New Rain Jacket: 7Mesh

Rain jackets are a weak link in the whole bike commuter set-up in Vancouver, I find. A frustrating item to shop for, largely because breathability vs waterproofness will always be a compromise. This is something that I wrote about nine years ago already!

I have owned and worn several different brands and fabrics. Most of them are terrific for the first two seasons, but ultimately, waterproofness declines, at some point rapidly. That can be revived briefly by following the care instructions (wash + extra rinse + low hear dry), but then the jacket uses its usefulness in rain.

I have thus been arriving with totally wet sleeves and shoulders in the past rain-soaked weeks in Fall 2021.

My past jackets have been Sugoi and Mission Workshop branded. They have been of some different GoreTex fabrics, but none of them ultimately last longer than 3 seasons. What makes that a bit frustating is a) the high price, and b) that the jackets remain in fine shape, i.e. they don’t rip, stain, wear out or anything like that, but that the fabric simply looses its waterproofness.

Next Try: 7Mesh

So, 7Mesh is a company that I’ve been following for a while. Its founders came out of Arc’teryx, Vancouver technical clothing icon. For their story, listen to this episode of the From the Top podcast. They are based in Squamish (thus the name) and they seem to be on a focused path toward technical innovation around mountain biking and road cycling. Space age tech that ultimately arrives in cycling commuters wardrobes as well.

Quibble: I’ve never liked the 7Mesh logo. Weird triangles that may have 7 and M in it, not sure what it is otherwise. Not recognizable, no link to Squamish or biking… what gives?

I have been keeping an eye on their offerings of jackets for some time. I was initially attracted to the Oro jacket with its Gore shake-dry fabric. Shake-dry? Sounds good, right? But come on, black as the only colour option? I do not understand any interest in black outerwear on the bicycle. I don’t really like black as a colour for clothing generally, but why would I choose to make myself nearly invisible when I’m commuting on Vancouver streets in twilight and the dark? No way!

Along came the Rebellion jacket, and hi-vis no less. Yes, crazy expensive (bought at discounted $360), and I suspect that it will also only last 3 seasons, but I was tired of arriving wet at my office/at home. Also, bright blue and high-vis yellow? YES!

Main Body of the Rebellion Jacket

Here, you can’t see the high-vis sleeves, but a handsome and visible blue isn’t it?

I did not have a chance to try this on anywhere (retail for 7Mesh is not so common), so I had to blindly order the XL. First impression: a big constricted in the chest, i.e. when I bend my arms back, but that is probably the appropriate bicycle cut as posture is obviously bent forward not back on the bike.

Details

While my previous Sugoi jacket was pretty straight-forward, there are some innovative details with this Rebellion jacket, it seems.

Straight-forward? Zippered chest-pocket, velcro-closures on regular-width cuffs, zippered pockets in the extend rear flap, red, reflective details, some softness around the neck.

Sleeve

So, let’s look at the sleeve first. Yes, that colour! And I do like on the sleeve as that gives me visibility to the side, but also as I raise my arm to signal a turn.

There’s a zipper with a mesh on the inside. Not so sure about that, will have to see. When zipped, the cuff is very tight. I guess that will have to go inside the cuff of my gloves which is a set-up that likely leads to water running into the gloves. But, I haven’t tried that yet. I’m not sure yet what the asymmetric point at the end of the cuff/zipper does. The last bit of the cuff is an elastic fabric that will likely make this fit tightly around the wrist.

The fabric (Goretex Active 3L) initially feels a bit stiffer/more papery than my worn-in jackets. But, when I put the jacket on, it looses that papery feeling.

At first glance/zip, the zippers feel a bit finicky, not sure how that cuff zipper is going to work out with gloves not just for watertightness but also for zipping one side at least with gloves on.

Tail

Obviously, great to see the visibility emphasized here. The top corners are ventilation flaps. It feels like that high-vis fabric is actually a different fabric. Will have to see what that means in terms of waterproofness.

With more atmospheric rivers around the corner, I’ll know more about the jackets practical use next week!

Grit Accumulating in Cycle Lane

One of the aspects of commuting by bike in Vancouver in the winter where insult is added to injury is the fact that grit, wetness, leaves, etc. all seem to accumulate in the bike lanes on big streets.

Take 16th, for example, as I’m heading to UBC. Last week we had some days that were somewhat dry, but followed on wetter days. The road was either dry or just wet as passing cars were drying it off.

Trees are obviously dropping lots of leaves onto roads (though less so on the stretch through Pacific Spirit Park) and the amount of rain seems to wash a fair bit of gravel and grit onto the road.

All this grit seems to accumulate in the bike lane. My shoe covers and the bottom of the forward-diagonal tube on the bike look like they’ve been gently sandblasted by the time I arrive on campus.

The fix for all of this? Obvious! More people riding => more grit gets thrown up and out of the cycle lane.

Rain Has Arrived

It is toward the middle of October and the rain has arrived in Vancouver. Of course, a blog must also talk about the weather as blogging mimicks the conversations we might have in our community (otherwise).

So far, it is a mere drizzle. Not really anything to deter anyone seriously from riding. But it portends what is to come in the coming months, namely the nearly incessant rain from November through March. And we’re not talking about drizzle for most of the time here. Not like the UK, for example, where (at least in my experience limited to 1 1/2 years of living and happily cycling in Cambridge) the air is generally moist, but hard rainfall seems fairly rare.

Rain is one of the reasons I have bought glasses for riding my bike (the other reasons are allergies and leaf blowers). On some days in the winter, riding downhill in Vancouver means that your face is blasted with rain drops. If the downhill is steep enough it actually fells like you’re being blasted.

But, as we all know and remind ourselves at this early point in the rainy season, there’s no bad weather, just bad gear.