Rivelo Men’s Garsdale Jacket

The Rivelo Garsdale is one of the best performing softshell jackets on the market – its great waterproofing, breathability and quality features make it hard to ignore.

Let's get stuck in with the best feature of the Garsdale: its fabric. It's a premium blend from Swiss manufacturer Shoeller called C-Change softshell. It's right up there with the very best on the market. Water doesn't just bead off, it hits the jacket and almost bounces off. On a wet ride where the rain came and went on multiple occasions, the Garsdale kept me completely dry all day.

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The C-Change fabric is also very breathable – in the order of industry standard Gore-Tex. Never once did I feel overly sweaty, and the cool fabric against my skin only helped to reassure me it was doing its job well. It helps that the C-Change fabric is a quick drying formula, because the jacket is able to work at peak efficiency soon after one shower has cleared and another has come in.

As well as being waterproof and breathable, the fabric is superbly windproof, doing without an internal fleece layer to allow the jacket to work as efficiently as possible. This was fine on all but sub-zero days, when I would opt for a long-sleeve merino baselayer instead of my usual lightweight sleeveless choice, to add that extra bit of warmth I felt I needed.

The Garsdale's technical fabric is backed up with great features. The three rear pockets are spacious, and the two additional zipped pockets – one on the rear, one on the breast, with YKK zips – are weatherproof, with no wind or water leaking through at any point. You can trust your valuables to them, that's for sure.

Cuffs are double layered, resulting in a nice seal between your skin and fabric and helping to reduce draughts up your arms. That doesn't mean there's nowhere for the warm air to go, though, because alongside the breathability of the fabric, the underside of the armpits feature laser-cut holes for extra thermal regulation.

My only criticism of the double-layered cuff is that it felt slightly high on my arm when I first pulled the jacket on, as if the sleeves were slightly too short in the medium, which fit perfectly elsewhere. However, this is an issue I often have with jackets, and I stopped noticing after a while because the outer cuff does extend slightly over the top.

Also, in fairness to Rivelo, it does say this is a performance-cut jacket and advises you to size up if you want more room or you sit between sizes; but it's the cut that really makes the Garsdale work so well in my opinion, so I'd recommend trying to stick to your normal size for best performance.

One thing to bear in mind is that unlike some softshells, such as Rapha's Classic, you can't really get away with wearing it as a casual garment off the bike – the cut is severe enough that I really think this is a bike-only deal.

Other useful design features include a tapered neckline for better insulation, and a long storm cover back to protect your rear from road spray. It also has small reflective logos scattered about for extra visibility on gloomier days or at night. The storm guard tail has a reflective Rivelo embossed in the centre, which to my mind is tasteful and stylish too.

The performance of the jacket from new is so good you'll want to look after it. Washing it on a delicate setting with a good technical wash and reproofer has kept the fabric working as new, while the shape has stayed the same.

This is also testament to the quality of the jacket's construction – I can see it lasting years without deteriorating under regular winter use, with the flatlock seams holding strong throughout all my testing.

> Check out our guide to the best winter cycling jackets here

I expected a garment of this quality to be expensive and I was right. Its RRP of £215 broadly matches it up with Rapha's Classic Softshell and equivalents from the likes of Castelli and Gore. It's a premium price, but this is a premium jacket with premium performance, so fair enough I think.

Having said that, online sports discount store Sport Pursuit currently features the Garsdale (and most of Rivelo's wider range) at a 53 per cent discount (£99.99), in both full black, and black and red colourways. It's a top softshell jacket at full price, but at that price it's an absolute steal.

Verdict

The Rivelo Garsdale is a top softshell jacket, make no mistake