7mesh has launched a new Oro waterproof jacket, made from Gore-Tex Active fabric, that weighs a claimed 93g (for size medium).
If you don’t have a detailed knowledge of waterproof jacket weights – and why the hell should you? Life's hard enough – that’s ridiculously light. The Gore Bike Wear One Active bike jacket is the lightest waterproof that we’ve reviewed here on road.cc and that weighed in at 103g.
“Gore’s remarkable new Active fabric was the starting point for designing the revolutionary Oro jacket. The featherweight two-ply construction with water shedding Shakedry product technology offers lightest-ever weight with highest breathability and lowest bulk,” says 7mesh.
Gore says that its Active technology eliminates the need for a face fabric so it can used be to produce the lightest and most breathable Gore-Tex products available. As well as being windproof and waterproof, Active is designed to be highly packable.
Find out more about Gore-Tex Active here.
7mesh isn’t going to let all of the credit go to Gore, though.
“The real work of building the Oro was the time spent poring over every detail to optimise fit and weight, without sacrificing function,” says 7mesh.
Told you. In the interests of saving weight and bulk, vents also work as access to jersey pockets and the stuff sack doubles as a pocket when you’re wearing the Oro.
“Complex patterning reduces seam bulk, as does a reinforced raw edge hem which saves grams and provides 360 degree reflectivity,” says 7mesh.
“Tight pattern tolerances and 8mm seam tape shave even more weight, while the custom welded zipper is lightweight and super clean.”
Unfortunately, the 7mesh Oro isn’t cheap – but you were kind of expecting to hear that news, right? You’re looking at a retail price of £249. That compares with £219.99 for the Gore Bike Wear One Active bike jacket.
We’ve requested a sample for review, so we’ll have a review here on road.cc in the not too distant future, fingers crossed. As well as finding out about the performance, we're really interested in finding out how small the Oro packs down. The only other 7mesh jacket that we've reviewed as the Revelation and that put in a superb performance. Check it out here.
Mat has in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now pushing 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.