by PhilBixby
Wed Jan 10, 2007 6:12 pm
When the winter kit order arrived the manufacturers also sent a sample of a new jacket which they've started offering, which I promised to review for club members. Called "Minerva" (and also available as a gilet) it's a lightweight windproof / water resistant / breathable jacket which is made from a hi-tech fabric called DryStorm. The qualities of the fabric come from it being a bonded three-layer material, with the cunning bit which keeps rain out but lets body moisture escape forming the middle bit of the sandwich.
It's a fairly slim cut - similar to the training jackets - so it doesn't billow like a clipper at full sail, and relies on lycra panels down the sleeves and the sides of the body to keep it snug. It doesn't have back pockets.
The fabric's light and flexible enough for it to fold down to a pretty small size - certainly small enough to fit in a back pocket. It's machine-washable and the manufacturers claim that because the fabric qualities are "built in" rather than relying on a surface coating, it can be machine washed until the cows come home without deteriorating - in fact regular washing just helps keep it breathable. It's been through the machine a few times here already (on a hotter wash than recommended) and looks good as new.
I've been wearing it regularly over the last couple of months and although I've not tried it in a really torrential downpour, it's been out in most other weathers. It's kept out some pretty serious horizontal rain, kept me dry in freezing fog, and been great as a windproof the rest of the time. My experience over the years is that when it's really wet you'll get wet whatever you're wearing - if the rain doesn't get you, the sweat and condensation will. The lycra panels mean that the Minerva will never be 100% waterproof, but it's not far off and it certainly seems more breathable than most alleged waterproofs I've owned. Base layers have got pretty moist, but never saturated, cold and clammy like you get with real "boil in the bag" garments.
Price is around £40.50 (if ten or more were ordered), printed up in club colours exactly as per rest of the range.
It's a fairly slim cut - similar to the training jackets - so it doesn't billow like a clipper at full sail, and relies on lycra panels down the sleeves and the sides of the body to keep it snug. It doesn't have back pockets.
The fabric's light and flexible enough for it to fold down to a pretty small size - certainly small enough to fit in a back pocket. It's machine-washable and the manufacturers claim that because the fabric qualities are "built in" rather than relying on a surface coating, it can be machine washed until the cows come home without deteriorating - in fact regular washing just helps keep it breathable. It's been through the machine a few times here already (on a hotter wash than recommended) and looks good as new.
I've been wearing it regularly over the last couple of months and although I've not tried it in a really torrential downpour, it's been out in most other weathers. It's kept out some pretty serious horizontal rain, kept me dry in freezing fog, and been great as a windproof the rest of the time. My experience over the years is that when it's really wet you'll get wet whatever you're wearing - if the rain doesn't get you, the sweat and condensation will. The lycra panels mean that the Minerva will never be 100% waterproof, but it's not far off and it certainly seems more breathable than most alleged waterproofs I've owned. Base layers have got pretty moist, but never saturated, cold and clammy like you get with real "boil in the bag" garments.
Price is around £40.50 (if ten or more were ordered), printed up in club colours exactly as per rest of the range.