Fat Lad At The Back Hexy Hybrid Blue Cycling Jacksey

Fat Lad At The Back's Hexy Hybrid Blue Cycling Jacksey, the 'Hexy Jacksey', is a long-sleeve, full-length-zip softshell that is well made and comes in a fun if slightly retro colour scheme and design. If the weather is dry and the temperature is hovering around double digits, it makes a decent outerlayer. In worse conditions, you'll have to combine it with judicious use of other under and outer layers.

• Pros: Windproof front is surprisingly effective, fun design, good fit
• Cons: Only very mildly water resistant, rear flap could be longer, my arms got chilly!

The Hexy is definitely more a general use spring/autumn jacket than a full winter garment. I took the Hexy for its first test on a day with 10°C ambient temperature, a slight breeze and intermittent drizzle – pretty much what FLATB says it can cope with. Underneath I wore just a very good baselayer.

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Considering how light is the Hexy's windstopper fabric, it put up a pretty good showing. I'd say those condition lie right on the limits of the jacket's abilities when teamed with just an underlayer – a jersey underneath would have been more comfortable. However, the Tempest fabric on the front did an excellent job of keeping the wind out and the drizzle at bay.

Unfortunately, Tempest is only used on the front (great if you're a recumbent rider), while micro-fibre fleece is specified for the Hexy's back. This feels wonderful to the touch but isn't much use when you find yourself hunched on an exposed interminable climb in soggy conditions. Probably the weakest area performance-wise, though, are the sleeves. Despite my baselayer having long sleeves, I quickly noticed a chill hitting what passes for my biceps.

Because the back is so airy, breathability is good. Sweat was wicked away efficiently and any dampness I suffered was environmental, not self-produced.

Fit

The Hexy's fit is very good and it was reassuring to know that my expected size suited me perfectly. This 46in chest version (the Hexy is available in up to 52in chests) comfortably clears my torso as expected yet doesn't exhibit any signs of undue bagginess. In terms of length, the front is pretty much bang on, and the slightly dropped tail is OK, but I wouldn't have minded it being slightly more pronounced.

The details are largely good, too. There's a zipped side pocket for valuables and three open rear pockets, all with reflective piping.

A tidy zip garage stops your chin (or chins) from being caught, and the very effective flap behind the zip helps with windproofing. Try as I might to fumble things, this flap refused to get caught in the zip during use, which is far from a given on full-length zipped jackets and makes life with the Hexy a lot easier.

Topping things off, a rather pleasant FLATB soft collar keeps your neck nice and warm.

With no faults to be found in its manufacturing quality, the only detail I'd mark the Hexy down on are the soft-touch stretch Lycra cuffs. They really don't need to be stretchy, because they're already super-baggy and let cold air in with ease. On cold or breezy days, it's a case of making sure the cuffs of your full-finger gloves go on the outside.

Design and value

Design is a very personal thing, and I'm not quite sure where I stand on the Hexy. With its geometric motifs, I'd say it's retro influenced. I'm not sure if my dad actually did have a cycling jacket like this back in the '80s, but he certainly could have done. You'd make quite a statement teaming it with an old-school banana helmet. I do like the colour, though.

As a lazy incompetent, I'm a definite fan of its washing instructions – something you might have to think about quite often if you regularly subject this light blue beauty to winter weather. Thankfully, things couldn't be much simpler. Machine wash at 30°C and no tumble drying. I've given it a couple of spins and everything is still fine and dandy.

> Buyer's Guide: 13 of the best winter cycling jerseys

Finally, value. The Hexy is a relatively simple jacket but it does what it sets out to do well. Combining that with its unique selling point – the fact that its sizes go from small fry 36in all the way up to 52in – means that the £100 asking price is almost justified. It's not as good value as, say, the Galibier Mistral we tested recently, but then few products are. That said, at this price it's a shame the Hexy doesn't have slightly better waterproofing or some thermal qualities.

Verdict

A simple but effective softshell jacket for larger lads; think of it as a comfy windproof layer and you won't go far wrong