British clothing company Altura have just sent over some details of their latest autumn and winter range, which includes the Vapour and Podium jackets and Raceline Gilet.
Altura might primarily been known as a company that does solid kit at a reasonable price pitched at the commuting market, but they’ve been branching out into performance road cycling market in recent years and that continues with these three garments. They all utilise the company’s proprietary React fabric, which it says has enabled them to “produce lighter, more breathable, winter garments.”
The Vapour (£119.99) is a lightweight waterproof jacket made from a 2.5 layer fabric with a close fitted cut and it is designed to be worn for longer stints, but it’s also packable enough that you could roll or scrunch it up into a jersey pocket when the rain eases. It’s available in five sizes and two colours, red or black.
The Podium (£99.99) is much more an emergency jacket than the Vapour with a very breathable and waterproof React fabric. It features stretch panels to ensure a good fit with stretch cuffs, and lots of reflective details to help you stand out on the road. It’s available in six sizes.
Finally, the new Raceline gilet (£49.99) uses the React Light fabric for for a windproof and waterproof torso protector. It’s a performance fit, but with five sizes available it should accommodate most cyclists, with stretch panels to keep it all snug around the sides. Small enough to pack away, but it does look like the sort of gilet you could pull over a long sleeve insulating jersey to give you a bit more protection from the elements.
Seems no new product release is possible without a slick promotional video, so here’s the Altura autumn/winter clothing edit from Altura.
More on the entire range at www.altura.co.uk
20 thoughts on “Altura launches new Vapour and Podium jackets for the autumn and winter”
In my head, I know that the
In my head, I know that the Vapour is an excellent jacket which was comfortable when I tried it, but in my heart, I know it’s from a brand of clothing worn by people on flatbar bikes who I overtake every morning, without fail.
s_lim wrote:…who I overtake
Do they know they are in a race? Or are you just preying on easy targets? :))
Lovely photos and videos here. Great to see a brand celebrating our own countryside in their pictures.
midschool wrote:s_lim
Ha, if only they were racing. I have one speed, they have another; they’re just not mutually compatible.
s_lim wrote:in my heart, I
Possibly the snobbiest comment I’ve ever read on here, and that’s saying something. Altura is great, it’s a brand that offers commute performance without the price tag that would have your wallet emptied if you crashed.
And I don’t ride a flatbar bike. Or get overtaken.
YorkshireMike wrote:s_lim
Possibly? no doubt about it in my mind.
Nowt wrong with Altura’s clobber at all. And while the stuff is almost certainly made in the far east, they are a British firm. I ride flat and curly bar bikes and sometimes get overtaken.
You could just buy Rapha who
You could just buy Rapha who will replace your clothing if you crash. 😉
musicalmarc wrote:You could
You’ve stirred the hornets nest now!
glynr36 wrote:musicalmarc
You would need to crash 3 time just to break even though. :))
Think a podium has just gone
Think a podium has just gone on the shopping list. =D>
I’ve only just bought a
I’ve only just bought a Vapour, 1/2 price from Evans, and it’s a brilliantly made piece of kit with the added bonus of being British.
Time to confess to
Time to confess to something.
I got overtaken by someone in one of those hi-viz Altura commuter jackets earlier this year. He was on a Brompton…
I believe the normal penance for this is five ascents of Box Hill.
Looks like more great kit
Looks like more great kit somewhat spoilt by an unimaginative choice of colours. Black & red, Black & red, Black & red Black & red !
It would have been nice to have seen third colour choice in a brighter shade. It seem sto me the two clothing choices manufacturers give us are Hi-viz & commuter fit or black & race fit. I ‘ve been looking for a decent hi-viz racefit jacket & gilet for ages, difficult to find other than rapha….
sorry moan over, altura make some ace kit, in fact I have a lovely hi-vis commuting jersey for those unofficial morning races!
Coodsta wrote:Looks like more
Particularly since these are aimed for conditions when light is more likely to be poor. I little bit of reflective piping is a poor substitute for decent viz cloting.
Both are pretty much
Both are pretty much pointless, of course. if colour or reflectives are coming into play, you need *lights*.
andyp wrote:Both are pretty
indeed, and i ride with lights on pretty much all the time in winter, but i’d still prefer to wear something bright & reflective as well. I’ve been knocked off my bike several times by drivers & these days I like to do as much as possible to minimise that happening again.
Let’s hope the logos don’t
Let’s hope the logos don’t peel off after 2 weeks, which has always been my experience with altura…
Anyone ID the road in the
Anyone ID the road in the advert? Looks amazing.
Honister pass, from
Honister pass, from Buttermere.
The Vapour is £72 in Evans
The Vapour is £72 in Evans just now.
I like Altura stuff. Works okay, and the shirts are cheap enough to replace every two or three holidays, just right for us rough tough alpine cycle tourists.
New logo looks a bit like the Aldi logo though, not their smartest move! <:P
From what I’ve read, the most
From what I’ve read, the most important thing at night is lights and retro-reflective clothing. Retro-reflectivity seems to be a lot more imporant than colour, for night. Though, with retro-reflectivity, a brighter colour can still help over a darker one.
A fairly comprehensive meta-study, with links to lots of primary studies: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457503000083
Though, there’s a lot of room for more and better data.