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review

MAAP Ascend Pro Rain Jacket

6
£290.00

VERDICT:

6
10
Extremely well made with impressive waterproofing, but not very breathable and tricky to get the best from
Beautifully made
Great cut
Effective against wind and rain
No rear pockets
A bit warm for double-figure temps
Noisy fabric
Weight: 
269g
Contact: 

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The MAAP Ascend Pro Rain Jacket is light, beautifully made, very well shaped and an effective barrier against wind and rain. It can get pretty hot and sweaty throughout most of its recommended temperature range, though, and it lacks pockets for carrying layers you might otherwise take off.

I wanted to like this jacket more than I did by the end of the test. It's extremely well made, with accurate and well-bonded taped seams throughout, tidy waterproof zips and substantial zip garages keeping your neck comfortable and your chest pocket dry. That's particularly welcome on the chest pocket, as it's a good size for carrying today's tectonic plate-sized phones.

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The cut, too, is very good, and while I found it slightly restrictive at the shoulders when walking around, it's perfect once you're riding – whether that's pedalling upright on the tops or crouched in the drops. There's no loose fabric to flap and no pulling from the inflexible material.

2020 Maap Ascend Pro Rain Jacket - back.jpg

The sizing is similarly well judged, although if (like me) you're bang on the upper limit of a size, you may want to consider going up to allow more room for layers. I can fit a thin base and a winter jersey beneath without causing actual problems, though it feels right on the cusp of getting tight around the tops of my arms (not me in the pics).

2020 Maap Ascend Pro Rain Jacket - shoulder detail.jpg

It feels completely windproof, while the waterproofing is realistically as good as it gets. The Sympatex fabric has a 45K rating, which means it won't leak even under a column of water 45,000mm tall... yes, that's 45 metres.

2020 Maap Ascend Pro Rain Jacket - inside and taped seams.jpg

It's not that MAAP expects you to visit the bottom of the sea in this – the point is it can withstand the pressure found at 45 metres, which is around 65psi, without leaking. You'd have to be going some on your road bike for water to hit you that hard.

The breathability, meanwhile, is rated as 0.4 on the RET (Resistance of Evaporation of a Textile) scale. On this scale, zero is perfect breathability, while 30 or more is essentially not breathable at all. So 0.4 is pretty impressive.

Get away from the maths and go for a ride and the results are not so impressive. It's just not that breathable, slowly building heat during climbs and taking ages to lose it again afterwards. MAAP rates this jacket for temperatures between 8-15°C, but at anything over 10° – with a thin base and winter jersey beneath – I ended rides with my arms, chest and back soaked in sweat. It's just breathable enough that I regularly underestimated how wet I'd actually got, but nowhere near enough to stop it happening.

On these occasions I wanted to remove my jersey and replace it with the MAAP, but as the jacket lacks any rear pockets I had no way of carrying it. And by the time the air reached 13-14°C, I simply found it too hot to be worthwhile, choosing on one occasion to take it off and deal with the rain in my (non-waterproof) jersey instead.

2020 Maap Ascend Pro Rain Jacket - back detail.jpg

With its three-layer STX membrane and 269g weight, the Ascend Pro is fairly bulky to carry, though it stuffs most of the way into most centre pockets I tried. And the fabric is noisy, if that bothers you, swishing as you walk (though it's a non-issue while riding) and spattering loudly in the rain.

This is a beautifully made and expensive jacket, so to make sure I wasn't blaming the jacket when my other layers could be the cause, I used it on a night ride that started at 4°C and ended at just 2°C – way below the recommended temps. I also wore a thinner jersey than any time previously over my baselayer. I still got too hot.

2020 Maap Ascend Pro Rain Jacket - double zip.jpg

By the end of a 15-minute climb I was sweaty, and I stayed too hot at least 10 minutes into a long, gentle 30mph descent with a sub-zero windchill that gave me an ice cream headache. After an hour and a half of being alternately too cold and too hot, at way below its supposed operating window, my back and chest were still sweaty.

On the upside, the windproofing is extremely impressive, leaving my whole torso unaffected by sudden plunges into cold, silvery fog banks that sent the rest of me almost instantly numb.

2020 Maap Ascend Pro Rain Jacket - collar.jpg

As lovely as the build, cut and statistics are, the MAAP Ascend Pro is very hard to use. It's too bulky to take as a packable jacket, too warm if you were dressed right before putting it on, lacks rear pockets for stowing layers you might take off, and is too sweaty to wear comfortably over entire rides.

At £290, it sits at the upper end of the spectrum with some seriously premium jackets, and faces stiff competition from far cheaper options. The Bioracer Kaaiman Jacket is a fair bit heavier at 403g and also lacks rear pockets, for instance, but is £178.

The Showers Pass Elite 2.1 Jacket is also 403g, but it has a usefully large waterproof rear pocket, costs £91 less at £199, and scored 10/10.

If weight is a big issue, you could also look at the 240g Pearl Izumi PRO AmFIB softshell jacket which tester Simon found very breathable and so water resistant it 'could sound the death knell for the traditional rain shell'. It's also £199.

> Buyer’s Guide: 29 of the best winter cycling jackets

To get the best of the Ascend Pro, you really need to wear it for entire rides and get just the right level of insulation underneath from the off – but that's not actually very easy, and the lack of rear pockets makes carrying emergency layers tricky.

Overall, it's a high-quality creation with a great cut and fit, but thanks to the lack of pockets and limited breathability, it's not nearly as versatile as some competition at much lower prices.

Verdict

Extremely well made with impressive waterproofing, but not very breathable and tricky to get the best from

road.cc test report

Make and model: MAAP Ascend Pro Rain Jacket

Size tested: Medium

Tell us what the jacket is for and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

MAAP says: "The Ascend Rain Jacket provides the ultimate in rain and wind protection, delivering performance and dependability when you know you'll be battling severe conditions. Constructed from Sympatex ® fabric featuring a 3 layer laminated membrane, it performs to an exceptional 45K waterproof rating while also eliminating wind chill with 100% windproof protection."

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the jacket?

MAAP lists:

Sympatex Fabric with 3 layer STX membrane

45k Waterproof rating

0.4 RET Breathability rating

Windproof

Thermo taped seams

YKK Aquaguard 2-way waterproof zip

Reflective logo transfers

Secured waterproof chest pocket

Drop back elasticised hem with silicone gripper

Elasticised cuffs

Articulated sleeves for unrestricted movement

Rate the jacket for quality of construction:
 
9/10

Very neatly put together.

Rate the jacket for performance:
 
7/10

Very wind and waterproof, but not particularly breatheable.

Rate the jacket for durability:
 
8/10

Fantastic build creates no worries.

Rate the jacket for waterproofing based on the manufacturer's rating:
 
8/10

Rated about as high as it gets for active use.

Rate the jacket for breathability based on the manufacturer's rating:
 
5/10

Gets very sweaty, especially at the higher end of its temp range, but somehow avoids the full boil-in-the-bag feeling.

Rate the jacket for fit:
 
8/10

Well shaped and unrestrictive on the bike.

Rate the jacket for sizing:
 
8/10

It's spot on, though if you're at the upper limit it doesn't leave much room for layers.

Rate the jacket for weight:
 
7/10

Pretty light for what it is.

Rate the jacket for comfort:
 
6/10

Get very sweaty on mild days, but only actively uncomfortable on the mildest.

Rate the jacket for value:
 
3/10

Very expensive, and not that versatile.

How easy is the jacket to care for? How did it respond to being washed?

No need to wash this – it's not picked up any smells despite some sweaty rides, and it dries quickly after rain.

Tell us how the jacket performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Keeps rain and wind out very well, but it's a bit much on mild wet days, and the lack of pockets is awkward.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the jacket

Considered cut, build quality, protection levels.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the jacket

A bit sweaty on mild days, no rear pockets.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market including ones recently tested on road.cc?

It's expensive.

Did you enjoy using the jacket? Sometimes

Would you consider buying the jacket? No

Would you recommend the jacket to a friend? Maybe

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's beautifully made, neatly cut and effective against wind and rain. It gets very sweaty in its recommended temperature range, though, and it lacks pockets to carry other layers you could take off. And then there's the price.

Overall rating: 6/10

About the tester

Age: 48  Height: 183cm  Weight: 78kg

I usually ride: Vitus Zenium SL VR Disc  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: A few times a week  I would class myself as: Experienced

I regularly do the following types of riding: general fitness riding, mtb,

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
DareDemon666 | 1 year ago
0 likes

I've got one of these jackets and personally I think the breathability thing is a non-issue. Went for a two and a half hour ride recently including a hill climb and never got particularly sweaty - no more than I'd expect to get simply due to cycling. Average tempreture 17 degrees and occasional heavy showers.

Anyone who wears a base layer, winter jersey, and a rain jacket in 10 degree weather is asking for trouble in my opinion. Cycling warms you up as you might expect it to!

Similarly the lack of pockets isn't really a problem. It's easy enough to lift up at the back to access my jersey, and even if it did have pockets what exactly would I put in there that I need such quick access to but also don't mind it getting soaked?

The one real issue is the price. £290 is extortionate. I got mine on sale for more like £150, which is reasonable for a top-end rain coat, but still very expensive. 

Avatar
Sriracha replied to DareDemon666 | 1 year ago
0 likes

I've never found a jacket where the DWR is in fact durable. After a while in regular use the fabric wets out, at which point breathability is nil. Yes, you can wash them in magic potions and perform special rituals to restore the DWR, for a few precious days.

If the DWR genuinely was durable then there would be no need for the membrane layer since the water would never get that far, instead beading off the outside. If the water has hit the membrane then the outer fabric of necessity is wetted through, hence zero breathability.

These jackets may be waterproof in the wet, breathable in the dry, but both together? Never happened in my experience.

Possibly Shakedry is the exception, but then that does not rely on a separate DWR, but comes with its own compromises (fragility).

Avatar
oceansoul | 3 years ago
0 likes

that jacket looks like 2 size too big

Avatar
Freddy56 | 3 years ago
1 like

3 of us who ride together each bought a shakdry from Rapha. Im the only fool that paid full price from Rapha. They are fantastic but not a solution like everyone says, You still sweat, rain eventually comes through and all three, one year on are now ripped. They are too delicate for not daily, but weekly use.

Avatar
Rapha Nadal | 3 years ago
1 like

I do wonder why firms continue to make their own waterproof jackets & then charge top dollar when they could just do what Rapha did and use the unbeatable Shakedry fabric.  it's superior to any waterpoof jacket I've ever owned in 2 decades of riding!

Avatar
IanEdward replied to Rapha Nadal | 3 years ago
1 like

I agree! I have two distinct requirements from a hardshell waterproof jacket - for the road bike it's purely fit and function, so Shakedry is the only choice (assuming you're paying top £££).

For commuting/rucsac/gravel/CX rides, I want something cheap and cheerful that I can stuff in the pockets as a 'just-in-case' for heavy downpours etc, in which case I'm not paying £290 anyway...

 

Avatar
EraserBike replied to IanEdward | 3 years ago
1 like

Agreed. Gore Shakedry jackets (I have the one from Gore themselves) are unbeatable in my view and are actually considerably cheaper than this. I got mine for around £150 and it's the best bike clothing purchase I've ever made. The durability concerns are made by people who take no care with their clothes I'm sure. Mine is over 2 years old and still looks as good as new.

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