On the seventh stage of this year's BIKE-Transalp, the bikers were caught out before Madonna di Campiglio. Downpours, which triggered landslides in neighbouring regions, turned trails into stretches of white water. The leading riders were heated up with plenty of steam and waste heat. They whizzed to the finish line in soaking wet jerseys. From the midfield onwards, however, more and more makeshift solutions appeared: Rubbish bags with holes for heads and arms, filled with shivering bikers. Poor protection that often enough covered up the complete failure of the rain jacket. The glamorous streetwear in the finish area: gold and silver rescue blankets from the medical tent. By the end of the day, the decision to treat yourself to a really good jacket must have been made by the dozen.
Even apart from such extreme applications, rain gear that really works is something that you always need to have with you in the mountains and in the lowlands in autumn at the latest. What you need is moisture protection that keeps the temperature as stable as possible thanks to high breathability.
MTB rainwear from 60 to 335 euros
In our laboratory test, the 17 jackets and trousers tested can be divided into two classes, with a few exceptions: Firstly, there are the cheaper jackets and trousers, which are mainly waterproof but can hardly produce any noticeable evaporative cooling to prevent moisture build-up and internal overheating. Even under favourable outdoor conditions, the jersey quickly gets soaked with sweat when you're going uphill. And secondly, the expensive items with Gore's Paclite material. Their vapour permeability is at a similar level regardless of brand and is seven times higher than that of the most impermeable materials in this test. The PU coatings of the jackets from Mavic and Shimano as well as the trousers from Vaude achieved respectable middle positions in the combination of weather protection and vapour permeability. Unfortunately, other proven weather protection textiles such as Sympatex or E-vent were not sent into the test by the manufacturers - although Vaude also offers E-vent jackets.
You can find these MTB rain jackets and rain trousers in the test:
- Rain jackets: Craft Performance, Gore Bike Wear X-Alp (BIKE Tip), Löffler Colibri No. 10269 (women), Mavic Altium Creek, Mavic Cascade (women), NorrØna Fjora (women), Protective Lajos, Scott Helium Paclite, Shimano Compact (BIKE Tip), Vaude Spray Jacket, X-Bionic Symframe Jacket
- Rain trousers: Craft Performance Rainknickers, Gore Bike Wear X-Alp 3/4, IXS Neapan Rain Shorts, Löffler Paclite Shorts, Scott Helium Paclite Shorts, Vaude Spray Pants 3/4 (women)
The test results of the 17 rain jackets and rain trousers can be found below as a PDF download.
