Altura Grid Field Jacket review - nice, but better for dog walking than bike riding

A good-quality all-purpose jacket that has a couple of cycling features built in

Image shows a rider wearing the Altura Grid Field Jacket
(Image credit: Ted Smythe)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

There's no reason why a field jacket with the classic four front pockets shouldn't work for cycle commuting, but your bike ideally needs to be the upright type so that they don't get in the way. The longer cuffs and dropped tail are nicely designed for extra protection on the bike, and the DWR coating does its job on the heavy cotton fabric as you'd expect, but rain water does breach the jacket through the untaped seams if you're out in it for too long (Altura doesn't claim it's waterproof to be fair). Overall, the Grid Field Jacket seems to be an everyday jacket with a couple of cycling-specific features rather than a cycling jacket with a couple of everyday features.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Classic field jacket styling

  • +

    Made from 'responsibly sourced' cotton

  • +

    Good cuff length for cycling

  • +

    Quality feel

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Seams let in water

  • -

    Doesn't have the 'ergonomically engineered' fit that's claimed

  • -

    Only one colour option

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.

Altura could be the first cycling brand to have produced a version of the US military M65 field jacket. It might not seem like the most obvious type of jacket to wear on the bike, but cycling in heavy traffic among Insta-checking drivers can feel like a warzone, so why not get suitably attired?

In any case, the style has already been appropriated by the waxed jacket brigade - Belstaff and Barbour - and other fashion brands, and it is very familiar, so why not turn it into a jacket that Altura says has a "classic cycling style with off-the-bike looks and on-the-bike features?"

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