Altura Reflex Review

This jacket has a lot to live up to. The reviews of its baby sibling, the Altura Crosslite have all been consistently excellent, with ratings of 8, 9 and even 10/10 (there are copies of some of the reviews at the Altura website) and some claiming it even beat paclite jackets for breathability. Here's my test of it.

The Basics: colours, fit, features

Since my Altura Nevis has failed because of the badly designed zip, Wiggle quickly dispatched a replacement within 24 hours (and at £70 after various discounts, very cheaply. Rack price is £99.99). Avoided the temptation to get the better looking but less visible black or blue to keep colleagues and family happy, and will feel something of a canary in a pub.

Still, its not a bad looking jacket. It relies on the stretch of the Altec Reactive fabric (windproof, waterproof, breathable, 20,000 g/m2/24hrs) rather than fancy tailoring and panels like the Nevis, but fits relatively tightly (no-where near as snug as a Gore bikewear affair or my Montane wind proof). Some bagginess in the arms and belly, but nothing too bad. Quite long at the back and okay at the front. Long on the neck, with a small bit of fabric to hid the zip. No fleece round the neck like the Nevis, but fits fine. It's not lined, so you won't get much warmth or lack of weird feeling on your skin. 8/10 for fit.

Comes fully loaded with:

• waterproof zips. Look fairly sturdy (TLL not YKK though), with a stop at the bottom to stop them fraying. Possible to work them with gloves; storm flap gets a bit caught if you're not careful (doesn't seem as bad as the Nevis though).
• Reflective strips. The reason I went for this - as the Nevis Nightvision (NV) is to the Nevis, so the Reflex is to the Crosslite. Not as much bling as the NV, but wide strips around the pockets, Altura branding, and front and side 'landing strips'. If a car can't see this then what's the point.
• Drawstring on neck and tail. Handy for temperature reg. Not the best for one-handed use.
• Rubberised Velcro sleeve closures. Excellent.
• Three waterproof pockets - back, chest, arm. Good for gloves, work pass, light, and iPod, if you cycle deaf.
• Rear vent. All along the shoulder blades.
• All seams taped - I'll come back to this.
• Ripstop fabric. Seems relatively tough. Think merino sweater, rather than (at one end of the toughness spectrum) fleece or (the other) cashmere.
• Lightweight carry pouch. Not attached, but handy. Suspect I'll lose it.

9/10 - no hood attachment, could be tougher?, NV reflection design

The Test Bed

Basically, me coming to work. 4 miles, about 19 minutes, 10 mph average, central London commute. Not the fastest, as a lot of traffic today. 1 degree Celsius with wind chill according to weather.com. Peter Storm coolmax T, Lowe Alpine mid-weight fleece, cotton cords, Goretex lined boots, windstopper gloves. Helmet, not hat. Brompton, yellow tyres, fully laden luggage rack. A bit nippy to start, but started to feel warm about 6 minutes in.

Results

Got to work and had a look. Didn't feel clammy, but running my hand around the inside of the jacket, could feel some dampness (cold). Closer inspection revealed this was mostly along the inch-thick seem tape. Other than that, seemed to breath better than the Nevis and as well as my Montane V2. Oddly, better breathing than the Montane windproof, but it was cold today. Suspect that you would have to work really hard to beat the moisture transfer on this thing and it to build up beyond what is in the fleece, etc. 9/10.

Conclusion

All sounds pretty good, right? So have I made the right decision? Actually, I think I should have gone for the NV yellow. Why? Well, I think I'll miss the side vent - not just to quickly cool down (although as the Reflex is so thin, prob. less of a problem), but to stash gloves, wallet etc. Also, I think the fit is slightly better, more jacket-like than sportswear. And the grey looks really good (not so great to stop cars reversing into you in daylight though). The Crosslite seems to have most of the features, just lacking some of the scotchlite, so that may be a better bet for the club cyclist.

The Altec Reactive fabric is pretty amazing. I suspect it comes from the same factory as Endura's offering - and works like eVent (e.g., small gaps in the material, rather than moisture transfer). I now see why some Goretex stuff comes with breathable seam tape - on such a minimalist jacket you really notice the contrast between the dry fabric and the cold, slightly damp tape. The lining is weird: lots of grey dimples.

However, come spring and autumn, I think I will appreciate the jacket more - it's very light and can be stashed easily in case of a shower.

Overall, 9/10 - but 8/10 for commuting.