The GRVL 3 Season Jacket is a smart, stretchy windproof and shower-resistant option designed to look after you on your adventures on the rough stuff. It’s not waterproof, instead focusing on breathability and pushing the moisture back through the fabric. It’s partially made from bamboo and recycled ocean plastic, has four easily accessible pockets on the rear comes in two colours and four sizes.
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GRVL 3 Season Jacket – Technical details
The 3 Season Jacket body is made from 59% polyester, 32% bamboo, and spandex with the underarm panels made from 86% recycled poly and 14% elastane. Both fabrics are soft to the touch and offer a four-way stretch and all the seams are neatly taped inside in narrow gauge contrasting orange tape. The chin and zip guard is made from a soft microfibre material in off-white which stands out well against the dark blue of the jacket.
It has an under-the-helmet hood not unlike those found on alpine climbing jackets which fit close around your face with a high chin guard to keep you snug and a zip garage to protect your beard. Yes, really folks, that can be very painful. Yes, you do look a little daft wearing the hood up without a helmet but that’s not really the point. It works well under the helmet and helps to keep the warmth in on these chilly spring days. Unlike a number of these under-helmet hooded jackets, GRVL has clearly spent more time on how the hood and helmet work together so the chin strap of my Met Trenta works without interfering with the hood. Top marks.
GRVL has chosen a recycled fabric to make the jacket from and where sometimes this can be a balancing act between active performance and green credentials I’m pleased to report that the materials used in the 3 Season Jacket do their job admirably as well as being made from bamboo and recycled ocean plastic. Top marks should be given to GRVL for the smoothness of its zip and zero snagging. It just works, one-handed, thank you.
GRVL 3 Season Jacket – Performance
This is one snug comfortable warm (not hot) outer layer. In temps hovering between 6-11˚C, the jacket was perfect with just a Merino short sleeve and base layer underneath. No sweaty build-up or cold areas were noticeable and to be honest other than a faint tug of the front zip to adjust the airflow a little while climbing and I forgot all about it when descending. Now that is exactly what you want from a jacket, unobtrusive functionality.
The pockets are in the perfect place for me to reach which is not something I take for granted with a lot of cycling kit. I hate having to almost dislocate my shoulders to get to food bars, gloves and phone but no such issues here, all four pockets are easily accessible whilst on the bike or standing.
The high chin and roll-away hood really helps to give a comfy snug airtight closure against unwanted neck drafts and should you just leave the hood loose it hangs close behind your head and doesn’t buffet as some other waterproof jacket hoods do. You can opt to roll it up and clipped down with a simple strap and loop detail which doubles as the hanging loop when not in use, nicely thought out.
GRVL’s 3 Season Jacket offers lycra wrist gaiters, which are ideal to help keep your sleeves in place under gloves in the winter or for just helping you keep warm when off the bike. These are a great idea and a popular design on many outdoor jackets as long as the sleeves are long enough, which they probably will be for you but, unfortunately for me, they are not and I found riding with the thumb loops under my gloves caused the webbing between my thumb and index finger to ache. I have longer arms than average, quite a bit actually. It’s called a positive ape in climbing or needing to buy long sleeves in shirt shops – remember those? And while I would be very happy with another 2cm of sleeve length, most of you will be okay. In reality, it was only an issue once on a cold dry morning, when I used the gators under a pair of thick winter gloves. All other times the sleeves were fine over the glove cuffs.
The DWR coating does an excellent job and has been good enough for all but constant rain. Drizzle is okay the jacket pumps the moisture out fast and keeps you feeling warm at the same time. Mud splatters have just fallen off, and the water is still beading several months in. It is a treatment though so it will need re-applying at some point.
It fits my body shape extremely well. The shoulder width is quite wide and looks spot on for me and despite the wrist gaiters being a tad short they work well with the sleeve length to cover my glove cuffs. The gripper on the slightly dropped tail works very well with only the occasional readjustment required on a ride. The hood when not in use can be rolled away and clipped down with a simple strap and loop which doubles as a hanging loop when not in use, nicely thought out.
The price might be deemed expensive but we are talking super high quality here with eco fabrics and not made hundreds of kilometres away (it’s made in Portugal) so less transport miles and therefore less CO2. If these things matter to you, you’ll be very happy with this jacket. If they don’t then the performance and quality of manufacturing will win you over.
GRVL 3 Season Jacket – Verdict
As for its contemporaries, the £270 Rapha Trail Gore-Tex Infinium jacket springs to mind. It’s a breathable, windproof, and water-resistant softshell which also isn’t waterproof and light on pockets but with an over-the-helmet hood if that’s your choice. Suvi rated it highly for damp drizzly MTB rides preferring the breathability over waterproof ratings. Liam was quite the fan of the PNW Lander jacket at £111 which offers another non-waterproof but highly breathable jacket for off-road adventures.
Looking over to our sister site road.cc at more road/gravel jackets and the £145 Pearson’s Test Your Mettle Road Cycling Insulated jacket scored highly being warm and comfortable, with great water resistance and it looks good – though taller riders may want longer sleeves
GRVL’s 3 Season Jacket is a very smart-looking gravel and adventure jacket and, while not waterproof, it keeps the wind off and pushes the moisture out keeping you warm and snug inside its soft-feeling fabric. It has an artisanal level of construction with every detail beautifully finished, its rear pockets are excellently located and the subtle reflective branding is helpful. For those not looking for a full waterproof this might just be one of the last jackets you buy.
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Narrow gauge taping and very very neat seams
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For you it might be perfect
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Product purpose:
The fabric is windproof and extremely breathable, keeping you warm without overheating once you start your first climb.
Using a combination of microfibre fabrics produced from recycled ocean plastic that incorporates a durable water-repellent treatment to repel showers, dust and mud.
A tailored cut with a roll-away hood that when secured, forms a snug collar for those speedy, aero rides. The hood fits snugly around the face and under the helmet that provides warmth on those early morning rides or cold winter days.
4 rear pockets (1 zipped) provide ample storage and reflective branding provide a level of visibility when riding dark winter days.
Made in Portugal”
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Sleave length could be a little longer for me (I have long arms) but the cuff gaiters covered the gap between glove and jacket without issue.
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It only mattered once on my testing when I put the gaiters under my gloves. Not the best idea if it rains, but on very cold days it could help to keep warm.
