Gobik Envy 2.0 Flame jacket

The Gobik Envy 2.0 Flame jacket could be your almost-year-round go-to for those days when the weather isn’t quite playing ball, as it offers solid waterproofing, great wind protection, and the kind of breathability you’d normally get in a free-flowing jersey. The fabrics are top-tier, the fit is superlative, and it looks really high-end. Though expensive, it offers a lot of bang for your buck, and it’s competitive against the opposition.

If, like me, you loathe the idea of having to pack a waterproof – even a super light one – on every ride ‘just in case’, then you might welcome the idea of a jacket-cum-jersey that potentially negates the need to take one along at all (unless it’s heavy rain, at which point I’m snuggling up to the indoor trainer). The Envy 2.0 jacket is Gobik’s alternative to the Castelli Perfetto. Indeed, Gobik offers a short-sleeve version of the Envy 2.0, which is similar in ethos to the Castelli Gabba.

Gobik’s take on the theme uses a membrane from Polartec: Power Shield Pro. The benefit of Power Shield Pro is it offers a great deal of water resistance, in theory. Polartec’s PFAS-free waterproof, windproof and breathable membrane delivers what the firm calls ’20/20’ protection – 20,000mm of water resistance and 20,000g/m²/24hrs of breathability. In contrast, the Polartec Aircore fabric used in the Perfetto is rated as offering 5,000mm of water resistance and 25,000g/m²/24hrs.

Neither jersey has taped seams, though the Envy 2.0 has seam seals in the shoulders for extra protection where you might expect a high concentration of rain to hit your body in a road bike position. More on the performance side of things later.

Gobik is based in Spain, and the Envy 2.0 is made there too. In Murcia specifically, not too far from a lot of sublime riding roads, no doubt – though perhaps this jacket is proof that it does indeed rain unexpectedly, even in sunnier climes.

The Envy 2.0 is available in a multitude of sizes, from 2XS up to 2XL. There’s also a women-specific version and, as mentioned earlier, a short-sleeve option for warmer weather. All good stuff.

Colour options are pretty varied. The jacket I received for review was Flame, which is a bright orange-red colour. If you want something more subtle, there’s Sunken (blue-green), Ultrablue (dark blue), Jet Black, and Oatmeal (grey-white).

In terms of features, you get a waterproof (YKK Vision AquaGuard) front zip with a chunky puller that’s easy to grab on the move. You get three decent-sized pockets at the rear with what Gobik calls GRS (Gobik Retention System).

For some reason, the product description doesn’t actually explain what this does (other than securing your stuff), but looking at the inside of the pocket I can only surmise that it’s the thin strip of stretchy ‘catch’ fabric that helps to prevent whatever is inside the pocket from falling out by overlapping the contents when they go in.

Each pocket also has mesh fabric at the bottom, to help water escape in the event of rain seeping in (which it will eventually).

The waist is elasticated, and features a grippy silicone band to keep it in place. There’s also a decent amount of reflectivity with a large Gobik logo at the rear, one on the front breast and a small strip on the left forearm. That’s not so good when you want to indicate right with your arm in low light. Perhaps Gobik put it here because you ride on the right on the continent, but really there should just have been one on both sides.

Photos don’t do this jacket justice. It’s quite thin and light (just 276g in an XL) in the hands, but you can tell it’s a high quality garment and it looks fantastic in the flesh. Though the colour I was supplied with wouldn’t normally be my cup of tea, I’m pleasantly surprised.

Just as pleasing is the fit, which is very close to being a race cut. It’s what Gobik refers to as ‘perfect fit’ (a level down from its most racy fit), but due to the stretchy, soft-shell-like material, there’s room for you even if you’re slightly on the chunkier, or more muscular side. But make no mistake – this is one for the slimmer guys or girls.

I’m normally somewhere between an L and an XL, but the Envy 2.0 is definitely on the smaller side, so the XL fit me nicely. I’ve tried another Gobik jacket in a slightly more generous fit, and for that one a large was great, so this might be down to that racier cut.

Both arm length and torso length is very good. The neoprene drop tail is actually longer than I was expecting, offering a great deal of coverage at the rear. There’s room for a single short sleeve base layer underneath, but you won’t get away with a long sleeve.

Gobik’s suggested temperature range for the Envy 2.0 is 5-15C. It assigns an insulation rating of 3/5, rain protection of 4/5 and a breathability and wind protection rating of 5/5. I’d say this is pretty accurate, as long as you layer accordingly. I’ve got several different base layers to pick from depending on the temperature, in which case it’ll easily carry you throughout much of the year – from mild winter days to those annoyingly cool summer ones.

Though it lacks any insulation, the Envy 2.0 helps to regulate your body temperature due to being not only very wind proof, but highly breathable. You’re not going to retain a lot of sweat, even at a higher tempo, but even when you do, you won’t feel the wind chill so much.

In terms of performance, Gobik’s waterproofing claim is the most intriguing thing about this garment. Make no mistake, 20K water resistance (not to mention 20K breathability) is very impressive. My Albion Pertex waterproof jacket has identical specs, so you’re getting a lot of weatherproofing here – on paper, anyway.

Despite those lofty numbers, it’ll never perform like a waterproof jacket due to the lack of seam seals. Similarly, the areas under the pits aren’t covered by the membrane, to aid breathability, so these are potentially another weak point.

As far as a waterproof, erm, non-waterproof goes though, it’s about as good as it gets – ideal for those days where the weather can’t make up its mind, when a full waterproof would just make you too hot as soon as it went on.

In typical British weather fashion, there was a paucity of rain to put the Envy 2.0 through its paces. A 32-mile round trip commute to work with light rain posed no problem and the wet surface of the garment didn’t affect its breathability either. I arrived at work, then later home, virtually dry underneath, with just the usual slightly damp base layer – no more than I would have with a regular non-waterproof jersey.

To properly assess the effectiveness of the membrane in heavier rain, I resorted to the tried-and-tested garden hose. With the jacket on, I proceeded to spray a light mist of ‘rain’ upwards, letting gravity bring it back down on me to simulate persistent rainfall.

I also hung the garment on the washing line, put some thick cardboard tubes down the arms with paper towel wrapped around them and sprayed the front of the garment. I appreciate that neither test replicates being in a road bike position with wind against you, but it gives you a decent idea.

The results? While I could see that the membrane was working hard to keep out the deluge created by my fake micro-climate, similar to a proper waterproof jacket, the seams spoiled the show after only a few minutes, with water ingress in several areas at the arms and on the back.

Value

At £190, the Gobik is a chunk of money, but the level of performance reflects this price. And if we’re comparing it to other premium offerings, it’s definitely better value.

The aforementioned Castelli Perfetto RoS 3 Jacket costs significantly more at £280, and uses a Polartec Aircore membrane instead of the Power Shield Pro. The waterproof rating is lower, but Castelli seems to suggest that it’s enough for the jacket’s intended purpose. Jez’s review seemed to suggest that the performance was similar to the Envy 2.0’s.

Slightly more affordable (if you could call £200 affordable) is the Santini Magic Packable Waterproof Jacket which, like the Envy 2.0, performs like a jacket but feels like a jersey. It also features a Polartec membrane – in this case the Power Shield RPM. Despite the lower 10K waterproof rating, all the seams are sealed so it performs adequately in inclement weather, and even offers greater (30K) breathability.

> Conquer the cold and rain with one of the best cycling jackets

Conclusion

From the above list, I’d certainly steer you towards the Gobik Envy 2.0 if you want the do-it-all jacket at a better price point. I can imagine some might sniff at the lack of total waterproofing and suggest just taking along a waterproof jacket, but in my experience over many years, having to take a waterproof on and off and getting hot and flustered in the process is not enjoyable.

The Envy 2.0 makes going out in varied weather really easy. Worst case, you can still take a waterproof along if you really want to, but you probably won’t end up using it.