Gorewear Everyday Jacket

Though the Gorewear Everyday Jacket is a cycling-specific design, it easily doubles as a useful off-bike layer for inclement conditions. It's modest in its aims but the execution is good, thanks in part to Gorewear's Windstopper material which provides some rain resistance. I was impressed with its performance during soggy October commutes, with the materials encouraging light showers to brush off, while blocking wind effectively.

For more options, check out our guide to the best cycling jackets.

> Buy now: Gorewear Everyday Jacket for £87.99 from Wiggle

I was very taken with the Everyday Jacket, which lives up to its name well. It's pretty much the perfect garment for my 40-minute commute across London, which, depressingly frequently, features a couple of showers. The Everyday is loose enough in a size large (on 6ft 2in me) to allow for a T-shirt and a jumper underneath, though the breathability was only able to keep me at a pleasant temperature on my commute if I restricted myself to one layer underneath it.

The cuffs are half elasticated, which helps when pulling it on and off with a variety of underlayers.

I'm always a fan of the double-ended zip, and it's a welcome feature here, complementing the decent overall breathability of the jacket's material. By the end of pretty much every ride, I pulled up the bottom zip a few inches to give me some additional breeze on the midriff.

Gorewear uses its Windstopper material on the arms and front panels, with a stretchier material making up the rest of the garment. Gorewear claims that this three-layered material is "totally windproof" and "reliably breathable', achieved via a membrane sandwiched between two layers of textile. I'm not sure I'd stretch to "totally", but it was more than enough for my requirements and my front profile felt very well protected from cold winds.

Further to this, the material, the seams, and the inside all feel really strong and well made, which is what you would hope for from a premium jacket like this.

Rain or shine, I wore the jacket as temperatures occasionally flirted with wintry sub-10 levels, and I was pleased with the performance. Breathability with these kinds of materials is my main concern – because there's no point in being protected from wind and (some) rain if you end up drenched in sweat anyway. Wearing one layer underneath the jacket on all but the coldest days ensured a good temperature when riding. If just walking around in day-to-day life, I added another layer to keep out autumnal chill.

As well as using the double-ended zipper, you can also open the chest pockets slightly, as these allow a breeze into the chest too.

The pockets are smartly designed, and alongside the loose fit really separate this from thoroughbred road bike apparel. They run on the diagonal from the upper chest down towards the hem, and you can fit absolutely loads in there. I even comfortably housed a pint of milk in there on one trip home. That's at the slightly more extreme end of luggage carrying, but for ordinary items like a phone, wallet, keys or snacks, the pocket sits quite high – above the waistband – so items hang slightly forward but aren't a notable obstacle when riding. Apart from the milk, of course.

The elasticated drawstrings that hang on each side of the body allow you to tighten and loosen the bottom hem where it overlaps your bibs or trousers. They don't look particularly sleek but add to your ability to create a tight fit and keep any road spray out.

Also adding to its practicality is a little loop on the collar, so often forgotten but much appreciated when you need to hang the jacket up.

My only real criticism of the jacket is that, unless you choose Neon Yellow or Fireball, its minimal reflective detailing won't noticeably improve your visibility. For an all-black jacket designed for being worn on busy roads it could really do with more.

Value

There are cheaper jackets out there that offer very similar performance benefits but don't really cater to the same off-bike and more casual market.

The Galibier Tourmalet 4, for example, is not only around half the price (£83.22) but both waterproof and breathable. Stu didn't have a bad word to say. But it's really not in direct competition with the Everyday jacket, which has a looser fit, designed for wearing both on and off the bike.

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Around the same price, the Chapeau City Jacket provides very good competition for the Gorewear jacket. Its RRP is now £149.99, though it's currently available for less than half that. It's both waterproof and windproof and is designed for commuting and real-world usage, typified by the hood and multiple pockets. Apart from being a bit stuffy, Hollis couldn't find any drawbacks.

Another similar option is the Pearson Streets Ahead Waterproof Commuter Jacket, though we haven't reviewed it. It's also a tenner less at £149, but you supposedly get proper waterproofing and breathability.

You can pay a lot more, though: at the other end of the scale, containing full-on waterproof Gore-Tex, is the 7mesh Copilot Jacket, which costs £300. It mirrors the looser fit of the Everyday Jacket but Hollis wasn't convinced on the execution by 7mesh.

Conclusion

This well-designed jacket does the simple things right and is elevated by the strong performance of the Windstopper material, which does what the name says and stops the worst of the wind, as well as being breathable. The fit was perfect for my commuting, and so long as I flexed my underlayers it was adaptable to a range of temperatures, and it kept out the rain for long enough. In an ideal world, I would like some more reflective detailing, but that's a small comment on a jacket that can be worn in a large range of scenarios, which helps justify the price.

Verdict

A high utility on and off-bike jacket that looks good and has you covered for all but the worst weather