The Look Excellence Jacket is the company's top-end winter jacket, It uses a soft-shell material to balance the competing demands of wind/waterproofness and warmth with breathability. The combination of the highly technical fabric with a slim, aggressive fit make it a good choice for all your winter needs, as long as you've got the cash to splash.
Tackling the fabric first, the Excellence is made from 'Resistex Carbon' which integrates carbon filaments into the weave. Supposedly, this improves the conductivity of the material which is claimed to improve both blood circulation and breathability. The former is a bold claim indeed, and without access to the study and data behind it, looks like a lot of marketing mumbo jumbo to this sceptic. Perhaps the claim could be true if the material was in close contact with the skin, such as on a pair of bibshorts, but this isn't the case for a winter jacket.
The second claim is a little more verifiable, but I didn't find the Excellence's wicking abilities to be any better than most other high end winter softshells. That is to say, they were perfectly adequate for the majority of time that you'd expect to be wearing such a jacket, but once the mercury crept into double figures, things would get a little clammy inside.
On the flip side, the fabric did a good job handling drizzle and minor rain, such that I rarely felt the need to bring along a waterproof jacket if it wasn't already raining at the start of a ride. All the prominent seams are taped on the outside which surely helps in this regard, and also adds to the jacket's quality feel.
On the inside, the fabric is lined with Super Roubaix which is soft on the skin and provides plenty of warmth. The Excellence is easily appropriate for temperatures down to freezing when wearing a warm base-layer and mid-layer underneath.
In my mind, the standout feature of the Excellence jacket is the fit, which allows just enough space for a couple of layers underneath without billowing out in the arms or creasing up over the belly. Unlike the Excellence bibtights (link), the sizing runs much truer to standard, if a little on the slim side for some. The body for instance is cut on the short side, while the arms are long – perfect for on the bike but it does suit a more athletic physique.
At both the waist and the wrists, liberal use of silicone dots keeps everything nicely in place and eliminates any potential draughty gaps from opening up. Another neat touch is the offsetting of the main zip at the neck, which makes it a lot more comfortable to zip all the way up when the weather dictates that all hatches must be battened down.
Together with the fit, it's little features like this that separate good jackets from the true top-end, and Look seem to have got it right with the Excellence.
Another of the jacket's distinguishing features are its pockets; more specifically its zipped pockets of which there are three: one located externally on the central rear pocket; one on the chest; and, unusually, one on the left forearm. This could have led to the jacket looking a little overcrowded, but credit where credit's due, it's all very tastefully done.
Though they're all quite small (the rear one will just about accept my Nokia Lumia 800 phone without its waterproof case), they're pretty useful for safeguarding notes, coins and the various other bits and bobs that you need for a long winter's ride.
In fact, the size of the pockets is my only real issue with the jacket. The central rear pocket is narrower than the two side pockets and is a tight fit for most modern smartphones. In its waterproof case, my Lumia 800 was a very tight fit, while a larger phone such as an S3 would only fit if it didn't have a case at all. The width is suitable for a pump, multi-tool and levers however, and perhaps even beneficial as it makes it less likely that something will fly out unexpectedly. Overall, it's not a deal breaker, but you might find you have change your storage preferences depending on where you like to put your bits and pieces.
Verdict
A top quality winter jacket with an excellent fit that goes some way to justifying its premium price tag.
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Look Excellence Jacket
Size tested: Medium, Black
Tell us what the product 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?
Apparently, the Look Excellence jacket is a "concentration of pure technology into a single garment". Bold words indeed. In practice, it's a softshell winter jacket designed to balance wind/waterproofness and warmth with breathability, making it a very versatile piece of kit to get you through the winter
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
FABRIC: RESISTEX® CARBON/SUPER ROUBAIX®
COLORS: BLACK WITH MONDRIAN ACCENTS
SIZES: XS/S/M/L/XL/XXL
FEATURES: HEAT-SEALED FRONT ZIP POCKET, WATERPROOF REAR ZIP POCKET, HEAT-SEALED SEAMS, SILICON SUPPORT BAND, REFLECTIVE MARKINGS
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
The jacket oozes quality.
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
A very versatile piece of kit that will see much use over a winter. Breathability could be improved with some pit zips or something similar for when temperatures creep into double digits.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
No issues so far and the quality of construction gives me confidence to say this will last a while.
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
Excellent fit that suits a more athletic body type. Just enough space for layers underneath without being flappy in the wind.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
Very expensive but justified by the performance and quality.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very well.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Fit.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Rear pockets on the narrow side.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Don't have the funds unfortunately.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Age: 22 Height: 190cm Weight: 69kg
I usually ride: Canondale EVO Red My best bike is:
I've been riding for: Under 5 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Semi pro
I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, mtb,
And tandems...
Better to keep your mouth shut and people think you're a prick than to open it so that people know you're a prick
Car crashes into wall behind Natwest in Winchester https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/24216676.photos-car-crashes-wa...
Standard driver responses - what a grim world view to go through life with, full of resentment and bitterness. ...
One way to find out is to put a member of the driver's family on the bike and ask them to repeat the manoeuvre.
I wasnt sure if the picture of the of the tunnel was a picture of a local canal somewhere or not......
The legal position has been pretty much settled since DDA in 1995 - reasonable adjustments. Though LTN 1/20 and Inclusive Mobility helpd determine...
This was in my local park and dogs are allowed off-lead. Cyclists are required to ride slowly and give due care and attention as it happens.
Something worth pointing out that's not mentioned in the article is with the Di2 buttons - the functions are not restricted to single presses, each...
My Cyclic Fly6 3 Gen is now 2 years old and the battery has continued its decline, it lasts just over 1 and a half hours, no light, no audio etc.,...