Rapha Women’s Hooded Rain Jacket

The Rapha Women's Hooded Rain Jacket is a high quality, stylish way to keep the rain off while cycling. It's fully waterproof, breathes well, has a very flattering cut and looks the business. It does have a few annoying niggles, which are a little disappointing considering the price, but they don't detract hugely from what is an attractive and very effective jacket.

• Pros: Protection from the rain, stylish design, soft-feel fabric
• Cons: Stiffness of collar at the rear, no neat way to store the hood or drop-down tail

As you can probably guess from the photos, it's not a jacket for 100-mile sportives or even training rides, it's a round-town, wear-with-civvies-to-the-office/cafe/shops design, and at that it mostly excels.

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The matt finish fabric not only looks good, it has a lovely soft feel to it, which it retains after washing. It's also fully waterproof, with taped seams. To date, not a drop of moisture has got through. I've worn it in the rain, cycling and walking, and it's reassuringly protective.

A large flap covers the main zip, which is water resistant anyway, but again nothing has got through here, or into the two front pockets, which are also zipped and with large flap covers.

I was surprised by how breathable it is too, although for the price you'd hope it would be good. It's not a full-on, max-heart-rate-effort top, but it still needs to deal with the warmth that urban commutes or brisk rides to the cafe can generate. The fabric copes well, aided by tiny vent holes under the arms and your choice of layering for the conditions.

The fit is slim and flattering, and works well on the bike and off. There's plenty of length in the sleeves for when you're riding, so no exposed wrists, and if you need extra protection at the rear, there's a drop-down bright pink tail (with reflective Rapha logo), which poppers into place inside the rear when not needed.

There's room for some layering underneath the jacket, which you'll need on cold days as it's windproof but not insulated. There's no 'flappage' to speak of, though, and the sleeves in particular feel very slim fitting. They end in hidden elasticated but smooth cuffs, which seal out any cold breezes and slip easily into gloves, with the outer fabric forming a flap over the top, ideal for stopping any rain getting into your gloves. Your gloves will need to be quite slim fitting too, though.

Pink reflective strips on each outer cuff are a nice, discreet touch, though the only other reflective (other than the logo on the drop tail) is a centimetre square tag on the rear at the side. Useful, in an 'anything is better than nothing' kind of way.

The hood is a generous size, covering your head well, with a stiffened peak that sits out proud, protecting your face and even your glasses. It's designed to work under rather than over a helmet, but feels a bit restricted for my liking; I'd opt for a waterproof cap and tuck the hood away.

Which brings me to one of a few little irritations: how to tuck the hood away neatly. The simple answer is, you can't. You can roll it and popper it into place with the pink fabric strip that otherwise hangs loose inside the jacket, so the hood doesn't flap around while you ride, but it's not a particularly neat solution.

Similarly, the drop tail. Not the tail itself, which is really useful, but the execution. Held in place with just one popper (and I never trust poppers to last that long), it hangs quite loose either side, though I'm assured it doesn't actually show below the rear hem. But if it's got wet and possibly mucky and you then want to tuck it away, the wet and mucky bit will be held against your clothes. Unless you choose to leave it out, which isn't that fetching. On other Rapha jackets with such a tail you can zip them away into a pocket, which would be a nicer option here.

Another more minor but still slightly irritating point: the zip tags on the pockets are quite chunky, which is a good thing, but can get 'stuck' the wrong way up in the pocket and then be really hard to get hold of and move, especially if you're wearing gloves, and can result in swearing.

And finally, there's the slight irritation of the collar. It has what feels like a 5cm 'stiffener', which you can feel when riding, rubbing against the back of your head and interfering with a ponytail and/or helmet cradle. This is regardless of whether you have the hood rolled up or left loose. Again, it's not a huge problem, but it niggles on a £230 jacket.

> Buyer's Guide: The best casual kit for cycle commuting

Which, I suppose, is the biggest niggle of all: the cost. It's pretty expensive considering it's not a 'high performance' design. But then again, it is a high performance design: it's fully waterproof, doesn't make you all sweaty, and looks lovely when you're off the bike as well as on it. It's not designed for toiling up a French Alp, it's designed to keep you dry and fragrant and looking dapper, and at that it excels.

Verdict

An excellent jacket in so many ways, but with a few niggles you wouldn't expect for this money