thewashingmachinepost




..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

rapha trailwear gore-tex infinium jacket

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

all the drumsets in the local secondary school (and there are five of them), feature identical cymbal sets, though not always from the same manufacturer. setup for right-handed students, they feature hi-hats on the left adjacent to a crash cymbal, matched on the right by a ride cymbal. thus, when the music notation demands a crash cymbal, irrespective which particular drum the music has decreed, the students will invariably swing their right hand in the direction of the left-placed crash cymbal, easily identified because it usually has the word crash printed on the top.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

in the real world, any drummer worth his or her salt would position another crash cymbal to the right, obviating any need to perform gymnastics about the drumset.

however, in order to simplify the lives of the poor unfortuntes who have me as their tutor, i have attempted to point out that the designation applied to each cymbal is that of the manufacturer, intent on helping the hapless percussionist choose appropriate metals for their drumset. as possessor of a very heavy, pingy ride cymbal, this principle was amply demonstrated many years ago when a drummer at a previous incarnation of the lagavulin islay jazz festival (this coming weekend, thank you for asking) with whom i shared my drum kit, spent the evening using said cymbal as a crash, a purpose for which i thought it ill-equipped.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

cymbal semantics.

thus, has gone my tutoring, if you find yourself closer to the ride cymbal when the music demands a crash, simply hit the latter a smidgeon harder than usual to achieve the desired effect. the examiner will scarcely admonish them for such a perceived transgression. this is a percussive example of that practised by many a cycling apparel purveyor, and one superbly replicated here.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

in the early part of 2021, rapha broke with their tradition of offering solely road-going garmentage, and embraced the darkside; mountain biking. in mitigation, their doing so coincided with the continued rise of gravel riding, a cycling genre that is sufficiently similar that the reputation of this new clothing range could be seen to have leanings more towards the way of the jedi. rapha classified this as 'trailwear', a category into which this latest gore-tex jacket fits quite snugly.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

the distinctly road-going rapha aficionado has had access to rapha racing gore-tex for quite some time, so i daresay it was time that the muddy crew were given similar access. and to quote a well-worn cliché, they would appear to have hit the ground running, so to speak. but while it definitely offers features that pertain to the mountain biking milieu, those are hardly exclusive.

available in four colours, the trailwear gore-tex infinium jacket is bereft of any rear pockets whatsoever (how does the intrepid offroader carry stuff?), but offeres a zipped external pocket on the left of the full-length front zip, while a similarly sized offering can be found on the inside right. though i am not in possession of any brand of smartphone, i'd take an educated guess and say that you might struggle to contain the larger of the new iphones in either.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

aside from perfectly judged sleeves that have no trouble whatsoever meeting the cuffs of track mitts or heavier-gauge hand coverings, the jacket features a (very) large hood, permanently affixed at the collar. i do not mind admitting that i am not a particular fan of hoods; detachable versions i can live with, given their optional nature, but having to tuck the hood inside to prevent noisy flappage in less inclement weather, is a bit of a faff. however, given that this peaked augmentation is large enough to wear over a helmet, i'm tempted to temporarily rescind my misgivings.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

that said, when wearing the jacket as a pedestrian - for which purpose it is ideally suited - the rear-placed drawstring on the hood has need of being pulled as tight as possible. and though rapha advertise the jacket as being a 'cold-weather mountain biking jacket', i should mention that it has no thermal properties whatsoever, other than those generated by an active rider. so far, that has not proved to be any sort of problem, worn over a long-sleeve jersey and a baselayer.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

there is a well-founded supposition that, if it's gore-tex it will, by its very nature, prove to be both waterproof and windproof (which it definitely is). any explorations by the itinerant reviewer (that would be me), ought best concentrate on its purported breathabiity. the latter is an aspect on which many a breathable jacket has floundered; in short, there seem to be few which breathe as much as a cyclist requires them to. the world in which such trailwear is designed to operate often features all-out bursts of activity, followed by less frenetic riding; in short, the very conditions that would seem hell-bent on trying the patience of a breathable fabric.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

to aid flexibility (gore-tex is not renowned for its stretch properties), there are strategically located armpit gussets to aid with excessive arm waving.

in order to test the veracity of the manufacturers' claims 'a breathable, windproof, and extremely water-resistant softshell', i re-fitted gravel knobblies to my 'cross bike and headed for the undergrowth. given my persistent lack of aptitude for this style of riding, i fear i may have given the gore-tex infinium a deal more than for which it had hoped. yet despite relatively mild weather and an initial lack of precipitation, the breathability factor was particularly impressive. when rain was eventually discovered (it's the west coast of scotland; how hard can it be?), the outer shell simply cast aside any amount of h2o with carefree abandon.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

over subsequent days, i have been wet more than i've been dry, all with the same result.

worn over a thermal rapha explore, down jacket (which does have a removable hood), it's been perfect for everyday use, some of which has been bicycle free. and worn on the sunday bike ride, which is nothing if not exclusively a road-going spree, though perhaps a smidgeon baggier than usual, it was just ginger peachy. should you be feeling generous, there would be no shame in purchasing this trailwear jacket for the pedestrian in your life. which sort of brings us neatly back to the definitions applied by the manufacturer.

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

i would agree that i could perhaps have opted for the small size rather than the medium under review (i'm 5'10"), but on the basis that i have slightly longer than normal arms, i'd be inclined to stay put. if you're only going to buy one rapha gore-tex jacket, i'd suggest you start here.

rapha's trail gore-tex infinium jacket is available in sizes ranging from xs to xxl in blue, black, purple (as reviewed) and blue/green. it retails at £275 | rapha gore-tex trailwear jacket

rapha goretex infinium trailwear jacket

wednesday 5 october 2022

twmp ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................