Rapha Light Weight Trail Jacket Review

I’ve never been a huge fan of riding in jackets. Overheating and material sticking to my sweaty forearms as I ride, instantly come to mind just mentioning riding in one. Unfortunately, the reality of living and riding in Wellington means that a good jacket is a must.

What drew me too the Rapha Light Weight Trail Jacket was two things, knowing the I would use it commuting, I liked the Turmeric/Grey (Dark Yellow) colorway it came in and its ability to pack up small, making it ideal to fit into a bag, SWAT box or using its handy strap to attach to your frame.

My first ride in the jacket was a 5 hour, 1600m plus epic, featuring the best trails Craigieburn had on offer. Starting with a 500 climb to the top of the Craigieburn ski road, down Edge track and Luge before heading over to Mt Cheeseman to ride Cheeseman DH and Cuckoo Creek Track.  Adding to this ride was the fact I was chasing Andrew and his mate Tama around on ebikes, while riding my very non ebike Forbidden Dreadnought.

Riding everything from exposed high alpine fire road to beach forest to ridgeline single track and tech climbs, gave me every possible opportunity to test out my the jacket. Over that 5 hours plus of riding I can honestly say, I never took it off, I didn’t overheat and sweat buckets chasing ebikes on the climbs or feel cold riding into the wind in exposed areas. The Jacket performed exactly as I believe a good riding jacket should, it kept me warm and covered from the wind without making me overheat or feel as though I was swimming in it. The conditions were cool and windy but dry, so I can’t comment on how it would perform in the wet, but from the stream crossings and puddles I did ride through I can imagine it would perform well in all but the wettest conditions.

Overall, I highly recommend this jacket to someone wanting a lightweight riding jacket for all but the wettest of conditions. It keeps the wind off your body and keeps you dry underneath.

See the Jacket here