Fox Ranger 2.5L Water Jacket Review

As I've said before I'm not a huge fan of riding in a jacket but as I've also said before the reality of living and riding in Wellington means that a good jacket is a must.

After my previous waterproof jacket had a run-in with a rather sharp tree branch, and with a very wet-looking weekend in Rotorua on the horizon, the search for a new waterproof jacket was on.

With so many options, this could easily have turned into a rather daunting process but fortunately, I had a good idea of what I was after. The number one priority for me was that it needed to be water-proof, I wasn't overly worried about insulation or warmth, rather I needed a jacket that would keep me dry in even the wettest of conditions.

Enter the Fox Ranger 2.5L Water Jacket, with a 10K/3K rating and a DWR finish to repel water I had a good feeling this jacket would be exactly what I was after. And with its very first outing going to be keeping me dry, on a very wet weekend in Rotorua racing the Giant 2W Enduro, what more of a test could you ask for? I opted for the Blue Camo colourway, as I felt like there didn't need to be another guy out riding in a black jacket.

Riding up in Rotorua the jacket performed exactly as advertised, keeping my underlayers dry and when accompanied by a set of Fox Ranger 3L Pants made for great wet weather riding coverage. I didn't find riding in the jacket too hot, although the rather miserable weather probably had a hand in that.

At the end of each day's riding all I had to do was hose the jacket down, to clear off the day's mud before hanging it up ready for the next. I did find that the DWR finish did a very good job at stopping the mud from sticking to the jacket, although it will be interesting to see how long this finish lasts. 

Overall, I need to spend some more time in this jacket to get a gauge of how well it handles a range of conditions, but I can say it definitely performs in the wet, which was the number one priority for me. If you need a jacket for wet conditions, I'd definitely recommend it especially accompanied with a set of  Fox Ranger 3L Pants. 

See the Ranger 2.5L Jacket Here

See the Ranger 3L Pants Here