Altura Nightvision Zephyr Men’s Stretch Jacket

The Altura Nightvision Zephyr Men's Stretch Jacket combines protection from the elements with plenty of reflective detailing. The relaxed fit makes it hugely versatile, both on and off the bike, and it comes in a range of bright colours. It could do with a few more vents, really, and a detachable hood would make it better for faster riding.

The Zephyr is designed for use both on and off the bike, with a cut and fit aimed more at the urban end of the market, I'd say, and for this kind of riding it offers a good performance.

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You get plenty of length in the sleeves so your wrists don't get exposed when reaching forward to the handlebar, and a slightly dropped tail to give you some rear end coverage.

With a 10k waterproof rating thanks to the fabric and taped seams, it'll cope with heavy rain for at least a couple of hours. Breathability is rated at 5k, and riding along at a steady pace won't see things heat up too rapidly, helped by the vents along the back panel.

Push up the pace a bit, though, like on a training ride, and it could really do with some zipped vents under the armpits as you can can get quite sweaty, quickly. (On its website Altura lists underarm vents as a feature of the jacket, but it doesn't have any.)

Going out on my road bike early in the morning with temperatures around 5°C, I found that I could only really wear a summer baselayer at my normal training pace. I get that this isn't exactly what the Zephyr is aimed, I'm just trying to give some sort of idea about its limitations.

I found the cut great for riding on longer routes on my gravel bike, especially when loaded up with bikepacking kit and taking a more relaxed sort of approach.

Also, should you need to get off the bike to walk anywhere or to set up camp you are still well covered from the elements, especially thanks to the coverage of the hood.

It's a shame it's fixed, though, because when riding the hood can fill up with air, which can get a bit irritating. Being able to remove it or roll it up would be a bonus.

Altura's Nightvision range is all about being seen and the Zephyr has an array of reflective dots all over the light blue sections which cover the chest and arms. There are two other panels too, one either side on the lower back.

In daylight it all looks pretty subtle, but shows up well when light falls on it after dark.

The overall quality of the Zephyr goes a long way to justifying its £120 price. It looks to be very well made with a quality finish throughout.

> Buyer’s Guide: 16 of the best high-vis cycling jackets

It compares well with something like Chrome's Storm Signal Jacket; Matt wasn't overly impressed with its breathability either and it's £20 more.

It's not as good value as Galibier's Courchevel Storm Jacket, though, which follows a similar design but is slightly more waterproof and scores well on the breathability front. It has an rrp of £92.40.

Conclusion

For steady urban riding I think the Zephyr is a decent jacket; it just about copes on the breathability front while offering great waterproofing. If you find yourself outside in the dark as well, you'll be glad of all of those reflectives. For other types of riding you'll get on fine with it on all but the most vigorous, as long as you layer up carefully.

Verdict

Not the most breathable jacket, but versatile and impressively waterproof