Carradice Duxback Rain Poncho review - is a traditional rain cape the ideal jacket for commuters?

This waxed cotton one-piece layer covers your hands and thighs while riding

Anna Abram wearing DuxBack rain cape, side on view
(Image credit: Future/Anna Abram)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

There are so many great aspects to Carradice’s Duxback rain cape. Unlike essentially all cycling jackets, the time-proven, hard-wearing wax cotton material is (of course) made from natural fibres - and having a single layer which covers your hands and thighs as well as your torso is super convenient. However, the rain cape does obscure your bars (not great for cycle computers or lights), you can’t wear it with a rucksack (no sleeves) and it’s easy to overheat if you’re not on an e-bike (no full length zip). These won’t be dealbreakers for everyone - if that’s the case for you, I can fully recommend the Duxback Rain Poncho. But it does mean that the pool of people who it could work for is fairly limited.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Pros:

  • +

    One-piece weather defense for torso and legs

  • +

    High quality materials

  • +

    Long-lasting reproofable fabric

  • +

    Waterproof

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Obscures the handlebars (incl. Bike computer, lights)

  • -

    Can’t wear with a rucksack

  • -

    Easy to overheat

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.

Sometimes, after years - or decades - of innovation, it turns out the old ways are the best. Carradice, the 92-year-old cycling accessory purveyor from Lancashire, England knows a thing or two about that. The surge in popularity of bikepacking saddlepacks must have come with some bemusement, given that Carradice has been steadfastly producing them since the 1930s.

Could the same resurgence happen for the faithful rain cape? - (or rain poncho, as its moniker has now become). Let’s see how it stacks up…

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Anna Marie Abram
Fitness Features Editor

I’ve been hooked on bikes ever since the age of 12 and my first lap of the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in the bright yellow kit of the Hillingdon Slipstreamers. For a time, my cycling life centred around racing road and track. 

But that’s since broadened to include multiday two-wheeled, one-sleeping-bag adventures over whatever terrain I happen to meet - with a two-week bikepacking trip from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia being just the latest.

I still enjoy lining up on a start line, though, racing the British Gravel Championships and finding myself on the podium at the enduro-style gravel event, Gritfest in 2022.

Height: 177cm

Weight: 60–63kg