Rapha Women's Classic Winter Jacket

The Rapha Women's Classic Winter Jacket offers excellent protection against bad weather, combined with very good breathability so you don't overheat or end up a soggy mess when working hard. It's very expensive though, and the fit isn't as good as other Rapha tops I've worn – the sleeves, in particular, are excessively long. It does do a superb job of keeping rain out, but it's made from a water-resistant fabric not waterproof, as Rapha describes it, and needs reproofing if you wash it.

• Pros: Water resistance (if maintained), very good build quality, drop-down tail you can zip away
• Cons: Expensive, comes up large with overlong sleeves, pale colour means washing required, and washing requires reproofing...

I was really excited to try out this jacket. For ages I've moaned that there was no Hardshell jacket for women in Rapha's collection – like there has been for men for the last four or five years. Reading that the new Classic was '10 years in the making...An evolution of our Classic Softshell and Hardshell' made me grab the chance to test it. (I'd even considered buying the men's Hardshell – discounted at the Archive store in Shepton Mallet – but it was a bit too small.)

> Buy this online here

My initial conclusion after a month or so of using it was, 'if it's raining, you can put this on and stop worrying'. I wore it in light rain, heavy rain, on dry days, slogging up hills, whizzing down hills, and had no problems with rain ingress or overheating. I'd found the holy grail of cycling jackets!

And then I thought I'd give it a quick wash at 30 degrees to remove some grubby marks on the cuffs (this pale colour wouldn't be my first choice). The marks remained, but not wanting to criticise it for this, I washed it again at 40 degrees – as the label on the jacket (though not the website) says you can. The dirty marks remained, but also, the jacket now leaked: fabric, seams, and where the pockets attach. Until I washed it a third time and reproofed it with Nikwax TX.Direct – including a 30-minute tumble dry. It's now repelling water again.

Until I did the washing/reproofing thing, I'd taken Rapha's word for it that this was a fully waterproof jacket. When it leaked after washing, I did a bit more investigation because I was confused. If it was fully waterproof – and the seams are all taped, suggesting that was the case (and the performance so far had backed that up) – why would washing it result in it leaking? That would surely be a water-repellent coating being washed away...

It's made from Polartec's Power Shield Pro fabric, which is described as 'Water resistant 5 meters' and 'Highly breathable' on Polartec's website. 'By reengineering the dense knit multi-component fabric we developed an even stronger balance between warmth and breathability while drastically increasing the inherent ability to repel water,' says Polartec. And: 'We made soft shell weather proof.' Note: weather proof, not waterproof...

Which would explain why reproofing it has restored its repellency. That cleared up, I'll get on with some other stuff...

Unlike the men's Hardshell I tried on in Shepton, the women's Classic isn't too small; in fact it's a bit big. I'm a medium in Rapha kit, but the Classic struck me as so roomy I even gave the small a go. Standing, upright, the small initially seemed a better fit, but on the bike it was too tight across the top of the arms. Now I've used the medium for a couple of months I'd say it's an okay fit; a bit roomy, but it does mean you can put a few layers on underneath.

You need a few layers at times too, because although it does block the wind very effectively, it's not an insulated jacket. It's windproof, but warmth depends on what else you're wearing. On warmer winter days you can get away with just a baselayer – long-sleeved recommended because the zips on the sleeves are cold against the skin – but in the kind of Arctic weather we've had of late you'll need to add a jersey (or two!) in between.

If things do get a bit warm, you have two zipped vents in the armpit area to help the breathability. I found these hard to open one-handed while riding – if you're happy to ride no-handed you might have more success. It's partly because of the extra length in the sleeves; the excess fabric means they don't exactly pull taut, and you don't have anything to pull 'against', especially when you're leaning forward. Off the bike, or if you can take both hands off the bar and hold the sleeve upwards, it's easier.

Even when I've been on the warmer side of comfortable, there's been no moisture build-up on the inside and I haven't felt uncomfortable. Rapha describes the Polartec Power Shield Pro fabric as having 'incredible breathability'; it's a hard one to measure, dependent on all sorts of variables – how hard you're working, what other layers you're wearing, the ambient temperature, how much you sweat – but I've certainly not had a problem. Rapha would seem to be correct on this one (and it tallies with what Polartec says too, this time).

The cuffs are an improvement over the previous (or previous, previous...) Classic jacket; I have one from quite a few years ago with mitt-type inner cuffs with separate thumb openings, which can be a bit irritating. I prefer this simpler elasticated design that just wraps around your wrist, with the outer fabric of the jacket covering them completely. You can tuck the right size gloves over the inner cuff and under the sleeve end for a snug, draught-free fit.

Length-wise, the body of the jacket is good. It's shorter at the front so it doesn't bunch up when you're on the bike, with a dropped tail – and an extra flap you can unzip from a hidden compartment in the rear for keeping your backside dry. A drawstring closes the rear hem of the main jacket snugly around your body to keep out cold draughts.

The pockets – you get three across the back, plus a waterproof zipped one on the outer right pocket – are all quite roomy. They're not hugely stretchy but there's lots of space for ride essentials and, crucially, they're low enough to reach into easily – being too high has been a criticism of some Rapha tops of late. They also have drain holes. The waterproof zipped pocket is good too: submerge it and the contents will get wet, but in general use it'll keep things dry, with a waterproof (or is that resistant?) zip.

There's also a handy zipped pocket on the front, which works backwards from how you might expect... It's on the left, and best accessed with your right hand because the opening goes towards your back. It's pretty roomy too, as long as you don't mind having whatever you've put in it sitting against your side, because it reaches right round to the left-hand rear pocket.

Other details I like include the soft lining of the collar, the baffle and zip garage, a hook for hanging it up (often forgotten but oh-so useful), and a few strips of reflective piping – front and back of the shoulders, both sleeve ends and two at the back (though more would be good). The tail flap, as you can see from the photos, is Rapha-typical bright pink, which helps with visibility too.

Value? It's a top-of-the-range Rapha jacket and it doesn't come cheap, so of course there are alternatives for less. Rapha's own Core jacket is 'only' £120 but is nowhere near as weatherproof; Sportful's Fiandre NoRain jacket is probably a better comparison, at £180, although perhaps the Classic is closer in terms of performance to the men's Sportful Fiandre Extreme, which Dave tested in January, and that's £5 more (though it is made with Polartec's waterproof Neoshell fabric).

> Buyer's Guide: 14 of the best winter cycling jackets

If you want a great combination of weather resistance and breathability, the Rapha Women's Classic Winter Jacket is a good looking but expensive choice. You just need to keep it clean so you don't have to wash it too often, or factor in the cost of some proofer – and a tumble drier.

Verdict

If it's raining, you can put this on and stop worrying – as long as you reproof it if you wash it...