Cycling Jacket Review

Craft Bike Light Jacket

I recently set up a wholesale account with Craft, an apparel company out of Sweden. Aside from their nifty stretchy chamois’ (one, if not the only company with this unique design), I thought I would try their Performance Bike Light Jacket. Bicycling magazine had a decent review on this product a year or so back. This jacket is dubbed as a lightweight, wind protective jacket and not a “rain or insulative” piece of clothing. The Craft website said the product would have a nice tight fit, something I thought was possible only with much heavier “soft shell” jackets. Upon receiving the product I was just amazed at the ingenuity in this product.

1) The back of the sleeves and armpits are constructed with a stretchy mesh that gives the jacket a VERY tight, flap-free fit. When I first put this jacket on and felt the snug fit on the sleeves due to this design feature, I thought “those Swedes are just dang smart, this is a really well-designed jacket.” This also serves as an exit point for perspiration, something I dread on cool off-season rides. Unlike summer rides, I used to really smell after a mere two-hour winter workout as I had to wear enough wind proof layers to stay warm.
2) The fabric is super lightweight so the jackets wads up small to about the size of a baseball, and fits into one of the back pockets of my jersey. The problem with most jackets, is that people tend to leave them at home because they can take up so much space — yet if the one is doing an all-day ride, the weather or temperature can change later in the day or evening, especially on the downhills where wind chill can be a factor.
3) I’m 6-4 and wear 37″ long sleeves. Most jacket sleeves are way too short for me. Especially when I’m hunched over on a road bike. The sleeves on the XL model are adequate and yet the body of the jacket still fits me without a lot of extra play in the torso area.

Look for this product soon on my gear site, B&B Gear. List price $ 99.00.

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Author: Rando Richard

I’m an old guy (age 69 in 2023) who enjoys aerobic, endurance sports. I call myself a cardio-junkie. Perhaps the more appropriate term would be “ultra” endurance sports. Since I was a teenager I have always enjoyed “slow twitch” outdoor sports like backpacking, ice climbing, running, mountaineering, hiking, alpine skiing and randonnée skiing (alpine touring, backcountry skiing or skimo). In 2005 I starting running with more regularity — except this time it was not for the intent of getting ready for a mountaineering trip, but as an end to itself. From 2005 to 2007 I managed to eek out two seasons of ultramarathons — that is competitive trail runs up to 50 or 100 miles. Due to a nagging ankle injury from the 80s (an accident while ice climbing in the 1980s where my lower tib and fib were badly broken), I had to cease that grueling, but rewarding activity. I then migrated into ultra distance road cycling or randonneuring. The rides are called brevets (pronounced bruh-VAY, it’s French) and are minimally supported — they are similar to ultrarunning and backpacking where one must be self reliant. Although brevets are non-competitive, they do have have cut off times to qualify as a finisher. They are usually are done in groups, which can have a competitive slant to them. Today, I continue to participate in long distance cycling including some ultra-racing, randonnée skiing (a blend of cross country and downhill disciplines) and still get out on an occasional mountaineering trip. Since 1996 I have been designing, manufacturing and selling camera bags. That is Kinesis Photo Gear (kgear.com). In 2005 I started selling cycling bags under the Kinesis label and eventually expanded it to including other sports like SUP (stand-up paddle boarding and some skimo). Consequently, it become eoGEAR — the “eo” stands for endurance outdoor. My wife and I are empty-nesters now and we live and work out in the boondocks of central Utah, half way between Salt Lake City (great powder) and Moab (great red rocks). Well, I guess that is all for now. Safe travels mate! Perhaps I’ll see you on the road or trail. — Richard Stum

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