Pactimo’s extensive range of women’s cycle clothing performs well and looks good, and the mid-weight Women’s Breckenridge WX-D jacket is no exception to this rule.
The cut of the jacket is great – slim at the waist and broad at the shoulders, so it’s comfortable without being boxy. The colourway is striking; a mixture of black, white, grey and lime green that will ensure you don’t fade into the background.
Slim reflective strips across the rear of the jacket add further visibility from behind, plus there’s a 3T strip on the front of the right shoulder and a small 3T logo near the zipper. I really like the way Pactimo have subtly worked in reflective detailing, but if you want to be all lit up like a glow-worm, perhaps you’d prefer something more obvious.
A double zipper is a nice touch – you can unzip the jacket from either the top or the bottom, which makes fine-tuning body temperature a cinch. I like to unzip from the bottom whilst keeping the top of the fastened up as it means your jacket doesn’t flap so much in the wind. The zipper area is reinforced with a strip of webbing for adding durability, and the zips themselves are nice and chunky so you can easily unzip on the move.
The front body of the jacket is made from strong ‘Defense+’ material, as are the shoulder, neck and the top of the sleeves. This material offers a good degree of protection from the wind and the rain, and has kept looking fresh and new despite many outings.
The rest of the jacket is made from ‘BreathLITE,’ fabric, which is soft, light, stretchy and breathable. But it isn’t waterproof, so if you’re caught in a downpour those waterproof arms and shoulders aren’t going to be much use – the water soaks in through the back panel.
The underside of the arms is also made of BreathLITE, which goes someway towards eliminating that clammy arm feeling you can get with waterproof jackets.
Three large pockets at the back are very useful for stashing snacks and the like, and being made of the same material as the shoulders, they’re waterproof so your sarnie doesn’t suffer from road spray on wet days.
At £85, the jacket bridges the gap between high end and budget gear, making a great choice for women looking for something slick and sporty that doesn’t cost an entire weeks pay packet.
Verdict
If the forecast were for torrential rain, it wouldn’t be my first choice, but for most other conditions it’s a winner, and as it can be fitted in a jersey pocket (just!), it’s a very useful piece of kit to have in your wardrobe.
Price: £85.00, available from Pactimo.
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