Sportful Attitude Jacket

Sportful's new Attitude jacket is a good choice for a wide range of weather conditions with sufficient insulation down to a few degrees above zero, and good breathability when it warms up, all wrapped up with a great fit and smart styling.

• Pros: Great fit, warmth, breathable, protection from wind and light rain
• Cons: No zipped valuables pocket, could be more reflective

The Attitude is made from Gore Windstopper 4 Way Mid which provides excellent windproofing properties as well as being super-warm on chilly rides. As is common with many jackets made from Windstopper fabric, it has the fit and feel of a jersey, it's very comfortable to wear.

Fit in the body and arms is really good, with the cuffs arriving up close to my hands once pulled on and providing a nice wrap around my wrists. The torso fits well, the size medium fitting as generally expected of Sportful garments (and compares well to other brands) and it's helped by the stretch properties of the Gore fabric.

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Insulation is really good. That's just as well because there's only really space for a base layer underneath, I switched between short sleeve and long sleeve base layers to suit the conditions. Sportful gives a temperature range of 5 and 15 °C and my testing recently has taken in pretty much that entire range, and it copes well at both ends of it.

It's warm enough to fend off the harsh coldness of a pre-sunrise early start ride, yet it doesn't boil you when the sun is up and the temp is in double figures. Sportful has added an interesting little trick, the addition of an inner 3D mesh fabric inside the front panels extending up into the shoulders and around, that boosts insulation without compromising breathability. It seems to work, it definitely kept me snugly warm on some cold rides, but how much difference it makes compared to a similar jacket without is debatable.

Gore Windstopper's water resistant benefits are well-known. For light showers and passing rain, the fabric will keep you drier longer than a regular thermal jacket will. It won't stand up to really heavy prolonged rain though, but it'll fend off the rain for a reasonable time. It does buy a bit more time before going for a dedicated rain jacket, however.

All those key features are wrapped up with some nice details. The back of the collar is constructed from a mesh fabric to prevent overheating in this area, useful if you're going like the clappers and generating a lot of heat. There's an elasticated waistband lined and generous reflective details, three large pockets with the two outer pockets made from mesh, and a high-quality YKK main zipper. There's no zipped pocket for valuables though.

Plus it's a good looking jacket as well. I like the contrast angled stripe design and I love this 'fire red' colour option, it really stands out on the road. There's a more subdued grey and black if you prefer as well.

if you've got £175 to spend you've got plenty of jackets to choose from in any bike shop but the the Attitude's features and performance stack up well for the price, which sits it somewhere in the middle of the market below the likes of the Castelli Alpha RoS - which costs a hundred pounds more, or the Galibier Gino Pro Wind Jacket. If you want a Windstopper jacket there's the excellent Gore Power 2.0 jacket but that doesn't quite offer the same level of insulation for colder days.

The Sportful Attitude is a really good jacket though for dealing with the typical range of UK winter conditions and is well featured and designed.

Verdict

Warm and breathable winter jacket with top comfort, fit and style - good price too