The dhb Aeron Packable Jacket is incredibly light yet still stuffed with nice features, and it’s very comfortable even if you’re working hard. It’s great at keeping the wind out, but offers no rain resistance – something UK riders, in particular, might find an issue.
Despite being such a small and light jacket, this packs in enough features to make it a pleasant experience to wear, rather than just good for an emergency get-me-home layer. The cuffs are soft and fit snugly, and the inside rear of the neck has a wide strip of soft material to aid comfort.
The zip is double ended for easy extra ventilation/pocket access, the pullers have decent sized tabs and you get the obligatory zip dock at the top. The hem has a silicone gripper all the way, and there are reflective logos and accents on the rear and arms. There’s a good size hanging loop, too.
The material is pretty rustly, but thankfully the jacket is so snuggly cut it’s not really an issue (as part of dhb’s Performance range it’s supposed to be on the well fitted and racy side).
At 5ft 10in I’ve always been a Medium in cycling clothing, but I appear to be shrinking to a Small… according to dhb’s chart I’m a Small, anyway, and this proved spot on. If you’re in doubt or not of an Italian climber build, though, consider sizing up.
Off the bike the jacket feels weird – tight across the shoulders with a high front hem, a long tail and overall somewhat restrictive.
Get on the bike in a stretched tuck though and it all falls and fits beautifully in place.
The arms are long enough even in the drops (gappy sleeves are bugbear of mine, so yay for this), the neck is nice and high, and the front doesn’t ruckle up around your waist.
I really like the colour too, as it’s bright and visible without being ‘I’m A Cyclist’ yellow. There is an ‘I’m A Cyclist’ yellow version if you prefer (no black though, if that’s your bag).
> 11 of the best windproof cycling jackets – packable outer layers to keep out the chill
A mesh panel running the full length of the back and underneath each armpit confirms that this jacket has no pretensions to water resistance.
As the rest is polyester you can survive if you’re caught in a brief shower, at least, and the upside is it’s very breathable – even sprinting the last hill home didn’t get this clammy inside. You can feel them as slightly chillier areas at times though, and the armpit panels definitely let you know when the wind is coming in from the side.
Value
£60 is very cheap compared to our most recently tested wind jackets – the Assos UMA GT is £110, while the Santini Redux Vigor Men’s is a whopping £190.
The Bontrager Circuit Cycling Wind Jacket we tested in March is closer at £69.99, though it lacks the racy cut, while the Altura Airstream Windproof from last year is £49.99 and lighter (94g) even than the dhb. It’s slim too, though the Iwein found the sleeves tend to ride up and the zip is fiddly.
It’s worth bearing in mind that rain resistance might not cost you more – the Galibier Tempest Pro Jacket, for instance, offers an impressive wind/rain barrier and still breathes well for £59.44 (just 24p more than when we reviewed it!).
Overall
For early (dry) starts, late finishes or long descents, this is very, very good, and it folds almost unnoticeably into a back pocket. The cut is very snug there’s no flap, plus it’s very breathable – it’s a very lovely gossamer thing to slip on. The lack water resistance, though, rather limits its use in many real-world conditions.
Verdict
Svelte, comfortable and very packable windproof that’s brilliantly breathable, but only for dry weather
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road.cc test report
Make and model: dhb Aeron Packable Jacket
Size tested: Small
Tell us what the jacket is for and who it’s aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
dhb says: “Stash the dhb Aeron Packable Jacket in your jersey pocket to ensure cold winds don’t put a chill into your training. This super lightweight outer layer is extremely wind-resistant and highly breathable, ensuring maximum comfort.”
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the jacket?
Super-lightweight performance jacket
Easily packs into a jersey pocket
Mesh panels on back and under arms
Two Way Vision zip
High collar with tricot lining
Reflective details
Silicone gripper
Main: 91% Polyester 9% Elastane (Spandex)
Mesh: 93% Polyester 7% Elastane (Spandex)
For something so light it feels well put together.
Marvellous – it’s light, rolls up tiny, is a great barrier against chill and isn’t a sweatbox.
It doesn’t feel the sturdiest, but it’s holding up well so far.
Despite my best efforts it didn’t get sweaty; the mesh panels work well.
Very slender and snug.
The dhb size chart is spot on for a deliberately tight fit.
Small, packable and light, you won’t know it’s in your pocket or on your back.
The snug fit and thoughtful details really work for me.
How easy is the jacket to care for? How did it respond to being washed?
Hand washing in sports liquid caused no problems, and it doesn’t need it often.
Tell us how the jacket performed overall when used for its designed purpose
A perfectly light, packable, snug fitting breeze barrier.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the jacket
Packability, fit, all the little details.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the jacket
Limited water resistance means limited UK usefulness.
How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market including ones recently tested on road.cc?
£60 is very cheap compared to our most recently tested wind jackets – the Assos UMA GT is £110, while the Santini Redux Vigor Men’s is a whopping £190.
The Bontrager Circuit Cycling Wind Jacket we tested in March is closer at £69.99, though it lacks the racy cut, while the Altura Airstream Windproof from last year is £49.99 and lighter (94g) even than the dhb. It’s slim too, though the Iwein found the sleeves tend to ride up and the zip is fiddly.
It’s worth bearing in mind that some rain resistance might not cost you that much more – the Galibier Tempest Pro Jacket for instance, offers an impressive wind/rain barrier and still breathes well for £59.44.
Did you enjoy using the jacket? Yes
Would you consider buying the jacket? I’d prefer a bit of shower resistance; just a windproof seems outdated
Would you recommend the jacket to a friend? Yes
Use this box to explain your overall score
As a lightweight and packable jacket designed to keep the wind and chill off. the Aeron does a wonderful job. The tight unflappy fit and neat details make it a pleasure to wear. There are plenty of jackets that offer this and some measure of water-resistance, though, which is more usable in European climates.
About the tester
Age: 50 Height: 180cm Weight: 73kg
I usually ride: It varies as to the season. My best bike is: The one I’m on at the time
I’ve been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, cyclo cross, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, mtb, Fun
8 thoughts on “dhb Aeron Packable Jacket”
Lord give me the confidence
Lord give me the confidence to go out on a ride believing it wasn’t going to rain.
This isn’t for the UK market clearly.
There were a few days this
There were a few days this summer, during the middle of the period of the drought, when I left my goretex active jacket out of the bag.
When reviewing the
When reviewing the packability of a jacket or other garment it would be great if someone could mention this to the photographer and get a photo of the item in its packed formation!
And also to maybe sit on a
And also to maybe sit on a bike?
(at least a real human can do that, where a mannequin cannot).
On order now! Been looking
On order now! Been looking for about 2 years for a decent windproof and this one looks like it meets the mark. It’s great that it has no DWR; what’s the point of the stuff, it wears off so quickly anyhow and no doubt reduces breathability a bit. It’s not a 3 layer laminate, so nylon/ripstop type materials can never hold off rain for long with just DWR. It’s great that it has a mesh centre back. If it had DWR around the rest of the material it would be undermined by the rain going down your back through the mesh. I would prefer airflow through the back on a windproof over water repellency. And wonderful it has mesh under the arms too. My best Gore Windstopper jerseys have mesh on them too (Oxygen L/S and S/S and Alp-X Zip off). Contradicting what I said, these do have water repellent and are obviously laminated, and when it does rain I get wet through the mesh panels, but I use these in colder temps and thus appreciate the rest of the jersey has some repellency along with the laminate to battle the rain. However,on a ‘light weight, windproof’ I want maximum breathability with an exhaust vent. Great for the 2 way zipper too to allow wind up the midriff and out the back. On that note my Gore-tex Oxyen 2.0 is wonderful because of the double zips going from my kidneys down- perfect exhaust when so often the jacket it overcome by perspiration. I only have one jacket that has no exhaust- Gore Xenon Windstopper AS, superseded by the Gore Oxygen WS AS Light. These were advertised to be a packable race cape/windproof with 3L laminate and repellency to make them as water repellent as some so called waterproofs, but it’s a sweatbox unless using below about 6°C on windy days and even then I’m in the lightest weight mesh vest. Lastly, I saw a review on Wiggle moaning about the zips not being Castelli quality. Well Vislon (not Vision) is a YKK zip, YKK being the best zips available.
lbalc wrote:
And that is precisely why so-called breathable waterproofs are such a lie – as soon as the DWR gives up they’re just plain waterproof in the wet. Shakedry, of course, is different.
Yep- true
Yep- true
After purchase (see my
After purchase (see my original comments pre-purchse down below in comments)
Great jacket, that’s well thought out. Been looking for ages for a packable/nylon/ripstop type material. Always use Windstopper or non laminate softshells, but wanted something that was lighter and more breathable. Really impressed. Fit it very good. I’m 5ft 11″ and 37.5″ chest and 33″ waist, 82Kg. Size chart suggests I could squeeze into S but M was definitely a good choice. Not tight around the chest but a bit tight around the waist. Sleeve length is long which is perfect. Love the mesh around the sides (just below the arm pits) and centre down the back. Used it for the first time at 8°C and for the first time tried the 3 layer system: light mesh SS base layer, light thermal jersey and this jacket. If I’d done this with my Gore Windstopper Oxygen Jersey or Gore Xenon AS Windstopper Jacket, I would have cooked to death. On coldest days ( -3°) I would wear a thin long sleeve base layer under a Windstopper item, but have never tried a 3 layer system as again I would cook. Really like the Vislon YKK zip: wish more jackets did this two way zip, love being able to control air around my midriff. Like the reflective elements. Collar is soft and high. Fold it up back on itself into its own sleeve and it’s very small and compact. Maybe just one small improvement would be a bit of mesh on the underside of the sleeves, partially or fully up: then the sleeves could be tighter with less flapping around. Material does flap a fair bit but it’s a minor compared to the postives: breathability, warmth, looks and fit.
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