Northwave Power Jacket

The Power jacket from Northwave is a winter jacket with wind proofing and pocket vents for when the day warms up. It's an effective piece of kit for winter and cold spring or autumn rides that's well worth considering if you can find it at the right price.

Northwave being an Italian brand I expected the sizing to be a little on the small side. It isn't the case however, as the medium we had for test fitted like I'd expect a medium to, perhaps even a little on the large side [editor's note - John is a skinny racking whippet]. It's still a solid cut that doesn't offer any excess for the wind to catch.

Speaking of wind, across the chest, the jacket is adorned with windproofing that paired with a super roubaix liner helps makes this a toasty jacket. It's not for the deepest of winter rides but layered with a long-sleeve base layer I took this down to around 8deg.

Adding to the jacket's wind busting traits are elasticated wrist cuffs that stop any drafts up the sleeves and really help to keep the warmth in. The fit isn't terribly tight or tall around the neck like some winter jackets but allows room for a collar on colder days - a lip of material at the zip stop prevents any chafing at the neck.

The jacket is relatively busy with logos and different panels. All the text is silver to provide a little visibility and a number of reflective panels are issued at the rear. Rather than the standard three pockets, Northwave have a large single zipped pocket at the rear that doubles as a vent (the inner layer is perforated). Anything small ends up rolling around in there, which can be annoying, so I tended not to use it and have a lighter weight jersey underneath to store bits instead. Its best use is as a vent for when things get a little warmer. There is also a small zipped breast pocket - good for some money or a set of keys.

Overall I found the jacket useful when layered for warmer, calmer days, when a soft shell is too warm. It has reasonable insulation but found it too airey without something underneath and also aided the pocket situation. At a recommend £140, the price is a little steep considering how I used it, and would have expected around the £100 mark. A quick search shows it can be found at around this price, and it could well be worth a shot for the current climate.

Verdict

Effective winter jacket that does the job, sizes up larger than you'd expect for an Italian jacket and it's worth shopping around on price