Sportful Fiandre Light WS Jacket
Sportful Fiandre Light WS Jacket
The Fiandre Light WS Jacket is inspired by Sportful’s existing Fiandre NoRain jacket but it’s been slimmed down considerably, dropping the claimed weight from a claimed 445g to just 286g. That ensures the jacket feels light to wear but it’s designed to offer the protection of a full winter piece.
Smith says this is the “most versatile” jacket that Sportful have ever made. It’s constructed from a Gore Windstopper LightStretch on the front and rear (so its fully wind resistant), with Sportful’s NoRain fabric used on the sides. Up front there’s a full-length YKK Vislon waterproof zip and out back you get three pockets, each with drain holes.
“Windstopper is a fabric from Gore and it has a Gore-Tex membrane in it but the way they laminate the fabric means you get most of the water protection of Gore-Tex but with much higher breathability,” says Smith. “By compromising a little on the waterproofness of the jacket, we’ve massively improved breathability. If you use this in rain then it will keep you dry for pretty much the first hour, then the jacket will soak up a little moisture but it won’t penetrate and you keep a good level of breathability.”
This is the piece used as a prototype by the Tinkoff-Saxo team during the brutal Stelvio stage of the 2013 Giro d’Italia, when the peloton was hit was snow, rain and freezing temperatures, and Sportful’s race performance director Andrea Peron says the feedback provided by the team is vital in the development of the final product worn by you and I.
“We got good feedback [after the Stelvio stage] but also some very good input on how to improve the jacket in terms of fit and small details,” says Peron, a former professional cyclist who counts a top ten finish at the Tour de France on his palmares.
“We [Sportful] have the concept and the idea, and what we think is the best fabric available, but the final answer comes from the team because they have to stay out there for six hours and endure the bad weather. Without the team we couldn’t develop such a high level of product. These products are tested for hours and hours, for thousands of kilometres.”
No doubt we’ll have a chance to ride the Fiandre Light WS Jacket in cold and wet conditions over the weeks ahead and, like the rest of the range, we’ll file a full review in due course.
Price: £165
Sizes: XS-XXXL
Colours: blue, black, yellow