Altura

In an arena where increasingly the sky seems to be the limit for price the Altura Blitz, a fully waterproof, lightweight, cycling specific jacket for £59.99, has got to be worthy of serious consideration. And it's purple.

The Altura Pocket Rocket is the lightest, least frills waterproof jacket in the Altura range. It packs away really small, weighs next to nothing (110 grams for size medium - without stuff sack - 128g with) and is - surprisingly - actually waterproof.

Features include a (non-waterproof) full-length zip, a full-length stormflap, some reflective trim and detailing and thumb-loops. I'm not sure I see the point of the latter, but they didn't get in the way when not in use, so didn't bother me.

Available in long or short-sleeved versions, Altura's Thermocool base layer has radically improved my default perception of man made, mid priced technical wear.

Altura Night Vision socks represent fantastic value for money when you consider they're both technical garment and visibility aid in one.

Altura's Ergofit range of clothing is designed to be body-hugging - either for comfort, style or aerodynamic reasons - and these short-fingered cycling gloves (or mitts) are no exception.

To create the close fit, the mitts have a Lycra back, and a stretchy synthetic leather palm. Although they're close-fitting, they're not too tight, and are very comfortable to wear. The material along the outside edge of the thumb is softer, for wiping glasses, forehead or nose (but ideally not all three).

As their name implies, Altura children's winter cruiser tights are scaled down versions of the adult longs. Looser cut and double seat means they transcend the road, mtb and cross genres while timeless and ultra practical black peppered with Scotchlite reflectives keeps them neutral enough for running, football and similar activities.