Last year I lamented on this very blog how hard it was to find a winter cycling jacket I liked: a pernickety moan, I thought, until I read all your brilliant comments. I wasn't alone, it seemed. There are other blokes who don't want to look like Chris Hoy simply because they happen to cycle into work.
Even so, I didn't actually succeed in finding anything, so I stuck with my trusty Endura for a fourth winter – and proud it did me, too, until the lining finally gave up the ghost. A few months ago I began to look again, with a heavy heart. But lo! Nice jackets had started to appear!
I quickly homed in on two likely looking candidates: the men's cycle coat by new British company Water Off a Duck's Back, and the Oratory Jacket by Brompton, who also of course make folding bikes, one of which is cycled by me. Having got hold of both to review, I've been riding them around for about a month now, though only during the last week has it been chilly enough here in London to test jackets designed for winter weather. Here's what I reckon – I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has given them (or any other jackets) a go.
Men's cycle jacket, Water off a Duck's Back, £140
Appearance: City slicker. Man of affairs. Mildly stylish tax accountant.
Tell me more: Elegant and simple, this looks from a distance like any classy high-street men's raincoat: double-breasted and mid-thigh length, a touch A-line (says my colleague Kate), with a single vent at the back and two pockets, lined throughout. Peer closer, though, and you spot the cycle-friendly bits – a reflective turn-up collar, reflective strips on the cuffs and (neat touch, this) a buttoned strip on the back of the coat, covered in normal fabric one side and reflective stuff on the other. There's a detachable hood, and it's machine-washable.
Visible? The reflective strips are nice and wide, and looked pretty bright when I flashed a light on them. Slightly puzzling is why the men's version is only available in black and navy (nearly black) when the women's also comes in "stone" (grey-beige). I'd have gone for something lighter.
Waterproof? It stood up well to a flash shower, and copes decently with autumn drizzle. That it's a bit longer than other cycle jackets I've tried helps: dry thighs, too.
On the bike? Comfortable enough, but the version that I had – the smallest they make – felt somewhat voluminous (I'm 5'9" and have a 36-inch chest), so it was difficult to tell. My main problem was that it was too hot for anything but relaxed cycling: the material is marketed as "breathable", but I found it fairly clammy, even with just a T-shirt underneath. I couldn't imagine wearing a suit jacket too – but I do run permanently late, thus give off a fair amount of stress-related heat.
Off the bike? Like any raincoat: waterproof, but not especially warm.
Improvements? Pit zips. Possibly an ice pack. More colours.
Sizing: S (too large for me), M, L.
Colours: Navy, black.
Worth the dosh? The quality is excellent, it's waterproof, and when you consider it's a British-designed, British-made coat that seems like it'll last, £140 feels like decent value. My uber-stylish colleague Helen Pidd really rated the girls' version.
Oratory Jacket, Brompton, £250
Appearance: Geography teacher. Nineteenth-century explorer. Sixties photographer. Spy.
Tell me more: Despite the preposterous name, this is the James Bond of bike jackets (stay with me). Every inch a hidden feature or new surprise – obvious basics such as reflective collar and (adjustable) cuffs, but also details such as pit zips, even a hidden space in the sleeve for your travelcard (not that you'd want to keep it there). You can wear it like a blazer, or button it up as a jacket; it has double vents and the cut is apparently borrowed from a shooting jacket, to give you more room in the shoulders while hunched over the handlebars. Naturally there's the stupid-person's feature, a hole for the wire from your music player, but it's outweighed by my favourite thing of all: a reflective, hi-vi fabric flap that zips out from the back to (a) increase your visibility and (b) prevent your bum getting wet. It's held in place by magnets. Q gets a promotion for that one.
Visible? I'd say so: the reflective strips are reasonably wide and there are extra flashes on the front collar facings (along with slightly ugly line drawings of the Brompton Oratory itself, but let's forgive that). Plus the hi-vi back gives you extra visibility in the mornings or when light is low.
Waterproof? Despite the corduroy-style cotton, the jacket is almost uncannily water-resistant: it forms in beads on the surface. Slightly freaky. But effective.
On the bike? Comfortable, and the "action-style" cut does seem to work – it doesn't pull over the shoulders. The fold-down cuffs make sure cold air and water don't freeze your wrists. I found it a little hot over the small of my back.
Off the bike? Great: the cotton is thick and it's lined, so it feels substantial enough to wear out and about at lunchtime. I'm not sure I'd want to try it in a blizzard, but solid enough for most British weather. Plus it doesn't look like a bike jacket.
Improvements? Perhaps I'm anatomically odd, but placing the pit zips below where the sleeves meet the jacket seems a strange decision; I got warm armpits and slightly chilly nipples. Could the back be air-vented to make it less hot? I could also live without the patterned lining inside ("by Sheffield artist Kid Acne", whoever he is); and why not a pocket for a cycle map, rather than a fat Brompton advert? A pith helmet might be a nice accessory.
Sizing: S, M, L, XL
Colours: Any colour so long as it's geography-teacher beige. More options might be nice.
Worth the dosh? 250 smackers is a lot of dosh. But there's no doubt it's beautifully made and ingeniously designed, and I haven't seen anything remotely like it … Christmas is coming.
