For an all-in-one winter jacket solution the Assos Equipe R Habu is hard to beat. It's snug, handles intense efforts well, is very comfortable, and for what you get the price isn't extortionate.
Pros
+
Fits beautifully with no flapping
+
Handles high-intensity efforts well
+
Warm enough for all but the most chill rides
+
Very comfortable
Cons
-
The RRP is higher than many, but you get what you pay for
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Assos Equipe R Habu Winter Jacket S11
Price: £335/$420
Sizes: XS-3XL
Temperature range: Below freezing to around 6ºC/42ºF
Pockets: 4
Colours: Blue, black, yellow
The Assos winter jacket range is a little difficult to decipher. The names of the products are extraordinarily long in some cases, and each product range has some hard-to-define subcategories. In essence, you have ‘Equipe’, the racing line, and ‘Mille’, the endurance line, but as it’s Assos it’s still relatively racy. The ‘R’ denotes that it’s racing oriented, but not pro spec - for that you’d need ‘RS’.
This winter I’ve been testing out the Assos Equipe R Habu Winter Jacket S11 as part of my curation of my guide to the best winter cycling jackets, alongside the mind-blowingly expensive Equipe RS Jodah Winter Jacket S9 Targa, a £636 feat of textile engineering, but likely out of consideration for many of you, thanks to the RRP.
If you like to remain relatively race-fit in cold weather and lean towards more intense riding then this is likely to be an absolutely stellar performer for you. It’s stood me in good stead in temperatures as low as -6ºC/21ºF, and up to higher single-figure temperatures too and has fast become the jacket I reach for over all others.
The fit is close, much more in line with a racy jersey than many winter cycling jackets. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Standing up the Equipe R Habu jacket does feel tight in certain places but this disappears on the bike. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The coloured panels only exist on the front and sides. (Image credit: Will Jones)
At the rear you get three good sized pockets, supported at the front by a sturdier material. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Design and aesthetics
There’s a little more ground to cover with the Assos Equipe R Habu than with many winter cycling jackets. Compared to the likes of the Velocio Alpha Zero jacket, where warmth and room for layering have been prioritised, there are far more panels, different fabrics, and added details.
To start with the fit, on paper at least, the Equipe R Habu jacket is designed to be used as a second skin, fitting over the top of a base layer and totally replacing your jersey. It is softshell in construction, and while it can deal with mist, fog, and the odd bit of spray it is not a waterproof cycling jacket and so is relegated to cold and dry, unless you throw a shell over the top.
The main body of the jacket in the front, and the only colour portion if you opt for a non-black version, is ‘AIRBLOCK-EVO.888’, which is Assos’ proprietary softshell fabric, backed by a soft and primarily free floating highly breathable liner material. The back of the jacket is a thinner textile, similar to the feel of fleece-backed leg warmer fabric, and backed by an even thinner mesh backer designed to maintain breathability.
The sleeves are closer in feel to thin neoprene than Lycra, though only for the front and sides of the arm. The rear is a thinner fleece-backed lycra. The cuffs are raw-edged, but there’s enough stretch to go over thinner gloves, or slip the sleeve under a glove cuff - as it’s not designed for heavy rain you can do this without worrying about water running down your sleeve and into your gloves.
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The base of the front around your lower abdomen is a different, stiffer Lycra that, like the sleeves, almost has the feel of neoprene, though in this case there is no fleece backing.
The neck is a different construction again, a rolled-over double layer of thick Lycra with a tonne of stretch but no fleece backing against the skin to hold sweat. The aim is, according to Assos, to maintain the optimum microclimate around the neck without having to resort to having to unzip, exposing the throat to cold air.
Finally, the pockets feature an internal flap on the rear three to help stop things falling out (and to protect the contents from spray too). There’s also a single, large mesh chest pocket into which one can stash gloves, snacks, or anything else you want to keep at hand more easily.
Design and textiles aside, all of which are impressive in their level of detail, the aesthetic does have a very Assos vibe. Personally, I like it, but it’s definitely more Euro in look than offerings from the likes of Maap and Pas Normal Studios. My opinion on the aesthetics may also have been swayed by just how well this jacket performed - it could look like an absolute dog’s dinner and if it keeps me warm and sweat-free in freezing temperatures I wouldn’t give a hoot.
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The chest pocket I found great for stashing gloves on the go. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The sleeves are fery trim, with a raw cut cuff. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The aesthetic may not be to everyone's taste, but the performance is fantastic. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The rear pockets have an internal flap to stop the contents escaping, and to protect them from spray.(Image credit: Will Jones)
The lining for the front panels is free floating for the most part, and breathes and wicks extremely well indeed. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The collar is magnificently comfy, and only rarely did I ever need to undo it. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's another close up of that stash pocket on the front. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Performance
The differences between good and great summer kit can at times be really quite small, but in the winter it’s very clear when something is great. The Assos Equipe R Habu Winter Jacket is great, brilliant even.
The fit is exceptional, though it does have the classic Assos situation where it feels a little mis-tailored while just standing around and getting dressed, but is absolutely on-the-money when actually on the bike. The arms are attached in such an orientation to make sense while riding, so when standing around they pull the chest tight and tug on the triceps, but this immediately disappears in the saddle. If you’ve worn an original Castelli Gabba it’s a similar feeling of full-body support, with light compression, but it’s a more civilised affair.
The sleeves are incredibly soft-backed and more than comfortable enough to wear against the skin if you so wish. The same actually goes for the inner, free-floating lining. The Assos Equipe R Habu jacket is designed to be worn just over a base layer, but I tended to pop a thin jersey underneath, generally something relatively light like the Maap Evade Pro, but if you wanted to go warmer then something like the Velocio Concept Merino jersey would add some extra insulation without bulking it out at all.
The stiffer bottom fabric on the front does wonders to support the pocket contents, which tend to be fuller in the winter with layers, tools and food. Normally I’d mark a jacket down for only having a one-way zip nowadays, but given that this is designed to replace a jersey, and also given the fact that I so rarely had to undo even the top zip, I’m going to let it slide.
The fit is essentially flawless if you like race-cut garments, and this carries on into the comfort. Somehow, and this is a hallmark of all three Assos winter jackets I’ve tested lately, it is effective and comfortable over a staggering temperature range. I’ve been down as low as -6ºC/21ºF and providing I wasn’t just trundling along in Zone 2 I was perfectly warm. The front is thoroughly windproof, and the air gap between the lining and the face fabric I think adds a surprising layer of warmth.
At the other end of the spectrum I’ve done max efforts on climbs in temperatures in mid single digits and only rarely have I even had to consider unzipping the collar. This is in contrast to my riding buddies who were drenched in sweat internally, which is really what you want to avoid if you want to avoid a sudden chill. The lining seems to wick and breathe in a way incomparable to most winter jackets I’ve tried. Even the high collar works well to keep the neck warm, but not be so stifling that it needs unzipping, meaning except on the most biting rides I tended to do without a standalone buff.
While it isn’t a wet weather garment, I have worn it in endless dreary fog and patchy drizzle that seems to befall the southwest of England, and it handles it admirably.
Even the extra details in the pockets are well thought out and useful. The internal flap means I don’t worry about my phone or keys making an unplanned bid for freedom every time I crest a speed bump, and the extra chest pocket is so handy I actively miss it when I wear other jackets. I am blessed with very good circulation to the point I very rarely need gloves, so I tend to start winter rides wearing a thin pair which then get removed after 20 minutes. My only gripe about the chest pocket is that it is too low down so that when full of gloves my legs hit it if I’m riding in an aero position. Three inches higher would probably make all the difference.
Lastly, on the fit, to bring it back to the beginning. Having such a trim garment for deep winter use may seem counterintuitive. With the likes of the Velocio Alpha Zero jacket having a tonne of room for layering up underneath you might be thinking “What if I get too cold and need another layer?”. Well, you can put it over the top. On several occasions, I’ve thrown the Albion Ultralight Insulated Jacket over the top, and on several others, while I misjudged the forecast, I’ve thrown the Maap Atmos waterproof jacket over it too. Both are thin layers, but the reduction in breathability they both affect on the system is sufficient to increase the warmth more than enough.
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The lining I think is key to the comfort of the piece - Soft, very breathable, and does well at transporting vapour. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The sleeves are backed by soft fleece of two different thicknesses. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's a closer look at that raw edge cuff. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Value
With an RRP of £335/$420 this is an expensive bit of kit, but for what it delivers I think it more than justifies itself. Really good winter gear, whether that’s winter jackets, the best waterproof cycling jackets, and even into the wider world of outdoor gear takes an awful lot more engineering to make something that performs exceptionally well.
To make a jacket that’s this comfortable, this well-fitting and this effective over a broad range of temperatures is exceptional and one way or another it’s going to cost you.
Verdict
The Assos Equipe R Habu Winter Jacket is brilliant. Actually I’d go so far to say it’s exceptional, and only really bested in terms of performance in cold weather at maximum effort by the brand’s Equipe RS Johdah jacket, which is almost twice the price.
It’s supremely comfortable, warm enough for the deepest winter rides with the right layering (inside and out if necessary) but somehow also breathable enough to avoid me ever getting sweaty within its supportive embrace.
It’s expensive, but it’s up there with not just the best winter cycling jackets I’ve tested, but with the best equipment I’ve tested full stop.
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Testing scorecard and notes
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Fit
Second to none. It's fabulous.
10/10
Protection
Not the absolute warmest, but for range it is hard to beat.
9/10
Features
The pockets, reflective details, and extra chest pockets are all valuable additions.
9/10
Breathability
Again, it's essentially faultless in this regard.
10/10
Value
For the performance on offer it's actually pretty well priced in my opinion.
Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
