Proviz City Men’s 100% Reflective Commuter Cycling Jacket

The Proviz City Mens 100% Reflective Commuter Cycling Jacket is a tale of two halves. It has a good design and fit, with lots of practical features that are perfect for commuting. However, its performance is dominated by its very poor breathability, and I found myself rather sweaty wearing this, even after short commutes on chilly mornings.

> Buy now: Proviz City Mens 100% Reflective Commuter Cycling Jacket for £79.99 from Proviz

Frankly, our recent warm summer has been an awful time to review a commuter jacket. Luckily, September’s arrival brought with it plenty of rain, wind and less daylight, making it a much better time to test the Proviz.

My first impressions were positive. I’ve often spotted other cyclists in this type of jacket and wondered what the distinctive ultra-reflective material is actually like – and the jacket actually felt more supple than I was expecting.

This was aided by an internal mesh, which is relatively soft against your skin.

I particularly liked the sleeves, which were a good length with a well-designed Velcro cuff that is easy to tighten.

The collar has a soft fleece lining, which also adds to the comfort. In my opinion, the jacket looks pretty good, too, with the chest pocket and mesh shoulders nice touches.

The jacket’s also practical . Most notably how reflective it is, with the material giving you the best chance of being spotted at night. The Proviz 360-degree reflective fabric is excellent at catching any vehicle headlights, making you extremely visible even when there’s no street lighting. There is one caveat, in that I think other colours offer greater visibility during the day, with the Proviz appearing grey.

Proviz describes this jacket as having an ‘ultra-light’ design, though I’m not sure that with a weight of 578g in medium it quite lives up to that description. And there are much lighter jackets out there, even if they don’t boast the reflectivity of the Proviz.

And the jacket isn’t particularly packable either, which I’m guessing is down to the exterior material, which might suffer if stuffed into a bag, so you’ll need somewhere to hang it up once you’re at work.

I do like the range and positioning of the pockets, however. I used the chest pocket for my work pass and the side pocket for my phone.

And in addition to that, the jacket also has a well-protected zipped rear pocket with lots of space.

A good example of the attention to detail is the precise position of the side pocket. A non-cycling jacket would have this on the front, causing the contents of the pocket to restrict movement, whereas this side pocket was more towards the rear. I also liked the detail of the reinforced shoulders with a mesh overlay, which really protects the fabric if you’re wearing a backpack.

Now, onto my main issue: performance. Honestly, every time I wore the jacket I ended up sweaty. My commute is just over 20 minutes each way and doesn’t have any testing hills, so you really wouldn’t expect this to result in overheating.

However, the material used for this jacket means there’s pretty much no breathability. This lack of breathability was also evident in the Proviz Apex jacket we tested recently. I didn’t mind this on chillier mornings, where it proved warm and windproof. 

It also proved waterproof during heavy downpours – though as you’re already wet from perspiring I’m not sure how relevant this is. Proviz says that the jacket has redesigned underarm vents, though in practice I found them barely noticeable.

I think I’d prefer the option of zips, as they would offer the option to vent the jacket much more effectively. Despite a lot of the above features being big positives, this is a real deal-breaker for me because I really want to save myself the time showering when I get to the office.

Value

In terms of competition, the Proviz is up against plenty of other jackets.

The Altura Nightvision Zephyr, as its name suggests, also majors on making you visible but it’s a fair bit pricier than the Proviz, and we also had questions about its breathability.

The Boardman Waterproof Jacket is much more cost-effective at just £45 and we also rated it reasonably highly.

If money isn’t an object, the Jack Wolfskin Commute Mono Jacket is a very good option. Iwein rated its breathability highly and it’s a lot lighter than the Proviz, but even at its present sale price it’s well over £200.

I’d say the £100 retail price for the Proviz is about fair. It offers unprecedented levels of reflectivity, but its lack of breathability means it would be hard to justify a higher price. That said, as with a lot of other cycling kit, it’s often available for a chunk less, and in the full range of sizes.

For further options, check out our Best Cycling Jackets buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

This is a jacket that looks good, fits well and really stands out – with its reflectivity really shining when picked out by vehicle headlights. Its extra features such as the mesh shoulder and its array of pockets add to its versatility, but on every single ride I was left sweaty. So, would I buy it? Perhaps for short urban night riding. But as an all-round commuter jacket, probably not – I’d prefer something that wouldn’t leave me needing a shower when I got to work.

> Buy now: Proviz City Mens 100% Reflective Commuter Cycling Jacket for £79.99 from Proviz

Verdict

Outstandingly reflective commuter jacket – but the breathability is too limited for all but the shortest of journeys

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