Cyclingnews Awards: Waterproof cycling jackets

I don't have a turbo trainer, a smart bike, or even a dusty set of rollers in the loft. For some reason unbeknownst to me, and to the annoyance of my equipment, I'd rather spend time riding in the rain than on a simulation of cycling on a laptop. This means that I've been putting a giant stack of waterproof jackets through their paces in some particularly foul conditions to create my guide to the best waterproof cycling jackets.

The bulk of my testing took place over a particularly squally winter holed up in Cornwall in the far southwest of the UK. As the first place any Atlantic storms make landfall gale force winds and driving rain were commonplace, with some rides so wet they managed to kill a brand new front light in under an hour. 

If you want to know a bit more about what I learned testing so many jackets I put together a piece on the six things I learned testing waterproof jackets, so you can learn along with me and not make some of the mistakes I did. 

You may be a little surprised to find that the jacket I rate most highly is perhaps the least cycling-specific of the bunch. While there are a great number of very good waterproof jackets cut for road riding and aggressive gravel, the differentiation between them is smaller. The outright best waterproof jacket for cycling for me is the Albion Zoa Rainshell, not only because it's excellent on the bike, but also because it's a great option off the bike too.

The winners

Best overall

As ever, the acid test for me for what I deem the best overall for any category is what I reach for once testing has concluded. When the skies darken, the wind rises, and the horizontal rain starts battering the windows there's no jacket I'd rather ensconce myself in for a day out.

As I alluded to in my piece on what I learned when testing these jackets, breathability is, in most cases, more important than the outright waterproof rating. The Pertex Shield Air membrane strikes a wonderful middle ground that keeps you dry but pushes back the point at which you get really sweaty much further back than many other options on the market. 

Don't be put off by the fact that it's not Gore-Tex either, as all waterproof membranes work in the same way, and this particular fabric is also, unlike all the others, more or less free of that rustly, bin bag feeling. It's near silent to wear, which isn't something you really consider a virtue until you test things back to back, but putting this on after other options is like someone turning a fan off in a room that's been on all day; you've got used to the noise, come to terms with it, and forgotten it exists, but the newfound silence is wonderful.

Dry, breathable, and quiet. All excellent virtues, but they'd all fall by the wayside if the fit and function were off. As you might expect given this is an awards winner it's also a jacket that fits well too. It's not a race cut by any stretch, definitely geared more towards the endurance/adventure kind of riding, but with the double zip you can easily open the bottom up if you decide to get yourself into a racy position. 

In all likelihood, you'll probably find the fit a little too generous if you're off doing a chain gang or want to stay aero, but for me, winter riding is a time to slow down and embrace the elements, and this is the best thing to wear to do that; there's always Zwift if you want to do efforts.

Finally, and I know this is Cyclingnews and not like... Hiker's Weekly, the thing that got me about this jacket is that it is also extremely good for hiking too. There's a strong chance that if you ride a bike you like being outdoors, and having a jacket that can double up will save you a tonne of cash. 

Best value

Sadly, by nature of the waterproof materials used in more wallet-friendly jackets, budget options simply aren't going to give you that golden mix of being both very waterproof and very breathable. That doesn't mean however that the garments in question aren't good in their own right. In my view, the Rapha Core Rain Jacket II nails the brief for a jacket at a price point that for many represents their first jump into a 'serious' winter jacket. 

The fabric isn't going to match up to options from Gore-Tex and Pertex, but against similarly priced options it offers up an exceptional fit, but moreover, it has a feeling of imperviousness that I really appreciated on truly bleak rides. The cuffs, collar, and hem all seal extremely well, and while the cuff elastic does feel soggy this isn't such an issue with a pair of the best cycling gloves. 

My attitude to foul weather clothing is that function absolutely comes first, but in a market segment overrun with stale colour options if you can have a jacket that keeps you dry, not too sweaty, and comes in colours other than black and day-glo yellow then surely that's a good thing too?

If you're not committed to riding in the rain on a very regular basis then the Rapha Core Rain Jacket II is absolutely a decent option for semi-regular wet weather excursions, especially if you can pick it up at a discount.

Honourable mention

This is less of an Honorable Mention for this specific jacket and more of a last hurrah for all things Shakedry. The material has sadly been discontinued by Gore-Tex, the canary in the coalmine of a massive shakeup in the waterproof fabric space thanks to the banning of PFC's in their manufacture. 

The Rapha Shakedry jacket represents, for me anyway, the best of what the tech can still do while it's still available; there's still some supply in the chain for now, but it's limited.

For high-tempo riding in bad weather, nothing touches Shakedry for waterproofness and breathability. It's genuinely incredible what it can do; it's utterly impervious to water ingress, provided it fits well, packs down super small, and is so breathable you can even use it as a pseudo-windbreaker even when it isn't raining. 

While I've had the opportunity to test the Rapha option, it's a safe bet that any Shakedry jacket will outperform the majority of the competition, especially if you're riding hard. Given the incoming scarcity I have effectively retired mine into a part of the cupboard marked 'For Special Occasions', to prolong its lifespan, but whenever I do wear it it still genuinely blows my mind. If this was to be available in perpetuity it'd likely have taken the top spot.