Best winter cycling jackets 2026 — beat the chill with a warm winter layer

The Altura All Roads Fleece is a comfortable and well-priced multi-purpose fleece that looks good and will keep you warm. Tester Bryn said, “It’s snug, warm and with good resistance to the elements when you’re riding – it’s also casual enough to use it when you’re off the bike and reasonably priced”. 

The body is made from a DWR (durable water repellent)-coated softshell, and with the High Loft fleece used for the upper section being naturally hydrophobic, the All Roads is a practical piece of clothing for changeable weather.

It’s a relaxed fit but has cycling-specific features such as back pockets and a slightly tapered waist. 

There is also a women’s fit option, and in our opinion it comes in slightly nicer colours.

Altura’s Grid Women’s Half Zip Softshell Hoodie is cosy, protective and versatile for all sorts of riding and outdoor activities, without looking too technical. 

The Altura hoodie is like a cross between a sweatshirt and a softshell jacket with a thermal grid fleece lining and is remarkably protective. It has a half zip at the neck, an adjustable hood with peak, zipped side pockets, a shaped tail and long stretchy cuffs. It also has reflective print patterns along the rear hemline, at the cuffs and on the chest.

It’s windproof and warm enough to use with a fairly thin top underneath until the temperatures start to drop. When they do, there’s room underneath for thicker baselayers, especially as the fabric is very stretchy. It was spot on even on very cold days around zero. The water-repellent treatment is very effective too, even keeping out heavy rain showers, though it’s not claimed to be a waterproof jacket.

Castelli’s Perfetto RoS 2 Jacket is a popular choice amongst road cyclists. It’s a great winter investment as well as being a brilliant bit of kit for the autumn and spring months, which helps to justify the price. 

What we have here is enough insulation for the autumn and spring in a jacket that is easy to pair with a heavier baselayer and thermal jersey on those extra cold winter days.

The water resistance is impressive too, seeing off heavy showers and road spray, while the lightweight design and breathability means that mild conditions won’t leave you a sweaty mess. 

The GV500 Insulated Jacket is great on and off the bike when it’s freezing or low single digits. It’s not designed to be waterproof but it will shrug off light showers. It’s also super lightweight and packs down to next to nothing when you need to stow it. 

The inside is a very bright safety orange but unfortunately, the main zip is not double-sided so you cannot easily turn it inside out (although I’m sure you could manage in an emergency). The orange side has no pockets, but at least you would be seen as opposed to blending in with the very nice, but super stealthy Action Man green colour.

Other features include two handwarmer pockets (one of which it can pack itself into), a double-ended zip, a snug adjustable hood and front and rear reflective markings. 

The Endura Pro SL 3-Season Jacket is an impressively versatile jacket with a well-designed venting system meaning it works really well across a huge range of temperatures.

It has a removable Primaloft gilet which clips into the jacket via three poppers and will keep you warm in temperatures down to -4°C with a jersey and baselayer underneath. If you remove the gilet, the jacket can cope with double-figure temperatures up to 16°C with the vents open. 

The clever shaping, quality construction and attention to detail all impress too and the waterproofing comes via a PFC-free water repellent finish which worked very well throughout the review period. 

Despite being a cheaper option, you get a lot of jacket for your money with the Galibier GrandTour jacket. It’s an excellent option with a great performance and a quality to rival some of the top cycling brands around. 

Tester Josh writes: “Immediately on receiving the jacket I was struck by the quality of the material and the cut – even more so when its modest price is taken into account. I’ve been blown away by the quality of the jacket, which is up there with those from the likes of Castelli and Rapha, but at a fraction of the price.”

This jacket does a great job of keeping the heat in and also features a pleasingly large reflective panel on the rear of the back, which is great for kit designed for the darker months of the year. 

Northern Irish brand Galibier has been quietly producing high-quality cycle wear at very competitive prices for some years now, and the Liberté jacket can certainly be added to the list of its successes. For the money, its light weight and insulation make it one of the best value packable layers on the market. 

It’s made with 100% nylon DWR-treated main fabric and 40g of recycled insulation, which our reviewer felt was just the right amount for a lighter layer. 

In fact, here’s our conclusion: “It’s packable, warm, light and minimal without compromising functionality, with a great, practical fit for cycling and a price tag that doesn’t make me cry out ‘how much?!?’.”

 Gobik is a Spanish brand and clothing provider for pro team Ineos Grenadiers and their Unisex Thermal Armour Venta Jacket is an excellent winter jacket that copes well with the harshest of conditions. 

Gobike says that the jacket is suitable for temperatures between -5 and 10°C, and tester Ben said that it’s warm and waterproof, has a great fit, and provides good breathability. 

Ben writes: “Upon opening the jacket, I was a bit worried about breathability because the Polartec Alpha lining looks incredibly warm. I needn’t have worried, though, as the material and the vents did a good job of regulating my temperature.”

The only downside is that it’s only available in black. 

Gore Tempest Women’s Jacket is made of Infinium windstopper fabric and a DWR treatment and is designed for day-to-day winter riding in all but the wettest conditions. 

The Tempest offers a pleasingly cosy ‘slim fit’ cut (the middle of three fit options) along with a mega-soft fleece interior. It follows body contours without being skin-tight, and produces clean lines with decent space for layers. 

Tester Janine said, “Put simply, the super-effective wind protection and attractive design of this jacket is easy to love. The fleeced inner is so plush that it serves up that bit of extra motivation for those cold, dark commutes – exactly what you want from a winter cycling jacket”. 

Le Col’s Womens Hors Categorie Jacket II is a very warm jacket that offers excellent protection from the wind and rain while still being breathable, but this quality doesn’t come cheap. 

I reviewed this one and was very impressed. The outer is made from Polartec’s Power Shield fabric, a bio-based material offering a defence against both wind and rain. It performed fantastically at keeping out the elements, with rain and road spray beading effectively while completely blocking out the wind.

It’s Polartec once again on the inside, in the form of its fleecy Alpha material. This feels very soft against your skin and kept me lovely and warm but without being sweaty.

The MAAP Atmos is an incredibly lightweight and minimalist winter jacket that will keep the worst of the weather off your shoulders while you’re working hard on the bike. 

It does come at a pretty hefty price tag, though, so best reserved for when it’s on sale or for those with deep pockets and the desire for high fashion. 

It’s just 150g in weight, and is as our tester put it, “fully waterproof and extremely breathable.” It also fits down into a jersey pocket, although doesn’t come with its own little stuffsack so you’ll have to get really good at rolling it up neatly so you don’t look like a turtle. 

The MAAP Training Winter Jacket is very impressive, offering excellent protection in a variety of conditions. It doesn’t come cheap and it’s exceptionally good – warm, comfortable, waterproof and well-made. 

Tester George said, “It kept out all the wind and rain that a winter in the Midlands could throw at it, and there were plenty of heavy downpours. Alongside the waterproofing it’s also impressively windproof.”

Despite it being warm and comfortable in even the most foul conditions, it maintains good breathability and ventilation. This semi-relaxed fit means it’s comfortable to wear in a variety of situations as you can layer up to suit making it suitable for a slightly nippy autumnal day or a bitterly cold winter blizzard. 

The Santini Adapt Multi – Jacket is a very lightweight jacket that can be worn in atrocious conditions. It’s wonderfully warm yet also breathable, and very good at keeping out rain.

The fabric chosen by Santini for the Adapt Multi is Polartec’s Power Shield Pro which represents the cutting edge of highly waterproof, thermally insulating and breathable material.

The design of the Adapt is a classic winter jacket – snug fit, high collar, generously-low hem at the back with gripper tape, and long sleeves to fully cover the wrists. The three back pockets are deep enough to swallow the largest of phones or a decent tool roll, and on the left pocket is a zipped pocket for valuables.

The Showers Pass Men’s EcoLyte Elite Jacket is one of the best waterproof, breathable, packable jackets on the market, making it a great choice for commuting in the British winter. 

It comes with great ventilation, a cut that suits all kinds of riding styles, and it’s packable too. You even get a removable hood for those atrocious weather days and it’s large enough to fit over the top of your helmet. 

In terms of construction, the outer face and lining are made from 100% recycled material, so it’s got some eco credentials going for it, and so are the zips on the vents and rear pocket. The three-layer fabric is coated with a DWR (durable water repellent) finish which sees the rain water and road spray just bead off even in long, heavy downpours. 

Stolen Goat has rolled some novel design ideas into the Alpine Epic to create a jacket that works extremely well for riding in cruddy weather, suitable for temperatures between -5°C and 8°C according to Stolen Goat. 

Tester John writes: “There’s something remarkably clever about the waffled/dimpled fabric Stolen Goat has used here. Wearing it, you know that it’s cold and wet outside, but that cold and wet doesn’t get through and seep into your bones. You’re isolated from it even if you’re not completely insulated”. 

The Alpine Epic’s fabric blocks the wind extremely effectively and insulates even when it’s damp. It has impressive water resistance too – light rains beads and runs off. 

The Velocio Women’s Alpha Merino Air Jacket has a fantastic warmth to weight ratio and works very well across a wide temperature range of dry weather conditions and light showers.

Tester Anna writes: “It fits wonderfully, feels delightful against the skin, and has excellent low-profile cuffs.” Alongside the windproof and water-resistant outer, Velocio has used a merino wool version of Polartec’s Alpha insulation inside the jacket, across the front, through the sleeves and around the collar. It’s incredibly soft and snugly, making this jacket a delight to wear.

It’s also still breathable enough for those fast and intense blasts thanks to the soft fleece-backed panel at the back. It’s made from 100% recycled polyester, which is a welcome nod to sustainability. 

And, there’s even a men’s version of the Velocio Alpha Merino Air Jacket which also received a 9/10 rating from our masculine reviewer.