More or less exactly a year ago we got wind that Shakedry, perhaps the greatest cycling waterproof tech to ever grace the earth, is set to be retired by Gore thanks to the impending ban on the use of PFC. The PFC ban turned out to be our biggest story of the year, so clearly plenty of you are interested not only in why more or less all waterproof membrane technology is going to have to change, but also what’s going to happen to all the incredible Shakedry jackets on the market.
Well, they are about as close to a critically endangered species as we’re going to get in the world of cycling. There are very very few still on sale, and those that are, are all old stock. There will be no restocks, there will be no new models; this is it. This is why they no longer feature in my guide to the best waterproof cycling jackets.
If you’ve not come across Shakedry before, the thing that really sets it apart is the lack of a face fabric. It’s literally just a waterproof membrane, with a backing fabric inside. It looks and feels a bit like a bin bag, and water just beads off it in perpetuity. It also makes it superlight, and really easy to stow away. All in all, perfect for an application like cycling.
I am lucky enough to have two Shakedry jackets, and they are firmly locked away in a box marked “For Best”, much like a waterproof jacket version of Bart Wellens secret tyre bunker where he keeps vintage Michelin Mud tyres.
The good news, if you ignore the PFC issue, is that some of the very last Shakedry jackets are on sale. Given they’ve already been produced, and will otherwise go to waste, I don’t think you need to feel bad for the planet should you purchase one – the important thing in the big scale is that the use of so-called ‘forever chemicals’ is being scaled back. Regardless, the remaining jackets represent, for now at least, the absolute pinnacle of waterproof and breathable jackets for high intensity riding.
The last Shakedry jackets
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