Castelli Tempesta Lite Jacket review

The Castelli Tempesta Lite impresses by packing in great fabric performance in wet and changeable weather, a slim but accommodating cut and some neat details.

It’s a very well-rounded, packable waterproof jacket, even if the lack of a zip garage can cause a small amount of irritation.

That said, the Tempesta Lite is substantially more expensive than many of its best-rated rivals, with performance that isn’t notably better.

Castelli Tempesta Lite Jacket details and specifications

The Castelli Tempesta Lite is claimed to be the Italian brand’s “lightest and most packable” waterproof jacket.

Such a claim raises eyebrows, but Castelli has dropped the use of Gore-Tex Shakedry fabrics for this autumn-winter season (the fabric is set to be retired once Gore’s stockpile runs out) and its excellent Idro and Idro Pro jackets.

The silver fabric used here is referred to as Gore-Tex – as opposed to the commonly used Gore-Tex Active – and it feels a little thinner than its highly regarded stablemate (as found on the Gore Torrent and Rapha Men’s Pro Team Gore-Tex jackets).

In theory, this should help the jacket breathe more easily, as well as pack down as advertised. The seams are taped on the inside.

The lower back uses Gore-Tex Topo fabric. Castelli says this has been chosen for its stretchable properties, which in turn should help ensure a slim – but unrestrictive – cut.

The Topo fabric is open on the top section, shielded by overlapping silver fabric. This enbles access to jersey pockets underneath.

There are reflective bands along the length of the arms, plus piping on the rear-facing waist hem. The collar is cut high, but can be folded down to reveal further reflective banding.

Castelli has opted for a YKK Vislon zip, although there is no draught-excluding tab on the inside. It also doesn’t have a zip garage under the chin.

The wrist features a gaiter – an inner cuff that keeps draughts out, while it’s overlapped by the Gore-Tex fabric. Castelli says cycling gloves should fit in between these layers for an improved seal.

The Tempesta Lite is only available in a silvery-grey colour, in sizes S-3XL.

Castelli Tempesta Lite Jacket performance

The Castelli Tempesta Lite performed very well in the rain during testing, beading off water effectively and without wetting out despite one particularly heavy deluge.

The Gore-Tex branded fabric feels slightly thinner and lighter than Gore-Tex Active (as seen on the Gore Torrent and Rapha Men’s Pro Team Gore-Tex jackets), but it’s still closer to that than the very thin single-layer Gore-Tex Shakedry tech.

Nevertheless, breathability is excellent, while the light fabric seems to allow a small amount of airflow through it in the toughest conditions.

Castelli intends the Tempesta Lite to be packable, and it is, fitting into a jersey pocket with only a small amount poking out of the top (when I packed it down carefully).

This is possibly why Castelli hasn’t bothered with a bulk-adding draught guard or a zip garage.

The lack of a draught guard is understandable given it has a clear upside, in that it allows a little extra air to flow through the closed zip on milder days (or frigid air to get in on cold days, depending on your point of view).

However, the absence of a zip garage is a misstep and I found it caused a little irritation under my chin.

That said, the jacket is well cut – slim, but not overly restrictive around the midriff. The Gore-Tex Topo fabric offers some stretch here too, which is nice to have.

I found the fit across the chest to be a little tighter than I’d like, but this isn’t an uncommon occurrence with my broad body shape.

The cuffs are very comfortable, offering a good seal while the overlapping Gore-Tex fabric keeps rain away pretty effectively. Only once did water get onto the inner lining, which felt cold on my wrists.

I used them with full-fingered (Castelli) neoprene gloves on one ride and found the gloves fitted nicely between the two cuff layers.

Access to jersey pockets is possible, but can feel a little clumsy when wearing gloves.

I found I needed to pinch the Topo fabric away in order to tuck my hand down, which isn’t easy to do with gloved fingers and the resulting lack of dexterity.

Of course, there is also the cost to factor in. At £350, it’s a very expensive jacket.

Albeit £75 cheaper than the Sportful Aqua Pro jacket, for example, it’s still at least £100 more expensive than either the Rapha or Gore jackets I mentioned earlier.

Although the overall performance is excellent, I’m certainly not convinced that it’s notably better than those two jackets.

Castelli Tempesta Lite Jacket bottom line

The Castelli Tempesta Lite Jacket packs in top-performing fabrics, a neat cuff design and a smart fit.

All-in-all, it’s a very good waterproof jacket and one I’d generally be glad to wear for a wet ride.

That said, given the compelling performance of jackets costing at least £100 less than the Tempesta Lite, I’d struggle to justify buying it over them.