Dressing for the UK winter just got a whole lot easier with the new Sportful Fiandre Extreme Neoshell, a comfortable, warm and waterproof jacket that copes well with a wide range of weather conditions. It really is one jacket to rule in all weathers. ..To create this new Fiandre Extreme Neoshell jacket, Italian company Sportful worked with fabric specialist Polartec to adapt its relatively new Neoshell material for its needs...You might be wondering what Neoshell is all about. It basically offers the rain protection of a traditional hardshell waterproof jacket, with the warmth, fit, comfort and breathability of a softshell...The fabric is constructed with taped seams everywhere to ensure that the whole jacket really is waterproof. There's a waterproof YKK Vislon zipper on the front and three pockets around the back, plus a dropped tail and lots of reflective details. The collar is nice and tall and the cuffs are a simple design, intended to provide a close seal around the wrists...The cut of the jacket is a good shape too. It's designed to be a close-fitting top, and for wearing over a single baselayer. I found it a bit tight across the shoulders when standing up, but on the bike it's fine...It's not as immediately comfortable as pulling on a softshell; despite Sportful's efforts to make the fabric stretchier, it's clearly more restrictive than a regular softshell fabric. Any concerns fade away when riding, though, because on the bike it's very comfortable...It really is one jacket you can wear no matter the weather. It's designed to excel at temperatures below 10 degrees, but I found the breathability sufficient to wear it above 15 with a short-sleeve baselayer underneath...t really is properly waterproof. We've had some stonking rain showers recently and so I've had plenty of wet rides to thoroughly test the jacket. Lucky me. On one ride it rained solid for the entire two hours I was out. The jacket kept me dry. Another ride saw about three of four short showers interspersed with sunshine and blue skies. Again, the jacket repelled the rain brilliantly, and dried out really quickly between each downpour. There are no weaknesses all the seams around the arms and shoulders stand up to the rain just fine...Those two examples demonstrate this jacket's brilliance...I can now leave the emergency waterproof jacket at home, it's redundant...And it's not just good in the rain. On cold and dry days when there's no hint of rain clouds on the horizon, the jacket provides adequate warmth to keep you comfortable. You can adapt for different temperatures by wearing a different weight baselayer...It's impressively breathable. The material actually lets a small amount of air through from the outside not so much that you feel it, but you do notice the absence of heat build-up...Essentially, this jacket makes it easy to dress for a ride. Regardless of what the weather is doing, you can just sling this on over a baselayer and hit the road, safe in the knowledge you'll be protected from whatever the weather decides to hit you with...
A very high performance jacket that copes with rain, wind and cold without overheating
