Lusso HT70 Jacket

The Lusso HT70 jacket is a properly LOUD high-visibility yellow with lots of reflective piping so it stands out, and despite the reasonable price, it's made right here in Blighty.

The tide of research and evidence has swung against lairy high-visibility colours in recent years, with studies finding that loud yellow doesn't necessarily make you any easier to see. But what has been established to be a Good Idea is reflective material in a jacket, and the Lusso HT70 has plenty of it.

Most of it's in the form of piping, which is a good way of spreading a small amount of reflective fabric around a jacket and so keeping the price under control. There's enough on the HT70 that it's just about impossible to find a position where car headlights don't pick up a flash or three of it.

The main structure of the jacket is made from waterproof, breathable polyester fabric. For this price you don't expect teabag levels of sweat transmission, but the HT70 isn't bad at all, and the mesh liner means you can wear just a short-sleeved base layer under it and still be comfortable. No clammy direct contact with the coating here.

If you do get too sweaty there are two side vents to let out the heat.

The fit is roomy. This isn't a sausage skin for racing snakes, it's a jacket for people who are normally proportioned. And that's office-worker normal, not cyclist normal. The size L fitted me fine even though I need to lose a few kilos.

The HT70 has no shortage of useful details. The collar and lower hem have drawstrings so you can snug out the chill without, in the latter case, the jacket worming elastically up to your waist.

The back is long, as you'd expect, but no so long that it feels silly off the bike. Assuming, that is, you don't feel self-conscious walking round Sainsbury's in high-vis.

Press-studs hold the flap over the main zip, a huge improvement on the usual Velcro, which always seems to get attached to itself, the lining or the cuffs. Said cuffs are Velcro, offer plenty of adjustment and are long enough to seal well over long gloves.

I especially liked the fleece lining in the collar, which makes it comfortable to snug up the drawstring and seal out the elements. It's a little thing, but it adds a welcome feeling of luxury to what is otherwise a very practical garment.

There are two pockets: a large one in the back and a smaller one on the chest, just about big enough for keys and a phone.

The liner and fleece collar do mean that this isn't a jacket that will roll up into a small saddlebag or jersey pocket, but then that's not the point. This is a jacket for putting on, riding to work in, and hanging up on your hook at the office. If the weather's better when you ride home, it goes in your rucksack or pannier.

And it does the job of commuting jacket extremely well. It keeps out the rain, stops you from getting too sweaty and feels very snuggly thanks to the fleece collar, which is worth a few entirely psychological degrees of unchill all on its own.

There are a couple of details that are surprisingly absent. There's no headphone port for listening to music when you're off the bike, and no loop for a blinky rear light. For the very reasonable price, though, I'm happy to overlook these minor faults.

Verdict

Well-executed commuting jacket at a very sensible price.