A series of soggy and grey afternoons charging across Bristol was the perfect opportunity to don the Albion All Road Pertex Shield Rain Jacket for our best waterproof cycling jackets guide. Part of the Albion All Road range, this jacket is designed to fight the rain on road rides and during off road adventures. Its shape is definitely more towards the road end of the spectrum, but there’s room for a puffy jacket underneath for longer days and bikepacking trips.
The All Road is constructed from Pertex Shield fabric, designed to be lightweight, waterproof and highly breathable. Time spent getting totally soaked and puffing up steep bridleways was the ideal proving ground for a jacket aimed at the performance end of the market.
Design and aesthetics
The Albion All Road Pertex Shield Rain Jacket has a fit that is more at the race end of the market, without being too tight. The sizing chart was spot on for me; it’s not too tight across my stomach and would fit well on someone with a larger bust too. There was still room to layer well underneath without looking like a bag lady when I didn’t need to. The back of the jacket sat a bit higher than I would like though. It drops a touch but doesn’t offer much by way of coverage. The extra fabric is there to accommodate full jersey pockets rather than covering your butt.
The arms are a comfortable length and went over my watch without feeling restrictive. The neck of the All Road doesn’t come up too high and is wide enough that it doesn’t press annoyingly on the front of my neck when fully closed. This Albion jacket doesn’t have a hood, giving it that more roadie look. Albion does offer a similar spec hooded jacket in its Zoa range, the Albion Zoa Rain Shell, but there’s no women’s fit at the moment. I prefer the option of a hood owing to my long hair which can get gross and cold, so come on Albion, help a sister out.
If orange isn’t to your tastes there is a light grey option, but to be honest I prefer the added visibility on offer that comes with dressing as a tangerine. If visibility is your number one priority the Proviz 360 Jacket should be on your shopping list, though they are aimed at very different end uses. This waterproof is not as garish as a hi-viz orange; still bright, but a more muted one that grew on me the longer I wore it. The distinctive Albion logo at the bottom of the jacket…
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