Castelli Alpha Ros Jacket review

Castelli claims to have reinvented the archetypal cycling jacket. Bold claims indeed, but with wind and water proofing, insulation and breathability apparently accounted for in a sub 400gram jacket - could the Castelli Alpha Ros be the ultimate winter jacket?

Castelli Alpha Ros Jacket
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Water resistant, windproof and thermal, the flyweight Castelli Alpha Ros Jacket makes bold claims and delivers every single promise. It's one of the most impressive pieces of kit I've seen in a long time, just be prepared to pay for it.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Windproof

  • +

    Water resistant

  • +

    Female and male options

  • +

    Breathable

  • +

    Warm

  • +

    Lightweight

  • +

    Low Profile

  • +

    Race cut fit

  • +

    Cuff design

  • +

    High double collar

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    Taped shoulder seams.

  • +

    Pocket design

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Low on reflective details

  • -

    Small Zip secure pocket

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

When in comes to cycling kit innovation, Castelli doesn't muck about. It's been at the forefront of research and development since the year dot, with products such as the Sanremo 2 Thermosuit, Body Paint 3.0 Speedsuit, and of course not forgetting the game changing Gabba.

It's safe to say when it comes to clothing technology, Castelli knows its onions, so while bold 'reinvention' claims by many brands might give us an itchy chin, when the Castelli Alpha Ros landed with a huge winter jacket wish list apparently ticked, we had to sit up and take notice.

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Hannah Bussey

Hannah is Cycling Weekly’s longest-serving tech writer, having started with the magazine back in 2011. She has covered all things technical for both print and digital over multiple seasons representing CW at spring Classics, and Grand Tours and all races in between.


Hannah was a successful road and track racer herself, competing in UCI races all over Europe as well as in China, Pakistan and New Zealand.


For fun, she's ridden LEJOG unaided, a lap of Majorca in a day, won a 24-hour mountain bike race and tackled famous mountain passes in the French Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites and Himalayas. 


She lives just outside the Peak District National Park near Manchester UK with her partner, daughter and a small but beautifully formed bike collection.