is prevented. Omitting the outer layer reduces the weight of the size M to a record-breaking 106 grams - despite the lined collar and additional zip pocket at the waist.

The exciting question now is: Does Gore's new top model at a price of 280 euros trump the tried and tested, multi-layer jackets of the competition? In addition to Gore Bike Wear, 17 other companies accepted our test invitation, ten of them with one men's and one women's model each. The cheapest men's jacket in the test costs 110 euros (Adidas Infinity), the most expensive (Sugoi RSE Neoshell) three times as much. The range of women's jackets starts at 85 euros (Sportful Hotpack) and goes up to 339 euros for the "RE:GEN" jacket from 7Mesh.

We tested the overshoes in the categories of fit, rain protection, comfort, features/handling and pack size. We determined the practical grades for fit, comfort and handling in a direct comparison with two female testers (sizes S and M) and two male testers (sizes M and L) and translated all the results and impressions into grades.

Important: the wearing comfort

Most of the jackets fulfil the main characteristics of waterproofness and water repellency without any points of criticism. However, Adidas, Castelli and Endura were found to have minor seam leaks. More or less pronounced is the phenomenon that water droplets roll off the outer skin less well after washing than when the jacket is new. This can be observed with brands such as Castelli, Rapha and 7Mesh. They differ significantly more in terms of fit, comfort and handling in practice. The Swedish brand POC succeeds in tailoring both the men's and women's models precisely to the body in a racing bike position. The unanimous verdict on the wearing comfort on bare, sweaty skin was positive. In the case of the Adidas Infinity jackets, the testers judged the cut of the women's jacket to be significantly worse than the men's model.

Pearl Izumi and Santini were praised for the cut and criticised for the comfort; the testers were not happy with the somewhat rubbery feeling that the lining leaves on the skin - especially when the first drops of sweat start to run. Incidentally, our female testers were more critical than the male testers on this point. Only half of the jackets were rated more comfortable to wear than a three. The men's jackets from Bontrager, Castelli and Craft, as well as the women's jackets from Gore, Odlo and POC, make little flapping and rustling noises. In contrast, the Sportful and 7Mesh jackets as well as the women's model from Mavic make a clearly audible rattling noise on fast descents.

One not for all

Gore's new top model received a lot of praise in a direct comparison and won the men's competition by a minimal margin ahead of Craft, Endura and Poc. It offers the best rain protection, is very comfortable to wear, weighs almost nothing and is tiny in the jersey pocket. The disadvantages of this minimalism are the comparatively short back section and spartan features, such as the lack of back pockets or anti-slip rubberised waistband. There is also currently no model cut specifically for women. For the time being, the jacket is also only available in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces.

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