Sportful R&D Jacket review

Cutting edge design from Sportful which creates a seriously warm jacket which should never leave you shivering.

Cycling Weekly Verdict

The Sportful R&D jacket has a novel design which provides excellent insulation for rides in truly Arctic conditions. It may have the appearance of a puffer jacket, but manages to have good breathability for such a warm jacket.

Reasons to buy
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    Innovative design

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    Very warm

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    Comfortable

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Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Fiddly pockets

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    Awkward cuffs

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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.

To cut to the chase, this is one of the best jackets we’ve had the pleasure of testing this year. The Sportful R&D Jacket will keep you lovely and warm on dry days when the temperature plummets, but is also impressively breathable to prevent you overheating when the time comes to up the pace.

At the heart of the Sportful R&D jacket is the Polartec Alpha insulation technology. Originally developed for the US Special Forces, this technology has already found a home in the worlds of climbing and cross country skiing, but Sportful are one of the first companies to use it in a piece of cycling clothing.

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Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.