Wanting a day/night, all-seasons wet&dry utility Jacket, upright posture

[Andre Jute]

Thanks for that Dan. That's about what one would expect. The quibbles don't bother me: I wear leather dress gloves summer and winter, and I am never out in heavy rain for long enough for the neckband liner to become soaked. Someone did say to me quite a few years ago that I could spend quite a bit more and not get a better jacket, because a long-running popular jacket benefits from economies of scale. The one I saw close-up recently on a riding partner looked good.

Well, that's a benchmark, unless I hear of something better.

[Audax hopeful]

I've been using an Altura Night Vision jacket for quite a few years now. It works - does what it says on the tin! It's on the roomy side, but not too much; has washed well without damaging the waterproofness; says do not tumble dry but I've found low temp tumbling fine for a quick turn round  on wet days. I have had to reglue the velcro onto the rubber tabs of the wrist closures but otherwise no problems.

It's main drawback I guess is it is a little heavy for true summer use (a short season in Britain anyway!) and it could be a little more breathable. And I should probably not have bought the black version!

The best thing about it though is it's comfortable - I like wearing it. Long after the (very reasonable) price is forgotten, the jacket is just a pleasure to use.

I've been looking at more visible alternatives recently (as I said mine is black!) and I liked the fit of a Gore Path jacket in my local bike shop - but it's £160 against £60 for the Altura Night Vision. I may well end up buying another in a brighter colour!

Hope this is helpful?

Nich (who hadn't realised you could change the title of a thread as it's scope progressed - initially confusing, but ultimately very useful!)

[Andre Jute]

Thanks for that enthusiastic personal report about the Alture Night Vision jacket, Nich.

I have a Goretex jacket but it's more of a coat, intended to climb Mount Everest (Chris Bonington did, wearing one of those); it's pretty clumsy for cycling in, and hot as hell, even though it is nothing but a hefty nylon shell, no lining or net even. I used it for many years for hillwalking; up some of our mountains you really don't want to be caught with flimsy gear -- especially in the places where the only entrance to the path at the bottom of the mountain is through an arch in which the council has lovingly put up photographs of everyone who died on the mountain since the year dot, with the clear intention of discouraging anyone else from being stupid.

Low temp tumbling is the way you bring the nap back up on the outside of the nylon shell; Berghaus Goretex jackets come with a little booklet explaining this and other matters. It's a substantial part of the waterproofing of nylon overwear. The Gore layer isn't waterproof at all; it merely passes water vapor outwards.

[jags]

https://www.google.ie/search?q=carradice+rain+capes&rlz=1T4ADFA_enIE462IE462&tbm=isch&imgil=X52SUXYQ9H9OoM%253A%253BPZ4xNytI85XVdM%253Bhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.flickr.com%25252Fphotos%25252Fdysphasic%25252F6796758020%25252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=X52SUXYQ9H9OoM%253A%252CPZ4xNytI85XVdM%252C_&usg=__Wa9XwsOk3qfi6hhSrVYbPnVLCkM%3D&biw=1008&bih=570&ved=0CEcQyjc&ei=6tFMVISbMuKp7AbmnYDIBQ#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=X52SUXYQ9H9OoM%253A%3BPZ4xNytI85XVdM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fc2.staticflickr.com%252F8%252F7199%252F6796758020_9111cc48e5_z.jpg%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.flickr.com%252Fphotos%252Fdysphasic%252F6796758020%252F%3B640%3B480

[bikerta]

I have also got the Altura Night Vision jacket (the older version rather than the newer Evo one)  I took this jacket with me on my trip and really liked it. It was not 100% waterproof, but that was riding in pretty awful conditions for 10 hours or so, however what it did do was keep me warm. So even though dampness had got in to my cycling t-shirt, the jacket kept the wind out and therefore kept my temperature at a good level. It is a bit bulky, but I find the fit very comfortable not too tight but not too billowy (is there such a word?) on the bike. It dried fairly quickly, so if I put it on for a shower, I kept wearing it for half an hour or so after the rain finished and it soon dried. I didn't find it too hot to ride in, but then if the temperature is very warm I would probably not wear a jacket and just get wet. I think the newer Evo version of this jacket is better and has more ventilation - mine doesn't have the pit zips. Mine is also black and I have regretted buying this colour, but it was cheap at the time, but not such a bargain as now I would prefer to replace it with a red or orange one.

I have got a Montane Featherlite jacket that I wear for short showers or when it is too warm for the Altura jacket and I used this a lot on my trip as it folds up very small and weighs next to nothing and is surprisingly warm as it stops the wind. It will withstand light rain for a while so great for short day rides, but would not survive in the day long rain I had at times.

[Andre Jute]

Anto, I have a cycling cloak that I sent away to Holland for just to try it, and occasionally I wear it for a short ride to the shops. It's the sort of thing you have to grow up with to be comfortable with; it's pretty clumsy. I don't see me wearing it on the hills. One gust of wind... Some years ago at a crossroads where I'd been riding for decades, I was blown over by an unexpected gust of wind on a still day. A trucky who stopped to put me back on my feet said it was well-known to the flatsiders that that crossroads is dangerous because of the wind. He was amazed that I didn't know. I was seriously bruised, black and blue and yellow, from my shoulder to my knee for six weeks, and my doctor didn't help. "Not much wrong with you," he said unfeelingly. "HTF would you know?" I demanded. "See, you walked in here. If it was a really bad fall, you wouldn't be walking. Take two aspirin and sleep on the other side."

[Andre Jute]

I have also got the Altura Night Vision jacket (the older version rather than the newer Evo one)  I took this jacket with me on my trip and really liked it. [snip]

I have got a Montane Featherlite jacket that I wear for short showers or when it is too warm for the Altura jacket [snip]

Jackie, thanks so much for that report. The Montane is out; I'm buying a jacket to last many years and the real lightweights don't have the legs, I don't care whether it folds up small (I chuck what I take off into a Basil Cardiff pannier basket), and I anyway already have several paclite jackets and don't bother to carry them on the bike because the nature and duration of my rides these days are such that if I need weather proofing, I'm wearing it when I leave home, or just get wet and catch a hot shower when I get home no more than an hour or two later. In short, it's good to know that the Montane works, but it isn't what I need; someone else will no doubt be grateful for the recommendation.

However, I'm very interested indeed in what you say about the Altura Night Vision jacket. You throw up another reference point: the 50% more expensive Evo version of the Altura Night Vision jacket has superior venting; I've already noticed that it has more and better pockets, which are also important to me as I carry a pocket wallet on the bike that needs a physical pocket on my jacket when I leave the bike.

Consideration of how I used my previous jacket, which is not cycling-specific, is that it is often the first jacket I grab when I leave the house on foot, so the new "cycling" jacket needs a pocket for a wallet and another for a sketchbook and pen or my homemade postcard pochade tin (6x4x1 inches). Even when I leave the bike to scramble up a hill for a better view, I need good pockets because on anything too steep to ride up (and that's plenty steep when you have a motor and Rohloff gears), I need my hands free to pull myself up by rocks and roots.

Also, we now have another vote against the black Night Vision, which appears to be generally cheaper on sales presumably because it isn't popular, and another preference for the orange or the red. Makes you wonder why a "night vision" range includes a black jacket...

With your help, folks, I'm building a really good decision tree here.

[MNewman89]

Hi Andre and everyone else!

I'm Matt from Koo-Bikes, thanks for looking at our reviews of the Hump and Proviz jackets. I thought I'd create and account and add my thoughts to the conversation. Obviously I work for a company selling a few of these jackets, so take it as you will.

Between the Hump series and the Proviz I would personally recommend the Hump. My main concern with the Proviz was (as a few of you have already touched on) how plain and grey the jacket was when not being hit by artificial light. All of my reviews include a long ride out over Dartmoor National Park (we're located down in Plymouth) and it can get quite foggy and misty out there> I just felt that I would take just one driver with there lights off or a tractor, etc to miss you. Bit of an extreme scenario I know, but alternatively I always felt very visible while wearing the either of the Hump jackets.

I liked the Hump jackets so much I ended up purchasing the Hump Signal in blue for myself, so far it's holding up brilliantly against a 6 day a week commute (I don't drive, so it's rain, shine or hurricanes).

Next up on my review list is the Sugio Zap jacket, which I think some one had mentioned earlier. Very excited to try this one out, looks incredibly promising. Hoping to have a full review of that done by the end of the week.

Quick side note, we don't sell this one but I would agree with the other posters and say the Altura Night Vision is well worth a look. I had one a few years back and it served with distinction for 2 hard winters. I would rank the Hump above it as a purely in city, fighting with traffic jacket. But obviously I'm a bit biased 

Hope that helps, best of luck making your decision!

Matt

[Andre Jute]

Thanks for stopping by, Matt, and sharing the benefit of your experience. This is another of my dealers forum, so I'll leave it at this: Folks, I've dealt with Koo Bikes, and they bent over backwards to give satisfaction.

I've taken another look at the HUMP jacket. It's not quite for me: the designer should have stopped three steps back and instead of the black shoulders added two more pockets.

To be fair, where we had arrived, the plain Altura Night Vision jacket too has only the chest and back pockets.

The jacket in the Altura range with two further pockets is the Night Vision Evo, which is about 50% more expensive, £100 v £70. It's not that the precise price bothers me much, because I expect the jacket to last many years, but that I am a Calvinist, and we consider it sinful to spend money without receiving full value in return. 

Your remark about not driving rang a bell with me. I gave up the car in 1992 and haven't regretted it for a day.

[Andre Jute]

Hokkay!

After being distracted by this and that, I've had a chance to fit on the Altura Night Vision jacket belonging to a riding partner, and must say it seems the right sort of material and cut for an all-round jacket.

As I wear my cycling jacket on foot as well (simply because it is kept near the door...), I do need more pockets though, so I've ordered the Altura Night Vision Evo which is substantially more expensive. I bought the yellow one because the orange one isn't available in the Evo line and I don't fancy red on British Racing Green bike (thanks all the same for the maritime reference, Julian -- that rang a bell with me too).

http://www.altura.co.uk/products/detail/AL22EVO3

Delivered to my door just on Euro 103 from Wiggle; amazingly a lot of places are out of stock. The standard Night Vision costs €65 from Wiggle, which makes those extra pockets on the Evo nearly €20 each... Unless the Evo has some other amenity the standard Night Vision doesn't offer.

Thanks to everyone for experience, opinion and wisdom.

[Danneaux]

Looking forward to the in-use report, Andre. Best of luck to you; it sounds good for your needs.

Dan.

[Audax hopeful]

The Evo version of the Altura Nightvision has a much more breathable material and pit-zips for extra ventilation compared with the non-Evo version. I'm writing this now because I too have just bought one from Wiggle - on sale at £64.99 (a claimed 35% discount) and though I've not used it in ernest yet I'm very pleased with it!

[Andre Jute]

The Evo version of the Altura Nightvision has a much more breathable material and pit-zips for extra ventilation compared with the non-Evo version. I'm writing this now because I too have just bought one from Wiggle - on sale at £64.99 (a claimed 35% discount) and though I've not used it in ernest yet I'm very pleased with it!

That's a good price! I haven't reported because the weather has kept me inside and I used my Evo only a few times. About the pit zips, my friend demonstrated the pit zips on his plain Altura Nightvision. I notice the advertising and the specs say the plain Nightvision doesn't have the pit zips, but I saw them with my own eyes, and what's more, they also showed on some advertising photographs. That may have been a limited run, of course. Whether it is worth looking specifically for one of the plain Nightvision with the pit zips is probably a waste of time when the Evo gives you better material and more pockets plus (in mailorder where you can't see the thing before you pay) the certainty of the pit zips, for the same money as the plain model.

Though I can't make a full, considered report, I can say that on the few rides I was able to fit in, even in the winter at temps less than a handful of degrees C above freezing, cold enough to tighten the sleeves, I found the pit zips very useful for controlling body tempature and keeping the wind out. I'm planning on tying larger toggles to their zips to be more easily handled by leather dress gloves, as I foresee operating those zips often on ascents and descents, and as I move in and out of the wind in the valleys and on the hills.

This Altura (Nightvision and Evo) is a very visible jacket. It was the first thing my family commented on when they saw it. The other thing I've already observed, when I went with a pedal pal to buy a jacket for her at a sports shop, is that the Altura is a real bargain among bike jackets. Quite a few others seemed to me, on reading the specs of the material on the card tags, to be rather overpriced fashion items.

[macspud]

That's a good price! I haven't reported because the weather has kept me inside and I used my Evo only a few times. About the pit zips, my friend demonstrated the pit zips on his plain Altura Nightvision. I notice the advertising and the specs say the plain Nightvision doesn't have the pit zips, but I saw them with my own eyes, and what's more, they also showed on some advertising photographs. That may have been a limited run, of course. Whether it is worth looking specifically for one of the plain Nightvision with the pit zips is probably a waste of time when the Evo gives you better material and more pockets plus (in mailorder where you can't see the thing before you pay) the certainty of the pit zips, for the same money as the plain model.

Though I can't make a full, considered report, I can say that on the few rides I was able to fit in, even in the winter at temps less than a handful of degrees C above freezing, cold enough to tighten the sleeves, I found the pit zips very useful for controlling body tempature and keeping the wind out. I'm planning on tying larger toggles to their zips to be more easily handled by leather dress gloves, as I foresee operating those zips often on ascents and descents, and as I move in and out of the wind in the valleys and on the hills.

This Altura (Nightvision and Evo) is a very visible jacket. It was the first thing my family commented on when they saw it. The other thing I've already observed, when I went with a pedal pal to buy a jacket for her at a sports shop, is that the Altura is a real bargain among bike jackets. Quite a few others seemed to me, on reading the specs of the material on the card tags, to be rather overpriced fashion items.

Andre,

It appears that you are correct about the vents.

According to the description on tredz the Nightvision also has pit zips and rear vents (http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Altura-Night-Vision-Waterproof-Jacket-2014_61176.htm).

Also on that site the Nightvision Evo is on sale for £59.99 (http://www.tredz.co.uk/.Altura-Night-Vision-Evo-Waterproof-Cycling-Jacket-2014_64198.htm).

[energyman]

Paramo Quito jacket - magic !

http://www.paramo.co.uk/en-gb/garments/detail/?pgc=NIKWAXANALOGYLIGHTJACKETQUITOUNISEX