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review
£129.99
VERDICT:
A good looking workhorse for winter riding; soft yet strong
Weight:
364g
Contact:
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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The Santini Rebel Winter Jacket is the Italian company's foray into cold-weather winter riding, and as such it does a sterling job, holding back the worst of the elements while keeping the rider in comfort underneath.
The Rebel is a wind-proof and water-resistant winter jacket, suitable for those rides that hover around the zero mark on the thermometer, and in use I've been able to get down to those temperatures without having to apply copious layers underneath - a base layer and summer jersey will see you to zero with ease.
It's relatively breathable; the thick Warmsant fabric keeps heat in while allowing vapours out nicely, and the fleece inner lining provides some extra comfort against the skin. Cuffs are elasticated, tight without being constrictive, forming a good closure to keep the wind out.
To the rear is a nod to safety with reflective piping, although Santini don't really go overboard with this. There are three rear pockets, but no zipped valuables pocket. To me that seems a bit of an oversight as they are so darned useful, especially in a winter jacket where you'll most likely be fumbling in the pockets with thicker gloves.
My sample came in a black and white, with black being a staple colour, there are variants with blue or fluoro yellow, should white not to be your taste. It washes well so the winter road gank shouldn't be staining the jacket.
It's clearly designed for colder rides, with the only ventilation coming from opening the main zip at the front. A vent at the sides or the sleeves would come in handy; this is a warm jacket so overheating can be a bit of an issue without any outlets.
Overall however it's a very proficient winter jacket, able to keep the wind and rain at bay. It's certainly not waterproof, but will keep drizzle at bay for hours. In the cold temperatures its provides warmth and shelter for the committed rider to keep Jack Frost away. Paired up with a Craft Windstopper Base layer it can cope admirably from minus two up to about eight degrees Celsius without any additional assistance.
A good looking workhorse for winter riding.
Verdict
A good looking workhorse for winter riding; soft yet strong
road.cc test report
Make and model: Santini Rebel Winter Jacket
Size tested: medium
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?
Wanting to ride throughout the winter but scared of the cold? Fear not, the Santini Rebel will be your able assistant. A great heavyweight winter jacket at a good price.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
Winter jacket made of double layer Warmsant fabric. Water resistant and wind-proof on the outside, very light, soft and warm thermofleece on the inside. Extra comfort and breathability courtesy of the internal mesh lining, suede inside collar with zip garage. Triple back pocket. Rear reflective piping and SMS logo for safer riding in the dark.
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Despite my hardest efforts to operate in clumsy gloves the jacket has withstood my inelegance well, no snags or pulls anywhere.
Rate the product for performance:
9/10
For cold, damp weather it's been a fantastic performer.
Rate the product for durability:
8/10
No signs of anything likely to malfunction in the near future.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
7/10
It's no lightweight item, but it's certainly not aimed to be; what it is, is a solid winter jacket.
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
9/10
Excellent option for colder riding.
Rate the product for value:
8/10
Not cheap, but a good performer - more than justifying its price tag.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
In cold, damp weather the Rebel has been an able performer - keeping the worst of everything away.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
It's cocoon-like ability to keep the rider warm inside.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The lack of zipped rear pocket was an irritant to me, especially with winter gloves on.
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Yes.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
With a zipped rear pocket this would be an outstanding jacket, as it stands its still more than competent and able to keep the winter at bay.
About the tester
Age: 37 Height: 176cm Weight:
I usually ride: Rapide RC4, Raleigh SP Race, Hoffman BMX My best bike is: Rapide RC4
I've been riding for: 5-10 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, touring, sportives, general fitness riding, Adventure-packing, crossing-countries
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7 comments
Sorry to bang on about it, but I'm really interested in the jacket so I have been trying to find out a bit more info about it.
This is where you should link to: http://www.santinisms.it/products/jackets-mens/rebel/
It takes me straight to the product, answers all my questions about sizing, colour options, technical build, and jacket care, and lets me find my closest stockists easily - in an instant - seems to be world wide too!
Compare the user experience of the Santini site to that puerile Fisher site you have linked to (it doesn't even have the jacket listed!) - which do you think is a better experience for road.cc visitors?
Yes, the link is generally the distributor who sent the item in for review. Road.cc isn't responsible if they have a crap website (and Fisher are certainly not the only offenders!)
If you want to buy it and not navigate their website, Google is your friend, although there too it will help to get the manufacturer's name right.
Do this instead...
For more information or to find a retailer, visit:
www.fisher.co.uk/santinirebel
The link should go to a page where I can see more information on the product and easily find retailers local to me.
And pressure fisher into fixing that user experience - particularly of finding retailers (the first message you get is always something like "There are no retailers of this product in Great Britain" - It took me a few months to realise I need to put my postcode in there, and I'm not an idiot, I've worked for some of the biggest tech companies in the world). Because as I say - the amateurishness stains.
I don't doubt your cv, but your ability to copy and paste a link is questioned - fisher.co.uk is something else altogether ...
That fisheroutdoor website is utter kak, you shouldn't link to it because by association it's amateurishness is a reflection on road.cc.
So, I follow your link, which goes to their homepage (rather than the product you are reviewing). I then click 'public' up the top, I then do a search for ''Santini Rebel Winter Jacket'. No results. I try a bunch of variant searches like 'Santani rebel', just 'rebel' etc. Still no results. So I end up browsing through all Santani jackets (after having to filter through 3 or 4 different names for Santani - none of them just 'Santani'). And its not even there!
Don't even get me started on the appalling experience when you do (by some miracle) find a product you are interested in purchasing.
You should be making it easy to purchase the products you review. You're making it such a frustrating experience that I'm giving up.
Surely it is normal for a review to link to the main distributor or importer (UK in the case of a UK website) It would be grossly unfair to link to one retailer ahead of others. On the linked site it took me about 20 seconds to get a list of over 60 retailers within travelling distance from home.
Alternatively it took less than that to google the jacket and find a number of reputable online retailers offering the jacket.
Reviews are surely an assessment of a product, not an advert, and Roadcc is maintaining its reputation for fair reviews by doing this correctly.
How did you get a list of 60 retailers? When I search or browse for it they say 'no products found'. What did you search for?
Yes, I know I can google it. I was trying to do road.cc a favour in terms of sale & traffic attribution.
Reviews are indeed an assessment of the product, but surely road.cc's main focus should be on keeping its users happy rather than a company that sends them products to review. Everything they do should have their user's experience at the forefront of their minds. If they must link to the distributor they should make it clear that that is what the link is and it should go to the product they are reviewing. In this case they should also make it clear that I shouldn't waste my time clicking it if I want to find out more about the product....as it doesn't actually exist there.