Sportful Survival jacket

Sportful's Survival Jacket is, as the name suggests, designed for when you need a jacket that is going to allow you to survive just about the worst weather you could possibly imagine riding in. It's a lot of money, but protection of this sort doesn't come cheap. And it's packed with the sort of details and features that make it a standout jacket.

Like most of Sportful's higher end clothing, it's been developed in partnership with Saxo Bank, the professional team they supply clothing to. Having riders racing thousands of miles a year in all sorts of challenging weather gives them a huge amount of feedback, which they've channeled to excellent effect in this jacket. Top level racing puts a lot of pressure on equipment and the riders won't settle for inadequate kit, even clothing, when it comes to bad weather.

The Survival jacket is a waterproof jacket, designed to keep you dry when it's coming down like stair rods. It makes use of Gore-Tex's Active Shell fabric. It's the fabric manufacturer's latest fabric, many years in development, and is the lightest they have ever produced. That means less heft when you're wearing the jacket as it weighs next to nothing.

It's a 3-layer laminate made using a thinner version of the Gore-Tex membrane. A new lamination process integrates the backer textile directly into the membrane, which allows for the improved breathability. Sweat is better transported from the skin through the new fabric, yet it's still fully waterproof. The result is a thinner fabric with greatly improved breathability.

And it works, it really does. I don't mind riding in the rain, part of me actually enjoys it, that sense of battling on regardless. And I've had some really shocking weather to test the Survival jacket. Each time I've come away amazed at how well it's protected me from the elements. I've done the sort of rides that you hope never happen, hour after hour of heavy rain with no let up in, just relentless. In these conditions the Survival absolutely steps up to the challenge, and has allowed me to stay out in such weather, keeping me dry and protected from the weather.

Breathability is the challenge with waterproof clothing. It's very difficult to design a fabric that lets vapour from sweat escape while keeping the wind and rain out. They're getting closer, and the Active Shell is one of the closest fabrics to achieving this goal. It's still possible to exert enough energy so as to overcome the fabric's ability to cope, but you have to try extremely hard with Active Shell. I've comfortably worn it in excess of five hours with a good deal of rain, and not felt like I'm about to boil to death.

In case you feel too hot though, Sportful have added two pit zips under the arms. And there's always the full-length zip for adjusting temperature.

It's a jacket designed for racers and that shows. Firstly, it's the usual Sportful slim cut, but it's a little roomier than normal so you can wear over a couple of bulky layers. It's all very fitted around the shoulders and waist, the arms are the right length so there's a good overlap with gloves. Being available in seven sizes means getting the jacket to fit nicely shouldn't be a problem. And there are drawcords at the waist for further adjustment of the fit.

As it's the sort of jacket you might only wear for a short while, and is designed for racing, the full-length zipper is lined with sections of Velcro. So, in a race, you can pull the jacket on and just seal it up at the front using the Velcro, until you get a better opportunity to tackle the zipper. I've found for those brief but heavy downpours the Velcro is more than adequate until the rain passes and I can return the jacket to a pocket.

Details that help this jacket stand out include the optional drop tail. Held in place with a series of poppers, it's useful when riding on rain soaked roads sans mudguards, keeping some of the spray off your bum. Another nice detail is the long zipped cuffs; these make it easy to pull on and off over winter gloves, so you don't have to remove your gloves just to get the jacket off.

It doesn't fall in the emergency category of jackets though, as it doesn't really pack all that small. You can roll it up to fit in a pocket, but it'll take up an entire pocket. That's fine if you don't have pockets stuffed with food and pump and tubes. Instead, I've found it's the sort of jacket you're more likely to wear for the entirety of the ride, and factor it in when layering up. Those days when you might consider abandoning riding plans, those are the days the Survival is intended for. No excuse not to ride - whatever the weather. And because it's so breathable you can wear it as an outer layer for several hours without fear of overheating.

If you want to ride in the rain you need the best protection you can get, and the Survival is up there with the very best waterproof jackets. Its attention to detail and features make it a fantastic high performance jacket for the demanding performance cyclist.

Verdict

Designed with racing cyclists' feedback and the most advanced waterproof fabric: impressive performance in the worst weather imaginable with a price tag to match.