Santini Beta Rain Jacket

While the Santini Beta Rain Jacket is a bit of a misnomer (it's less a pure rain jacket than a showerproof windstopper), it's a great performer when conditions are changeable – a Castelli Perfetto rival for a little less money.

• Pros: Protection from elements, performance fit, breathability
• Cons: It's up against strong rivals from Castelli and Sportful, annoying chinguard

Here we go again: another jacket that tries to do it all. Claimed to be water-resistant, windproof and thermally regulating while, potentially, removing the need to layer up. From the outset, it's clear that this jacket is a rival for the likes of Castelli's Perfetto and Sportful's Light Wind jackets.

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The fact is that it does much the same job as those two excellent products. Where the Perfetto leans more towards the waterproofing side of things and the Sportful option arguably pushes breathability as its main focus through the fabrics used and their construction, the Santini Beta Rain jacket – ironically, given the name – feels a touch more like the Sportful than the Perfetto.

It uses a tri-layer Gore Windstopper fabric that features a DWR treatment for its water resistance, while also leaning on the three-layer construction to provide both insulation and water beading ability. To the touch, on the outside it feels a little more 'fabric'-like than the Perfetto, so I suspect that the Beta Rain Jacket might give up first, but not without a fight.

The brand itself claims 90 minutes of dry running in wet weather before it begins to let water sneak in – corroborated by use on the Trek-Segafredo pro team – and I can't disagree with that statement. Naturally, I took care of it to ensure that it remained water repellent, using a tech wash on a cool temperature.

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Handily, the layered construction means that there's a real physical barrier between your skin and water ingress, and I have to say that it's remarkably breathable too. Worn on its own with just a long-sleeve merino baselayer underneath, it really can be used in the mild autumn conditions we've had lately reaching into the mid-teens without getting that soggy feeling underneath.

Without getting into too much detail, I'm a bit of a sweater, so breathability is key for me. With that in mind, I find it a shame that it doesn't feature zip vents on the side flanks for when the sun does pop out and the rain stays away – even though it's not the end of the world with this fabric.

It also keeps the worst of the wind off, although I think that it's a little more permeable than its competitors. That makes it good for slightly milder conditions than the Castelli or Sportful options, but once again there's not much in it and it does much the same job.

The black rear panel is a slightly sturdier version of the Windstopper fabric, which is handy in this key area that's subject to road spray and muck. The pockets are, too, including the internal fabric next to the skin, which serves to protect the contents from water from both within and without. They're capacious and easy to reach into when you're wearing thin full-fingered gloves.

One omission is a zipped pocket for keys – in a jacket designed to protect you, you'd hope for one to protect your valuables too. I suspect this could be product designers keeping an eye on the competition – Castelli didn't include one with the Perfetto either, so maybe Santini felt it didn't need to here. Either way, I think it's a good idea to have one, especially if you might not wear a jersey with one underneath it.

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The collar is nice and high to help stop water sneaking down your back, and the sleeves are a good length to stop them riding up and ensure complete coverage. In the medium on test they were a few millimetres off being perfect on my long reach, and considering that I size between a medium and large, that's good going.

The zip is a sturdy waterproof model that, usefully, is easy to seat and do up and pull down on the move. Sometimes waterproof or sealed zips can be a bit of a faff to work, but not so here. The chinguard under the top of the zip is a bit big, though, and I actually found it a bit aggravating – certainly, I felt I needed to use a snood around my neck to stop it niggling at my skin.

Reflective seams that line the top of the pockets (in addition to a small logo in the middle of the back) add a little visibility in dark light, and tie off the Beta Rain jacket nicely.

All-in, you're asked £150 for the Beta Rain Jacket and in truth that's about the going rate for a jacket of this kind and this performance level. Certainly, that matches up nicely with the Sportful Light Wind Jacket, and undercuts the Castelli Perfetto.

If you're fixed at a budget of £150, then your decision will likely come down to the Sportful or this. With performance so similar, you really just need to get one on and try it for fit.

Verdict

A very good changeable-weather jacket that can hold a candle to comparable rivals in the market right now