LOOK Excellence Jacket

The first thing to say about the LOOK Excellence jacket is that it is a softshell. We’ve tested various offerings in this sector from a host of manufacturers (De Marchi’s Contour Plus was this correspondent’s pick of the bunch last winter) and found that while each has claims for wind and waterproofing, it’s typically the sort of garment you reach for on a very cold and so almost always dry day.

LOOK make a range of claims for the Excellence jacket: comfort, warmth, softness, waterproofing (courtesy of a laminate membrane), insulation and breathability. Experience tells us it’s a rare garment that delivers all of these desirable qualities (insulation and breathability, for example, tend to fall under the heading ‘pick one’) but as a manufacturer of bicycles of rare quality, we’ll withhold judgment.

We can verify claims for softness and cut immediately, however. The fabric, what looks and feels like a light fleece on the inside, is extremely comfortable when worn over a short-sleeved base layer. The cut is very close, across the body and in the arm, which is likely to suit the lighter rider to a tee. Sleeve and tail are secured with deep-ish elasticated hems, so that while neither is especially long, both remain in place, aided no doubt by a covering of silicone dots.

The Excellence jacket has all the essential features: a full-length zip, reflective piping, and three rear pockets, the middle of which has an additional zipped pocket for valuables, protected by a waterproof coating. There’s a heat-sealed ‘Napoleon’ pocket on the chest, too, sealed with a natty yellow zip.

Finally, the appearance, which is, to coin a French phrase, très chic. The Mondrian-esque styling is one LOOK has embraced since the launch of its pédale automatique in 1984, and which inspired the iconic kit of the La Vie Claire squad of Bernard Hinault and Greg LeMond. The use of red, blue, yellow, and silver colour blocks is more subtle here, but no less effective.

The LOOK Excellence jacket comes in black with “Mondrian accents” and in six sizes from XS to XXL. It costs £209.