Gore 30th Oxygen 2.0 Gore-Tex Active Jacket

Gore has been making bike gear for 30 years now (as shown here) and some of what it's learned has been distilled into this Oxygen 2.0 Gore-Tex Active anniversary jacket, which is an excellent hard shell for winter riding in all conditions. At north of £200 it's expensive, but you won't be disappointed with the performance.

The Active in the name refers to Gore's Active membrane, which is "built for extreme breathability and ideal for highly aerobic, done in a day activities", according to Gore. "All components are built for optimized sweat management to ensure extreme breathability and optimum comfort in high aerobic conditions. The performance is also supported by a tight fitting and minimalistic garment design.' So there you go: expect a high quality race-fit top that's good for sweaty, high-intensity riding.

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That's what Gore promises, and that's what it delivers. This really is an excellent fast riding top.

The cut is sufficiently bike-orientated for it to feel a little ungainly off it – it pulls at the shoulders a bit and feels tight across the chest. Once you're on the bike and riding, though, it's exactly right. There's plenty of room in the arms without them being over-long or wide, with a zip cuff to allow you to get your hands in without needing extra material.

The collar rises at the back to keep more of your neck covered (and more water out in a downpour) and the tail drops to cover your lower back well. It's elasticated too, with silicone grippers to keep it in place. I felt I could have done with maybe an extra few centimetres of length.

There's some subtle gold reflective on the tail, and also on the arms, collar and cuffs. If you don't want a stealthy black one there's a black and red option too.

The jacket doesn't have any pockets, instead opting for two long zips that allow you to get into your jersey for snacks or spares. If you're a bit warm these can also be opened for venting, although obviously that compromises the waterproofing of the jacket. And being waterproof is something it does very well. Fully taped seams all round mean there's no water ingress through the fabric and the aforementioned collar and cuffs are better than most at guarding against trickles. I've completed two-hour rides in genuinely unpleasant conditions with very little dampness getting in: a small amount from the side zips, and a little soaking in from the cuffs, but nothing through the fabric, at all.

The Active membrane also makes the Oxygen 2.0 jacket very windproof. I'd struggle to name another jacket that's better in that regard. Tight cuffs and collar and an excellent riding cut, coupled with a storm flap behind the main zip, mean that it's a welcome outer layer when the cold winds are blowing in from the north. Plus there's very little excess material to flap about, making it a quiet jacket even in the blowiest conditions.

All this would be to nought if the Active fabric didn't breathe well, because you'd just be a soggy mess after an hour's riding. But again, it's excellent. After two hours of hard riding in the dry, in temperatures in the low teens – which are very much at the upper end of what you'd expect to be needing this for – taking off the jacket revealed that my baselayer was still essentially dry, as was the inside of the shell, which meant the jacket had coped admirably with getting rid of any excess moisture.

The one time I did manage to get a bit soggy was on a two-hour chaingang in the pouring rain, where the combination of near-race pace coupled with constant spray from following wheels managed to breach the Gore's defences. I think most of it just dribbled down the front of my neck, to be honest. Even then the jacket was windproof and warm.

> For more winter cycling jackets, check out our guide here

I've got very little bad to say about this offering from Gore. The fabric is excellent, and the cut on the bike is almost perfect. I would have liked a little extra length in the rear but that's the only niggle. At £220 it's certainly in the upper echelons, but if you're not too bothered about the 30th anniversary badge and the gold piping then last year's jacket, which is essentially the same, can be snapped up for less than £150. And that, my friends, is a stone-cold bargain.

Verdict

Really high quality hardshell with pro-level fit and performance