Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex Jacket review

The Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex jacket breaks new ground for the London clothing company, and sees them partner with Gore on their first Shakedry jacket.

Shakedry technology works so well we keep calling it 'revolutionary' despite the technology actually being a few years old now – it's used on Gore and Castelli jackets. Watching water simply bead off the top of the jacket is something that'll never fail to impress and the Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex jacket's protection is very good.

Shakedry technology also boasts other benefits, including packability and venting and the Rapha jacket has both of them. The jacket comes with a small mesh pocket that acts as a stuff sack, although because it only weighs 120g I've found it to be just as easy to fold the jacket down to jersey pocket size.

See more: Rapha Pro Team Lightweight Gore-Tex jacket at Rapha.cc

Having tested multiple different Gore-Tex Shakedry products, the one thing they all have in common is breathability. The sophistication of Shakedry's technology means that cyclists can finally ride in waterpoof material that doesn't boil them in a bag and the Rapha Pro Team jacket is no different. Whereas I'd usually avoid wearing a waterproof at all costs, I was happy to wear the Pro Team jacket from the beginning to the end of the ride, and I never felt sodden like I would have done in a standard jacket.

While I found the arm length of the Pro Team jacket to be spot on (extra points for extended cuffs), I found the fit of my size small to be constricting across the chest and shoulders. One of the benefits of the Shakedry technology is that it has a degree of stretch so it conforms well to your body, unfortunately the tight fit across the chest removed this. The jacket would also have been improved with a longer tail as I found when I bent over the bars my jersey underneath was exposed to the weather.

Shakedry isn't a new technology, though, and there are jacket options from both Castelli and Gore that have the new Pro Team jacket beaten in some areas. For example, the Castelli Idro Pro jacket has a much more comfortable fit thanks to the Gore stretch material that helps in contour your body. However, at £220, Rapha's Pro Team jacket does come in significantly cheaper.