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review

dhb Aeron LAB All Winter Polartec Jacket

9
£180.00

VERDICT:

9
10
Brilliant race-cut jacket that stands up well to the winter elements
Weight: 
357g

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LAB is the high-performance range from dhb and this new Aeron LAB All Winter Polartec Jacket is designed for you to continue racing and riding hard throughout the winter months. A trio of fabrics keeps the elements at bay really well; it's not the perfect winter softshell, but it's pretty close.

  • Pros: Excellent race style fit, great balance of waterproofing and breathability
  • Cons: It's not cheap

dhb has chosen fabrics from Polartec to deliver the kind of properties needed for exercising hard through the winter weather. The front, shoulders and the outer arms (basically all of the blue bits) are made from NeoShell, which is a waterproof and windproof softshell material. It's placed in the positions on your body that are most likely to take a battering from the rain when you are crouched over in a race position.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - riding.jpg

It works really well, keeping the coldest of winds from penetrating, and water simply beads off the fabric as you ride. It'll get overwhelmed eventually, but only after hours of riding in the rain. I was genuinely impressed with its performance.

The rest of the external fabric is Power Shield Pro, which is a lighter weight softshell fabric than the NeoShell, to help aid breathability. It's used across the back, underarms and side panels, where it's not quite so much in the line of fire from the rain, so you can expel warm body heat easily. It's water resistant, so you still get some protection against the rain, and breathability is great: no matter how hard I rode I never felt overly hot or sweaty. As long as you get your layering right it works really well.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - shoulders.jpg

With a close cut fit, the LAB is intended to be worn with just a baselayer underneath, and with a recommended temperature range of 0°C to 12°C it's worth getting this right.

From freezing to about 5°C, I found that it worked best with a slightly thicker than usual long-sleeve baselayer, but I never found the need to go for a thermal one. Above that temperature I could easily get away with a thin long-sleeve layer or even just a mesh summer one if it was at the top of the recommended range, especially if I was going out for a very hard ride.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - chest.jpg

To make sure your core doesn't get cold, dhb has used Polartec's Alpha Direct as an insulator, the fleecy type material that you can see on the inside of the jacket. Just having it in those small sections with plenty of breathable fabric sections in between means it offers a great balance.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - inside.jpg

The LAB jacket is cut perfectly for those who are slimmer – with a cyclist's physique, as dhb calls it – and is designed to work on the bike rather than off it; it never felt tight or restrictive, and you can always go up a size if needs be.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - back.jpg

The sleeves are the perfect length for stretching out into the drops, and a close, elasticated cuff stops any draughts. The underside of the cuff is also cut at an angle which means it sits shorter than the upper. That means no material to get trapped under the heel of your palm while on the hoods, while the upper still offers plenty of coverage.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - cuff.jpg

The hem is kept in place by a silicone gripper, and there is plenty of length too.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - gripper.jpg

The rear is home to four pockets with three deep ones laid out in a traditional style and a fourth zipped one at the side for valuables.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - zipped pocket.jpg

The pockets are taut and are stitched in such a way that, when loaded, the bottoms sit proud of the main jacket to give a better shape, and they aren't pulling against the jacket. There are also drainage holes.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - pockets.jpg

Round the front you get a full YKK zip which disappears into a zip garage at the neck to avoid any irritation, although the neck isn't actually massively high in the first place, like with some winter jackets.

dhb Aeron Lab All Winter Soft Shell Jacket - collar.jpg

The neck itself doesn't have as close a fit as the rest of the jacket, and it can leave a gap between the fabric and your neck allowing cold air to flow in. I never found it a huge issue but another of our testers found that with his jacket he needed to wear a Buff when the temperature dropped.

When it comes to value it's a little pricey against some of the opposition, but in its defence it is very well made and the performance is excellent. Yes, it isn't completely waterproof like a hardshell jacket but it does a very good job, and the breathability is great too.

With an rrp of £180, it's up there with the likes of Shimano's £180 Evolve Wind Jacket and Sportful's Attitude for £175, though neither has any form of waterproofing.

> Buyer's Guide: 18 of the best winter cycling jackets

> Buyer's Guide: 21 of the best waterproof cycling jackets

> Buyer's Guide: 11 of the best windproof cycling jackets

It is £30 more than the excellent Lusso Aqua Extreme Repel V2, though, which offers brilliant breathability, waterproofing and fit for its £150 price tag.

Despite that, I really rate the dhb LAB jacket. The fabrics work really well; the waterproofing is perfectly acceptable for the type of riding it's designed for, and once the rain does eventually get through you continue to stay warm anyway.

And if you don't like the navy colour, it's available in a dark green and bright red.

Verdict

Brilliant race-cut jacket that stands up well to the winter elements

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road.cc test report

Make and model: dhb Aeron LAB All Winter Polartec Jacket

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the jacket is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

dhb says, "The Aeron LAB All Winter Polartec Jacket combines three advanced Polartec® fabrics to form the perfect winter softshell for pushing the pace in harsh conditions. Balancing protection, breathability and thermal regulation with a performance fit."

I think it is a great all-round winter softshell.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the jacket?

dhb lists:

Winter Softshell Jacket designed for tempo riding through cold weather

Recommended Temperature Range: 0-12 Celsius

Three advanced Polartec® fabric technologies combined

Close performance fit

YKK® Zip with reflective trim

Reflective details on arms and back

4 rear pockets including secure zip pocket

Wide silicone hem gripper

Weight: 344g (Medium)

Information

Back: 100% Polyester

Lining: 100% Polyester

Main: 55% Polyamide(Nylon), 45% Polyester

Product Data

Road: Yes

Rate the jacket for quality of construction:
 
9/10
Rate the jacket for performance:
 
9/10
Rate the jacket for durability:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for waterproofing based on the manufacturer's rating:
 
7/10
Rate the jacket for breathability based on the manufacturer's rating:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for fit:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for sizing:
 
8/10

dhb says, "If you have an athletic cyclist's physique and want this performance feeling, we recommend you go for your dhb normal size. For larger-framed riders or those wanting the fit of dhb Aeron kit , we suggest you go up a size."

If you follow the size chart and that advice above, you will be fine.

Rate the jacket for weight:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for comfort:
 
8/10
Rate the jacket for value:
 
6/10

How easy is the jacket to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

A 30 degree wash keeps things clean and fresh with no issues.

Tell us how the jacket performed overall when used for its designed purpose

A pleasure to wear in pretty much any winter weather conditions.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the jacket

Highly breathable.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the jacket

Don't take the waterproofing claims literally...

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's a lot of money, but is actually pretty good value against some jackets at the same price that don't offer any waterproofing. It is £30 more than Lusso's impressive Aqua Extreme Repel V2, though.

Did you enjoy using the jacket? Yes

Would you consider buying the jacket? Yes

Would you recommend the jacket to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

Excellent quality and performance, with the perfect cut for those who like to ride hard through the winter months, although there are some cheaper options out there.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 40  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: B'Twin Ultra CF draped in the latest bling test components

I've been riding for: Over 20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

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9 comments

Avatar
santic | 4 years ago
0 likes

This jacket sounds impressive and polartec has a great technology. I do have one question though. Does this jacket have  any DWR coating?

Avatar
sammutd88 | 5 years ago
0 likes

It’s a tough decision for dhb. They’ve always offered good value and decent quality. Now they’re going down the road of using materials from Polartec, and trying to mix it with the Sportful, Castelli (same thing) and even Rapha. It’s inevitable that pricing has to increase with the materials used, all it means is that at the middle to higher end, there is now more choice. That is....as long as the quality matches up. I applaud DHB for having a crack, they did a similar thing the last year with merino jerseys, which didn’t really work out by reading reviews. Maybe they should stick to value pieces. We shall see!

Avatar
L3gion | 5 years ago
0 likes

I don't think I've got short arms (as most other brands fit fine) but I found the sleeves way too long, they even look very long and rucked up around the elbows on Ash in the pics.

Pity, as I like the idea of the jacket but the fit wasn't as good as I'd have expected given the price point.

Avatar
Truffl3Shuffl3 | 5 years ago
0 likes

Agreed, my previous experience with DHB is that in general it's good quality, but isn't quite up there with the usual 'premium' brands, so I'm really interested to know if this new premium priced stuff is better. I guess it's a lot of money for any cycling garment in reality, but I'm prepared to spend if it turns out to be a worthwhile investment.

Avatar
rjfrussell | 5 years ago
1 like

" Either way, it's a lot of money for DHB..."

 

I guess it's tough for the brand-  they have been so competitive on price historically that they are still seen as a "discount" brand, so that even if the product is as good as, or better than, "premium" brand equivalents it will not be seen as being as good value or as desirable.

Avatar
Prosper0 replied to rjfrussell | 5 years ago
0 likes
rjfrussell wrote:

" Either way, it's a lot of money for DHB..."

 

I guess it's tough for the brand-  they have been so competitive on price historically that they are still seen as a "discount" brand, so that even if the product is as good as, or better than, "premium" brand equivalents it will not be seen as being as good value or as desirable.

umm, it’s not tough on them at all. They have positioned themselves as a value brand. As such they need to continue to deliver products at a price of better value than established premium brands or they fail. Good value is not the same as desiredable. 

Avatar
Truffl3Shuffl3 | 5 years ago
1 like

Do you have the DHB Aeron Rain Defence Polartec jacket in for review yet? I'm currently mulling over getting either the All-Winter jacket and leaving it at that, or going for the Rain Defence and pairing it with the DHB Polartech Aero Alpha gilet for a slightly wider range of temperatures and weather and more flexibility, but am unsure.  Either way, it's a lot of money for DHB, though I get the Polartec stuff is very new and high end.

Avatar
dave atkinson replied to Truffl3Shuffl3 | 5 years ago
0 likes
Truffl3Shuffl3 wrote:

Do you have the DHB Aeron Rain Defence Polartec jacket in for review yet? I'm currently mulling over getting either the All-Winter jacket and leaving it at that, or going for the Rain Defence and pairing it with the DHB Polartech Aero Alpha gilet for a slightly wider range of temperatures and weather and more flexibility, but am unsure.  Either way, it's a lot of money for DHB, though I get the Polartec stuff is very new and high end.

yeah we do have it, currently being tested

Avatar
Truffl3Shuffl3 replied to dave atkinson | 5 years ago
0 likes
dave atkinson wrote:

yeah we do have it, currently being tested

 

In that case, I shall hold off on the purchase until then! Many thanks.

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