MTB

Review: Dakine Breaker Women’s MTB Windbreaker Jacket

Bright, light and easily packable – the striking Dakine Breaker Jacket certainly catches they eye on the mountainside.

Part of the extensive 2014 Dakine women’s MTB range, this jacket packs to a tiny size, and is designed to keep the wind off on dry, cool days.

Made of lightweight ripstop nylon, it weighs only 60 grams, and packs to a tiny size. Because of this I’d been a bit worried about how it would cope with a rocky crash or close encounter of the trail variety. I did have a close call involving a bramble bush, and I was pleasantly surprised that the jacket came out unscathed, without the thorns pulling any of the threads out.

One of the first things I noticed about this jacket was the fit, and more specifically the length. It’s long! The waist hangs down past my hips and over my rear end, giving great coverage when crouched over the bike on downhills. It’s great news for women who are long of body, but not so good if you are on the petite side – something to bear in mind.

I opted for a size large, which was in fact a bit big on my size 12 frame. However, I liked having lots of freedom of movement, and there was plenty of room for wearing several layers underneath. I’d say the range comes up true to size, but if you like it loose, go one size up.

Despite being loose, the jacket still has a feminine cut, and managed to avoid making me look like a red and purple cycling tent flying down the hill.

Talking of which, I love the colour of the breaker jacket! It’s bright, cheerful, and loud. Unfortunately if you did want a quieter version you’re out of luck because it only comes in the red and purple version pictured.

The sleeves came to mid-palm on me, and fasten with a velcro tab. There’s a full length zip up the front, that has a zip garage at the top to prevent it chaffing the neck.

The jacket has only one small pocket at the front. It’s a slightly odd location for it, and because of the lightweight fabric, putting anything in there like money or a phone pulls the jacket down. It was a good location for a jelly baby stash though.

It’s also perfect for putting the jacket into if you want to stash it out of the way in your bag, which is its primary purpose. The jacket folds (or, in my case, scrunches) up very small so takes up next to no room in your pack or pocket.

So is it windproof? Yes – it certainly keeps the breeze out, and it was surprising the difference it made to my body temperature when the sun went in or the wind picked up. It’s not waterproof though, so if the weather is looking dodgy in that direction, it’s not going to do the trick. It fended off a few spots of rain, and mist, but I’d not want to take it out in a shower.

VERDICT

This jacket is ideal for days in the park, trail rides in the spring or summer, or generally riding around when the weather is good but the breeze is a little cool. The loose fit gives plenty of freedom of movement. And if you like this sort of thing, it look brilliant in photos.