Mavic Echappée jacket

French wheel, and these days clothing, manufacturer Mavic offers an almost bewildering choice of jackets. I reckon the Mavic Echappée jacket is the pick of the bunch for most British winter weather riding though, with an insulating softshell construction that works right down to zero degrees.

It's made from Mavic's own Warm Shell Race and brushed Gore WIndstopper fabrics. The company says this jacket works within a temperature range of 0°to 12°C. With a few recent exceptions, that's a window of temperature that is broad enough to cover the whole of the winter. And the Echappée deals with this range of temperature extremely well, making it the perfect jacket to keep you going right through the winter. If you need to go colder, another layer under or over the top gives you a couple more degrees of range. If you're regularly dipping into minus figures, you might want to look at their Propane jacket, that's designed down to -8°.

For jackets that are going to get a lot of wear through the winter, it's vital they're well designed. The Echappée is a very good example of a jacket that is carefully and thoughtfully designed. The fit is perfect, if a little on the slim side. They offer six sizes so getting one to fit shouldn't be a problem. The medium I tested was spot on. There's enough room underneath for two long sleeve layers on really cold days, and the elasticated waist keeps the jacket in situ nicely.

The arms are well shaped, pre-articulated at the elbow, and the torso is shaped with separate side panels and a longer dropper tail. The collar and cuffs are both extended further than normal jackets so you can seal yourself in against the cold and rain. The cuffs are one of the nicest details of the jacket. Their angled design ensures a good length and overlap with gloves, and avoids any bunching that can sometimes occur with certain jacket/glove combinations.

Mavic have given the Echappée a curved off-centre main zip. They say it's 'Ergonomically positioned to limit irritation and pressure points in sensitive areas' but I didn't find it any more or less comfortable than a regular centrally aligned zip. While I can understand their reasoning, I'm not a fan and I'd rather have a regular zip, they're just easier to get on with.

An interesting detail that I was initially very sceptical of, but soon came to be a fan when I realised how effective they were, was the two zipped ventilation ports on the forearms. It seems an odd place to put vents, but again it shows Mavic's attention to detail and knowledge of cyclists' needs. Often, particularly when you've misjudged the temperature and perhaps have overly insulated, you can experience very warm arms. In this situation the two zipped ports allow a decent airflow inside the sleeves that provides enough cooling action to keep you comfortable. I found myself using them a lot on my training rides.

The Echappée gives you five pockets. Two are zipped, one of the a vertical pocket on the chest and another around the back on top of three regular open pockets. The chest pocket is a good place to keep your mobile phone or house keys. Peculiarly, I found the three regular pockets undersized in comparison to other jackets recently tested (Sportful, Castelli, Assos, Rapha). I found getting my usual supplies for a training ride (pump, tube, multi tool, food, windshell jacket, ipod) into them a tight fit. Bigger pockets please Mavic.

I've been getting a lot of miles in recently with this jacket, and it's impressed me every time. It provides a good level of insulation. On warmer days a long sleeve baselayer is enough, colder days an extra long sleeve layer sandwiched between the two is just the ticket. The jacket is windproof, and will cope okay with a some rain, but it's not a rain jacket by any stretch of the imagination.

A hard-working winter jacket that copes well with a typical range of temperature, is a great fit and finished with some nice details. The price is at the steep end but it's comparable to similar offerings. Only the slightly undersized pockets let down what might be a top scoring product.

Verdict

Hard-working winter jacket that fits well and is carefully thought-out.