Windproof jacket

We tested the Rohan Elite Stormer jacket some time ago, and while we liked the performance of the fabric, we had our reservations about the slightly upright commuter cut. It's a similar story with this lightweight Windrider jacket, but the fit doesn't seem to matter so much here. Anyway, it's a pricey but well-conceived windproof with some standout features, most notably its performance in the rain.

Scott's Helium Plus is a very good jacket for the cold weather, offering windproof insulation and water resistance in an athletic cut.

The Helium Plus is made mostly of a soft Windstopper material from technical fabric-specialists Gore. It justifies its name by preventing cold air getting through while the inner face is Superroubaix soft, fleecy, deep pile polyester that provides a whole lot of warmth.

The Turbulence jacket from dhb (the in-house brand from on-line superstore Wiggle) is a lightweight windproof top that's an ideal outer layer for cycling on cold days, and it easily packs down small enough to stuff in your back pocket if the weather should turn balmy while you're out on your bike.

Polaris started life as a small outfit making mountain bike clothing about two decades ago, and since then has also branched into other cycling worlds, with the RBS range of clothing aimed at the road and commuter markets. The range includes this RBS Jacket. And a very nice piece of kit it is too.

A lightweight windproof is an incredibly useful piece of cycling kit and the Vento from OneTen is a solid option.

The Vento is made from polyamide (nylon) and it stops the wind stone dead. That means it's handy pretty much all year round bar the height of summer. It takes up about half a jersey pocket and weighs just 86g so it's easy to carry.

Put the Vento on when the temperature drops and it makes a huge difference to your warmth. Remove cold wind from the equation and you retain much more of the heat that your body generates.

First things first: well done Endura, I like the name,"Pakajak", sounds like "Crackerjack", and indeed "Snack-A-Jack" so we've got off to a decent start. Apart from that, the Pakajak is a lightweight windproof that's also showerproof and easily stowable, which are other good features.

The Rapha Wind Jacket (formerly the Stowaway Jacket) is made from a windproof, water resistant and extremely breathable 100% Nylon fabric, the cut of its jib is classic cycling with a long-cut back for a better fit on the bike and a dropped tail too, the sleeves are tailored and long enough to be stretched in the drops without wrist-gap creeping in.

I got very excited, along with probably every other lycra loving lady in the UK, when I heard that Rapha, the Gucci of the cycling world, were bringing out a range of women’s specific clothing. Rapha has long been a name associated with style, quality, and ahem, price, and I was delighted to have a look at the women’s range to see if it came up to the standard of the men’s.

Rapha Women's Stowaway jacket

Rapha Women's Stowaway jacket - pocket