The lurid yellow waterproof jacket is a staple of the commuting scene. Long relied upon by transitory cyclists in the hope that it’ll help drivers notice them, they cry out that the wearer is a practical person, putting function above form. The Endura Pro SL Waterproof Shell Jacket does its level best to elevate the humble yellow jacket to something more desirable, and for the most part it manages it.
The Pro SL jacket, to foreshorten its name, is definitely worthy of a spot in our guide to the best waterproof cycling jackets, and while it does also come in black, I think the high-vis option is the one you should go for. To me, this is a jacket for someone who commutes in the week at a fair lick, but is happy to use the same jacket for a rainy Sunday club ride too.
Let’s dig into what I like and don’t like then, and you can find out if it’s worth the £200 asking price, and whether it matches up to its competitors.
Design and aesthetics
The problem comes initially, as is the case with any jacket of this colour, with the fact that the initial assumption is that it’s just a cheap bin bag. To dispel those thoughts immediately, it very much is not the case here; this absolutely isn’t some Aldi middle-aisle jacket that’s about as much use as swimming trunks would have been to Shackleton.
At the heart of every waterproof jacket is the waterproof membrane (if you’re not sure how those work, read my guide to waterproof fabrics). The Pro SL jacket uses Endura’s own ‘Exoshell 60 SL’, which offers up 60,000 gm/m2/24hr of breathability, and a 10,000mm hydrostatic head. What this means in more understandable terms is that this is a pretty breathable jacket, but is half as waterproof as something like the Pertex Shield membrane used in the Albion All-Road jacket. It’s gravelly sister jacket, the Endura GV500 Waterproof Jacket, uses a slightly less breathable Exoshell 40, revealing that Endura is pitching this to higher tempo, higher effort riding.
The cut is classic road jacket, with a good sized dropped tail that’s not as long and flappy as the dhb Aeron, but not as short as the Albion All Road. Genuinely a goldilocks feature in my eyes, bolstered by a tightly elasticated hem at the rear. There’s no way to cinch, but it grips the posterior well enough that air ingress from below isn’t an issue. There…
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